Contemporary Society : An Introduction to Social Science

by Perry, John A.; Perry, Erna K.

• ISBN13: 9780060451608
• ISBN10: 0060451602
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

This best-selling book combines up-to-date information, historical background, social science concepts, research, and down-to-earth explanations in an accessible, journalistic style. Contemporary Society offers an overview of the social sciences by presenting a perspective on how the social science disciplines perceive the world around us. The book has been completely updated to reflect the shifts in contemporary society while retaining the centralized theme of change. The authors reinforce the idea that the transition from an industrial to a postindustrial order is fraught with difficulties, as was the transition from an agricultural to an industrial order. The increasing fragmentation of the social order, which leads people away from community and a common purpose to conflict and disunity, is also shown in this framework. For anyone interested in the social sciences and the shifting of contemporary society.

Table of Contents

Through the Lens of Science

The Social World Seen Through the Lens of Science

The Scientific Method

Steps of the Scientific Method

The Scientific Spirit: Skepticism, Objectivity, Relativity

The Social Science Disciplines

Research Methods in the Social Sciences

In the Beginning

The Beginnings of Life

The Emergence of the Theory of Evolution

Genetics

Culture: Product and Guide to Life in Society

Culture: Concept and Importance

The Symbolic Nature of Culture

The Most Important System of Symbols: Language

The Content of Culture

The Components of Nonmaterial Culture: Cognitive and Normative

Pivotal Institutions

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity

Cultural Differences and Universals

Group Interaction: From Two to Millions

How Is the Social System Organized and Structured? The Multiplicity of Statuses and Roles

Groups

Primary and Secondary Groups

Society

Interaction and Social Processes

Formal Organizations

Bureaucracy

Becoming a Person: The Birth of Personality

Personality

Becoming Human: Socialization

Theories of Socialization

Agents of Socialization

Socialization Through the Life Cycle

Some Conclusions

Deviance and Criminality: The Need for Social Control

Deviance

The Relative Nature of Deviance

Explaining Deviance

Mental Disorders

Deviance as Seen from a Sociological Perspective

Crime: Deviance That Hurts

The Great Divide: Ranking and Stratification

Social Differentiation, Ranking, and Stratification

Stratification

Theoretical Views on Stratification

Dimensions of Stratification: Class, Status, and Power

Systems of Stratification

Determining Social Class

Social Classes in the United States

Social Class and its Consequences

Social Mobility

Minority Status: Race and Ethnicity

Majority and Minority Relations: Defining the Terms

Common Characteristics of Minorities

The Making of Pluralist Society

Majority and Minorities: Processes of Coexistence

In the Way: Obstacles to Pluralism

Racial Minorities

Ethnic and Religious Minorities

The New Face of America

Minority Status: Age, Gender, and Sexuality

The Aging Society

Women: Differentiation According to Gender

The Cultural Construction of Gender

Sexuality

From the Plow to the Computer: Change, Collective Behavior, and Social Movements

Society and Change

Processes of Social and Cultural Change

The Industrial Revolution

Modernization

Collective Behavior

Social Movements

Revolutionary Movements

Population, Urbanization, and Environment

Demographic Processes: Dynamics of Population Change

Characteristics and Composition of a Population

Population Around the World

Demographic Transition

Zero Population Growth

Population Policies

The Urban Society

Urbanization

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