Global Sociology : Introducing Five Contemporary Societies

by Schneider, Linda; Silverman, Arnold

• ISBN13: 9780070570184
• ISBN10: 0070570183
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-08-01
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill College

Summary

An effective supplement to any standard sociology text, this broad and comprehensive sociological description of five diverse contemporary societies with wide geographic distribution Japan, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, and the Bushmen of Namibia is organized around basic sociological topics: culture, social structure, and group life, socialization, deviance, social institutions, social stratification, and social change. Fictional vignettes of individuals in each country help students experience first-person viewpoints on life in five very different societies. By comparing other societies with their own, students read about the range of social variation, learn what makes their own society distinctive, and gain a unique and fascinating vantage point on what sociology offers in a world of rapid social change.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	xix
Introduction: To The Student	xxi
Preface: To The Instructor	xxv
Japan: A Conforming Culture	2	(56)
Introduction	3	(1)
A Sense of ``Peoplehood''	3	(1)
``An Island Nation''	4	(1)
Japan's History	4	(3)
Contact with China	5	(1)
The Tokugawa Era	5	(1)
The Meiji Restoration	5	(1)
The Occupation Reforms	6	(1)
Japanese Culture	7	(8)
Cultural Integration	7	(2)
The Value of Harmony	9	(1)
The Value of Fitting	10	(2)
In Maintaining Relationships
The Value of Perseverance	12	(1)
Japanese Norms	12	(2)
Situational Norms/Reciprocal Norms
Religion and Japanese Culture	14	(1)
Social Structure and Group Life	15	(9)
Group Life in Modern Japan	16	(5)
Group Life in School/The Work Group
Status and Role in Japanese Groups	21	(3)
Language and Status/Unequal Dependencies
Socialization	24	(4)
Socialization through Instruction	24	(1)
Socialization through Practice	25	(1)
Ceremonies Support Socialization	25	(1)
Role Models Aid Socialization	25	(1)
Framing Opportunities for Socialization	26	(2)
Framing Interaction in School/Framing Interaction in the Office
Deviance in a Demanding Society	28	(6)
Low Levels of Deviance	29	(1)
The Yakuza
Public and Private Deviance	30	(1)
Japanese-Style Deviance: Making a Scene	30	(1)
Deviance and Stigma	31	(1)
Effective Social Controls	32	(2)
Surveillance
Social Inequality in Japan: Class, Status, and Power	34	(16)
A History of Change	34	(1)
Meiji Inequality/Postwar Equality
Class Inequality in Japan Today	35	(2)
Social Mobility and Class Inequality	37	(1)
Competition for Success
Class Inequality Increases	38	(1)
Class Polarization
Status Inequality in Japan: Minority Groups	39	(2)
The Ainu/Ethnic Japanese/The Burakumin
Status Inequality Based on Gender	41	(5)
Women in Japanese History/Women's Status Today/Gender Segregation/Women and Work/Changes in the Status of Women
Inequalities of Power in Japan Today	46	(4)
Government and Business: Western Structures, Japanese Spirit/The Bureaucracy/Business/The Elected Government/A Political Revolution? (Or Maybe Business as Usual)
Social Change And The Future	50	(8)
The Growth Consensus	50	(1)
Individualism	51	(1)
Consumerism	52	(1)
Citizenship	52	(1)
Predicting Change	53	(1)
Thinking Sociologically	53	(1)
For Further Reading	54	(1)
Bibliography	54	(4)
Mexico: Social Groups in a Diverse Society	58	(50)
Introduction	59	(1)
Understanding Mexico: The Conflict Perspective	60	(1)
Mexican History	60	(5)
The Pre-Columbian Period (c. 300 B. C.--A. D. 1519)	60	(2)
The Aztecs/The Conquest
The Colonial Period (1519--1810)	62	(1)
A Genocidal Beginning/The Hacienda System
The Modern Period (1810--Present)	63	(2)
Order and Revolution/Revolutionary Change/The Age of NAFTA
Mexican Culture	65	(9)
Catholicism in Mexican Culture	65	(4)
Popular Religion/Religion and Politics
Dualities in Mexican Culture	69	(1)
Negotiating the Public Realm/Respect and Dignity/Norms of Public Formality
Gender Dualities	70	(3)
Individualism and Familism	73	(1)
Cynicism and Fatalism	73	(1)
Social Structure and Group Life	74	(3)
Social Networks in Mexican Society	74	(2)
Compadrezgo and Personal Networks/Patronage/Reciprocity Networks
Social Groups in Mexican Society: The Household	76	(1)
Social Institutions	77	(8)
Mexican Social Institutions: The Family	77	(3)
Family Structure/Roles in the Mexican Family/Built-in Strengths and Built-in Problems
Mexican Political Institutions: The ``Official'' Party	80	(5)
Before the PRI/The PRI and Order/A Successful Institution/What Price Stability?
Social Inequality	85	(10)
Class Inequality in Mexican Society	85	(8)
Income Distribution/Social Classes and Standards of Living/The Upper-Class Way of Life/The Middle-Class Way of Life/The Lower-Class Way of Life/The Way of Life of the Rural Poor
Racial Inequality in Mexican Society	93	(2)
Race and Class in Colonial Mexico/The Revolution and Mexican Identity/Race in Mexico Today
Social Change and Mexico's Future	95	(13)
Protectionism and the Crisis of the 1980s	95	(1)
The Oil Boom and Bust
Alternative Parties and Faked Elections	96	(1)
The New ``Free-Market'' Mexico
Maquiladoras/Privatization/Free-Market Agriculture	97	(2)
The Crisis of the 1990s
Population Growth and Living Standards	99	(1)
The Political Crisis	100	(1)
PRI Strategy
Political Reform/The Economic Crisis/The Future	101	(2)
Thinking Sociologically	103	(1)
For Further Reading	103	(1)
Bibliography	104	(4)
The ¡Kung: Bushmen of Southern Africa	108	(44)
Introduction	109	(4)
The ¡Kung Bushmen's Environment	109	(1)
Who Are the ¡Kung Bushmen?	110	(1)
Why Study the ¡Kung Bushmen?	111	(2)
The Evolution of Human Societies/The Importance of Hunter-Getherers/Hunter-Gatherers and Human Nature/Living with Nature
History of the Bushmen	113	(2)
Settlers and the Bushmen	113	(1)
The Fate of Hunter-Gatherers	114	(1)
Anthropologists and the ¡Kung Bushmen	114	(1)
¡Kung Culture: A Design for Living	115	(10)
Foraging: A Successful Cultural Adaptation	116	(4)
Knowledge/Nomadism/Population Control/The Value of Sharing
An Integrated Culture	120	(1)
How Hard Is the Foraging Life?	120	(5)
Work and Affluence/Leisure
Social Structure and Group Life	125	(7)
The Family: Putting Flexibility First	125	(1)
Creating Nuclear Families
The Band: Linking Families	126	(1)
Kinship: Elaborating Connections	127	(2)
The K'ausi and the N'ore/Generations and the Joking Relationship/Fictive Kin: Making Kinship Really Complicated
Roles: Focusing on Gender	129	(3)
Is There a ``Breadwinner'' Role?/Women's Work/Men's Work
Social Inequality	132	(1)
Gender Inequality	132	(1)
Gender and Personality/Gender Segregation/The ``Masters of Meat''
Deviance and Social Control	133	(4)
Deviance and Social Interaction	134	(3)
Social Exchange and Cooperation/Competition/Conflict
Socialization	137	(7)
Childhood Socialization	138	(2)
Children Socialize Each Other/Adults Socialize Children
Rites of Passage to Adulthood	140	(2)
The First Buck Ceremony/Choma/Marriage/First Menstruation
New Roles in Maturity	142	(2)
Polygyny/The Roles of the Old
Social Change and the Future	144	(8)
The Forces of Change	144	(3)
Pushes and Pulls/Government Intervention
Consequences of the Settled Life	147	(3)
Possessions and Social Change/Growing
Inequality/Change and the Environment/Adaptation and Anomie
Thinking Sociologically	150	(1)
For Further Reading	150	(1)
Bibliography	150	(2)
Egypt: Faith, Gender, and Class	152	(58)
Introduction	153	(2)
Egypt's History	155	(5)
The Pharaonic Period	155	(1)
Greek and Roman Empires	155	(1)
The Roman Conquest and Christianity
The Arab/Islamic Conquest	156	(1)
European Colonialism	157	(1)
An Independent Egypt	158	(2)
Politics in Independent Egypt/Egypt Today
Egyptian Culture	160	(15)
Islamic Beliefs, Norms, and Values	161	(5)
Declaring Belief/Prayer and the Social Construction of Time/Ramadan and the Value of Community/Charity and the Value of Equality/Pilgrimage: A Culmination of Faith
The Value of Community in Egyptian Culture	166	(1)
Personal Ties
The Value of Generosity in Egyptian Culture	167	(1)
The Value of Honor	167	(8)
Honor and Women's Roles/Honor and Men's Roles/Honor and Role Conflict
Social Structure and Group Life	175	(8)
Social Structure in the Countryside	175	(5)
The Extended Family/The Clan/Marriage/The Patriarchal Family/Village Women and Group Life
Social Structure in the City	180	(3)
The Family in Poor Neighborhoods/Urban Reciprocity Networks and Social Groups/Urban Male and Female Roles
Social Inequality in Egypt	183	(13)
Class Inequality	184	(10)
Economic Resources and Social Class/Social Classes in Rural Egypt/Social Classes in Urban Egypt/Social Mobility in Egypt
Racial Inequality in Egypt	194	(1)
Religious Inequality	195	(1)
The Life of a Religious Minority/Increasing Discrimination
Social Change and the Future	196	(14)
Economic Stagnation and Social Problems	196	(2)
Economic Development and Government Policy
Population Problems	198	(4)
The Demographic Transition/Urbanization and Population Growth/Population Policy/The Food Gap and Inequality
Environmental Damage: The Unintended Consequences of Economic Growth	202	(1)
Industrial Pollution	203	(2)
The Islamic Alternative
Thinking Sociologically	205	(1)
For Further Reading	205	(1)
Bibliography	206	(4)
Germany: Social Institutions and Social Change in a Modern Western Society	210	(57)
Introduction	211	(2)
Social Change Today: Reunification	212	(1)
German History: Central Themes	213	(3)
Centralized Power versus Local Power	214	(1)
Authoritarianism versus Democracy	214	(2)
Welfare Capitalism versus Socialism	216	(1)
German Culture: Continuity and Change	216	(10)
Order	217	(1)
Obedience	217	(2)
The Authoritarian Personality/Questioning Authority
Seriousness	219	(3)
Taking Responsibility/Working Carefully/The Protestant Ethic
Divergent Values in East and West	222	(4)
West German Consumerism/East German Socialism
Social Institutions of the Two Germanys	226	(23)
Bureaucracy	226	(1)
The Capitalist Economy in West Germany	227	(2)
Private Ownership/The Profit Motive and Competition/Market Forces
German-Style Capitalism	229	(2)
Government Regulation/Oligopoly Labor-Management Cooperation
The Socialist Economy in East Germany	231	(2)
Collective Ownership/A Planned Economy/Cooperation, Not Profit Seeking
German-Style Socialism	233	(2)
Productivity/Collective Ownership/Planning and Bureaucracy
Economic Inequality in East and West	235	(2)
Inequality and Ethnic Minorities in West Germany
Representative Democracy in West Germany	237	(2)
A Federation of States/Parliamentary Government/Political Parties/Constitutional Rights
Authoritarian Government in East Germany	239	(4)
A Sham Democracy/The One-Party State/Democratic Centralism/A Police State
The Welfare State	243	(2)
The West German Welfare State/The East German Welfare State
Educational Institutions	245	(4)
West German Education/East German Education
Deviance and Social Control	249	(8)
Totalitarian Social Controls	249	(5)
Collectivism, Centralization, and Social Sanctions/The Effectiveness of Social Controls/The Church and Dissent
Deviance and Social Control in the Federal Republic	254	(3)
Social Groups in an Individualistic Society/Responses to Deviance
Social Change and the Future	257	(10)
Collective Behavior and Social Movements	258	(1)
Institutional Change	259	(8)
Reorganizing the Economy/Adopting Western Political Institutions/Sending Women Back to the Home/Anomie in the Former East Germany/Birth Rates and Death Rates/The Future: Building New ``Walls''?/Looking toward the Future
Thinking Sociologically	267	(1)
For Further Reading	267	(1)
Bibliography	267