Rent 9780060451608 | Contemporary Society : An Introduction to Social Science | Perry, John A.; Perry, Erna K. @knetbooks.com

Summary Table of Contents

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.

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
... MORE
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
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

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