Critical Sociology

by Buechler,Steven M.

• ISBN13: 9781594514302
• ISBN10: 1594514305
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-06-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

All sociology is implicitly critical because the sociological perspective questions and debunks what common sense takes for granted. Some sociology is explicitly critical of how the domination of states, corporations, the media, and other powerful institutions attenuate our potential for living autonomous lives in today's world. In Critical Sociology, Buechler explores sociology's double critique. The book opens with chapters on how to think sociologically; an overview of the scientific, humanistic, and critical schools of sociology; and a more detailed exposition of the critical tradition. He applies this critical tradition to economics, politics, and culture; to class, race, and gender; to individualism, self, and identity; and to globalization, social movements, and democracy. The result is a sophisticated introduction to the sociological perspective that highlights the distinctiveness of the discipline and accents the role of critique in that perspective. The book is suitable for introductory and social problems classes as well as a range of substantive courses that typically comprise the undergraduate major in sociology.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Sociological Perspectives
How to Think Sociologically	p. 3
Sociology and Modernity	p. 3
Thinking Sociologically	p. 6
Sociology's Double Critique	p. 12
The Legacy of the Discipline	p. 17
Scientific Sociology	p. 17
Humanistic Sociology	p. 22
Critical Sociology	p. 26
Conclusion	p. 32
Toward a Critical Sociology	p. 35
The Frankfurt School Revisited	p. 35
Habermas's Contributions	p. 42
Conclusion	p. 50
Power and Domination
A Late Capitalist World	p. 55
Marx's Analysis of Capitalism	p. 55
From Liberal to Advanced Capitalism	p. 60
Crisis Tendencies in Advanced Capitalism	p. 61
Capitalism Unbound	p. 70
The State of the State	p. 73
Dimensions of the State	p. 74
The Power Structure Debate	p. 77
States in Decline?	p. 87
A Mass-Mediated World	p. 91
Culture 101	p. 91
Culture Meets Critical Sociology	p. 93
The Political Economy of Mass Media	p. 96
News, Propaganda, and Journalism	p. 99
An All-Consuming Culture	p. 103
A Note on Domination and Resistance	p. 106
Inequality and Difference
The Crucible of Class	p. 111
Marx's Model of Class Formation	p. 111
Class or Stratification?	p. 115
Contemporary Class Analysis	p. 118
Enriching the Story	p. 121
Further Complications	p. 125
The Social Construction of Race	p. 127
What Is Race?	p. 127
Race vs. Ethnicity	p. 130
Forms of Discrimination	p. 134
Racial Formation	p. 137
The Construction of Whiteness	p. 141
Gendered Selves and Worlds	p. 143
A Little History	p. 144
The Sex/Gender System	p. 146
Feminist Frameworks	p. 151
New Permutations	p. 155
Self and Society
The Emergence of the Individual	p. 163
From "We" to "I"	p. 164
Too Much of a Good Thing?	p. 166
A Note on Adolescence	p. 169
Individualism and Its Discontents	p. 170
Habits of the Heart	p. 174
How We Become Who We Are	p. 179
Cooley's Contributions	p. 180
Mead's Synthesis	p. 182
Symbolic Interactionism	p. 187
Identity Theory	p. 189
People as Reflexive Actors	p. 191
Conclusion	p. 193
The Sociology of Everyday Life	p. 195
Phenomenological Sociology	p. 195
The Social Construction of Reality	p. 198
The Ethnomethodological Turn	p. 200
Social Life as Drama	p. 202
The Self as Project, Commodity, and Story	p. 204
Patterns of Change
The Challenge of Globalization	p. 211
The Rise and Fall of Modernization Theory	p. 212
The Global World System	p. 215
Globalization: What's New?	p. 218
Recent World System Dynamics	p. 220
Globalization: An Assessment	p. 223
The Role of Social Movements	p. 227
Sociology and Social Movements: Siblings of Modernity	p. 227
Understanding Social Movements	p. 230
Social Movements and Progressive Politics	p. 234
A Note on Globalization and Resistance	p. 239
The Case for Democracy	p. 241
The Limits on Democracy	p. 241
Toward a Richer Democracy	p. 244
Social Movements as Incubators of Democratic Politics	p. 245
Sociology and Democracy	p. 250
References	p. 253
About the Author	p. 261
Index	p. 263
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