Sociology For Dummies

Understand how society works--and how to make it better

It's impossible to exist in the contemporary world without being aware that powerful social forces, ideas, and movements--#MeToo, climate change, and Black Lives Matter to name just a few--are having far-reaching impacts on how we think and live. But why are they happening? And what are their likely effects? The new edition of Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to step back from your personal experience and study these questions objectively, testing the observable phenomena of the human world against established theories and making usable sense of the results.

In a friendly, jargon-free style, sociologist and broadcaster Jay Gabler introduces you to sociology's history and basic methods, and--once you have your sociological lens adjusted--makes it clear how to survey the big questions of culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, politics, and crime with new eyes. You'll find everything you need to succeed in an introductory sociology class, as well as to apply sociological ideas to give you extra insight into your personal and professional life.

• Get a working knowledge of Sociology 101

• Understand how human communities work

• Engage more deeply with debates on social justice, healthcare, and more

• Interpret and use sociological methods and research

Whether you're studying sociology at school or just want to gain deeper insight into our collective life, Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to understand the mechanisms of the human world--and the knowledge to influence how they work for the better.

Auteur

Jay Gabler, PhD is a writer and editor living in Minneapolis. He has authored or coauthored several books and sociological research studies, including Reconstructing the University. He works as a digital producer at The Current (a service of Minnesota Public Radio) and holds three graduate degrees from Harvard University.

Texte du rabat

Explore how humans interact in a world of constant change Although we each live different lives, we're all dancing to the same social tune. Climate change, political protests, Black Lives Matterthese movements are shaping society today. Why are they happening? How are they changing us? How can we create the world we want? Sociology For Dummies will help you untangle these big questions and train yourself to think like a sociologist. It's a perfect study-buddy for your intro to sociology class, or you can let it be your professor if you're sociology-curious. Learn to understand the patterns in the world around you! **Inside

• Equality and diversity in the 2020s
• Why groups do what they do
• How sociologists do research
• Meet the big names in sociology
• Culture, social mores, and values
• Who's responsible for change?
• Learn how organizations work
• Better understand your life

Résumé
Understand how society worksand how to make it better

*It's impossible to exist in the contemporary world without being aware that powerful social forces, ideas, and movements#MeToo, climate change, and Black Lives Matter to name just a feware having far-reaching impacts on how we think and live. But why are they happening? And what are their likely effects? The new edition of *Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to step back from your personal experience and study these questions objectively, testing the observable phenomena of the human world against established theories and making usable sense of the results.

In a friendly, jargon-free style, sociologist and broadcaster Jay Gabler introduces you to sociology's history and basic methods, andonce you have your sociological lens adjustedmakes it clear how to survey the big questions of culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, politics, and crime with new eyes. You'll find everything you need to succeed in an introductory sociology class, as well as to apply sociological ideas to give you extra insight into your personal and professional life.

• Get a working knowledge of Sociology 101
• Understand how human communities work
• Engage more deeply with debates on social justice, healthcare, and more
• Interpret and use sociological methods and research
  Whether you're studying sociology at school or just want to gain deeper insight into our collective life, Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to understand the mechanisms of the human worldand the knowledge to influence how they work for the better.

Contenu

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 4

Icons Used In This Book 5

Beyond the Book 6

Where To Go From Here 6

Part 1: Getting the Basic Basics 7

Chapter 1: Getting Your Head around Sociology 9

Focusing Your Sociological Lens 10

Defining sociology 10

Knowing the history of sociology 10

Doing sociology 11

The Nuts and Bolts of Society 12

Understanding culture 13

Microsociology 13

Understanding Differences Among People and Groups 14

Social stratification 14

Race and ethnicity 15

Sex and gender 15

Religion 16

Crime, deviance, and social control 16

How People Get Organized (Or At Least Try To) 17

Organizations and networks 17

Social movements and political sociology 17

Urban and rural sociology 18

Changes In Your Life, Changes In Your Society 18

The life course 19

Social change 19

Sociology For Dummies, for Dummies 20

Chapter 2: Knowing Why Sociology Matters 21

Figuring Out What Sociology is 22

Defining sociology 22

Studying society scientifically 22

Asking and answering sociological questions 25

Discovering Where Sociology is Done 27

Colleges and universities 27

Think tanks and research institutes 27

Nonprofit organizations 28

Government 29

Journalism and reporting 29

Business and consulting 30

Everyday life 31

Recognizing How Sociology Affects Your Life and Your World 31

Thinking about the social world in an objective, value-free way 32

Visualizing connections across times and places 33

Uncovering what really matters and what doesn't 34

Informing social policy 35

Keeping a unique perspective for everyday problems 36

Chapter 3: Conflict and Cooperation: The History of Sociology 37

So Who Cares about History? 38

Thinking about Society before There Was Sociology 39

People are the same everywhere you go except when they aren't 39

Pre-sociologists: People with ideas about society 40

Political and industrial revolution: Ready or not, here it comes 41

The Development of Sociology 43

Figuring out life with positivism 43

Common themes of early sociologists 43

Sociology: The most ambitious science 44

Sociology's Power Trio 46

Karl Marx 47

Emile Durkheim 49

Max Weber 51

Sociology in the 20th Century 53

Sociology in America: W.E.B Du Bois and the Chicago School 53

Mass society: Are we, or are we not, sheep? 54

The Power Elite: Marx's revenge 56

Sociology Today 58

Chapter 4: Understanding the Research Methods: You Can't Put Society in a Test Tube 59

Performing Sociological Research 60

Asking your question 60

Checking the literature 62

Operationalizing your question and find your data 63

Analyzing your data 65

Step 5: Interpreting your results 65

Getting to Know the Research Methods 67

Getting quantitative data 68

Gathering qualitative data 72

Choosing hybrid methods 73

Preparing For Potential Pitfalls 75

Using inappropriate data 75

Getting overzealous 75

Overlooking relevant information 78

Misusing statistics 79

Making mistakes just plain oops! 80

Part 2: Seeing Society Like a Sociologist 83

Chapter 5: Getting Some Culture: How Socialization Works 85

Understanding What Culture is and Isn't 86 <p&gt...