Sociology in Action : Cases for Critical and Sociological Thinking

by David S. Hachen, Jr.

• ISBN13: 9780761986638
• ISBN10: 0761986634
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-12-29
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

Sociology in Action is a highly practical introduction to interpreting and analyzing situations sociologically, which uses case studies to promote active learning of key thinking skills.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xiii
Preface	xvii
Acknowledgments	xxii
PART I: Doing Sociology
Seeing Society	3	(36)
Decision Case: ``Separate but Safer''	3	(6)
A director of a social service agency that helps juvenile delinquents challenges a local school board's policy of separate lunchrooms and recess areas for boys and girls.
Actors and Issues	9	(2)
The Sociological ``Eye''	11	(1)
Social Relationships	12	(6)
Groups	18	(8)
Networks	26	(7)
Organizations	33	(6)
SOCIOLOGICAL EYE ANALYSIS GUIDE	39	(49)
Decision Case: ``Why Can't Things Stay as They Are?''	44	(9)
The principal of an elementary school encounters resistance from teachers to school reforms designed to involve students actively in learning and prepare them to be critical thinkers.
Using Theory	53	(35)
Decision Case: ``The Towering Dilemma''	53	(8)
A park superintendent has to decide how to resolve conflicts between rock climbers, Native Americans, and naturalists over the use of Devils Tower.
Review: Social Connections	61	(2)
Sociological Theory	63	(3)
Social Connections as Bonds	66	(5)
Social Connections as Integrators	71	(4)
Social Connections as Conflictive Tugs-of-War	75	(4)
Social Connections as Exchanges Among Rational Actors	79	(4)
Social Connections as Webs of Interaction	83	(5)
SOCIOLOGICAL EYE ANALYSIS GUIDE	88	(41)
Decision Case: ``Changing a Hospital's Culture''	92	(9)
The executive director of a large hospital implements a controversial guest relations program as part of his plan to solve the hospital's financial problems.
Decoding Culture	101	(28)
Decision Case: ``Perfection or Bust!''	101	(4)
The Founder and owner of a successful commercial art studio wonders why his business did not turn out exactly the way he intended.
Review: Sociological Theories	105	(2)
Culture	107	(10)
Theories of Culture	117	(2)
Culture as a Social Glue	119	(1)
Culture as an Umbrella	120	(2)
Culture as a Mask	122	(2)
Culture as a Current	124	(2)
Culture as a Tool Kit	126	(3)
SOCIOLOGICAL EYE ANALYSIS GUIDE	129	(52)
Decision Case: ``Linda Gorman''	133	(6)
A public health nurse debates what to do after learning that the mother of her Laotian patient has used a traditional cure that could be considered child abuse.
Uncovering Inequalities and Power	139	(42)
Decision Case: ``The MPA Program at Southeastern State University: The Price of Admission''	139	(6)
The decision by the director of a master's of public administration program not to admit a mediocre student whose father is a wealthy alumnus is questioned by a higher-level university administrator.
Review: Social Connections and Interests	145	(3)
Power and Social Inequalities	148	(1)
Social Class	149	(4)
Race and Ethnicity	153	(6)
Sex and Gender	159	(7)
Theories of Inequality	166	(15)
SOCIOLOGICAL EYE ANALYSIS GUIDE	181	(52)
Decision Case: ``Robert Lopez''	189	(6)
A teaching assistant for minority scholarship students confronts two students who exhibit racist behaviors in class.
Imagining Futures	195	(38)
Decision Case: ``Where Have All the Salmon Gone?''	195	(4)
A father tells his son that the family has to quit commercial fishing because of declining salmon populations.
Review: Social Connections and Change	199	(2)
Constructing Scenarios	201	(3)
Demographic Forces	204	(10)
Technological Forces	214	(11)
Collective Actions and Social Movements	225	(8)
SOCIOLOGICAL EYE ANALYSIS GUIDE	233	(72)
Decision Case: ``Deaf President Now!''	239	(6)
Students at a liberal arts college for deaf students challenge the board of trustees' decision to appoint a hearing woman as the university's next president.
PART II: Decision Cases
The Worth of a Sparrow	245	(12)
The chairperson of a plant pathology department wonders how he will resolve a conflict with animal rights activists over the university's killing of birds in order to protect its experimental grain fields.
Conflict at Riverside	257	(4)
A senior manager at an engineering company debates with his brother-in-law, a trade union activist at the same company, about a proposed major redesign of the Riverside plant.
Tossin' and Turnin'	261	(6)
A counselor at a day camp for special needs children contemplates what to do when one of her campers indicates that there are problems at home.
Lucy Allman	267	(6)
A family nurse practitioner considers how to deal with a poor family whose daughter has an ear infection and is anemic.
In the Eye of the Beholder: The Case of the Minnetonka Lawn Ordinance	273	(6)
A city council member has to decide how to vote on a new lawn ordinance after a resident with a natural wildlife yard challenges the city's original ordinance.
Off to College	279	(6)
Four high school friends go off to college together and find themselves debating whether they should go to a bar.
What's So Scary About the Truth?	285	(8)
A high school journalism teacher is forced to decide whether to allow publication in a student magazine of an article reporting the results of a student survey on sexual activity among high school students.
People Like You	293	(6)
A single-parent dad on welfare moves in with his older sister and tries to find work. But financial problems in his sister's family, combined with changes in welfare policy, create new problems for him.
Lisa's Hidden Identity	299	(6)
A first-year college student who is a lesbian does not know what to do after she goes out on a date and discovers that continuing the relationship could put her in jeopardy.
Glossary	305	(10)
References	315	(6)
Index	321