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• Contents at a Glance
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• About This Book
• Conventions Used in This Book
• Sociology is Controversial: Brace Yourself!
• How This Book Is Organised
• Icons Used In This Book
• Where To Go From Here
• Part 1: The Basic Basics
• Chapter 1: Sociology: Getting Your Head around It
• Understanding Sociology
• Seeing the World as a Sociologist
• Understanding Differences Among People and Groups
• Social Organisation
• Sociology and Your Life
• Sociology For Dummies, for Dummies
• Chapter 2: What Is Sociology, and Why Should I Care?
• Figuring Out What Sociology Is
• Discovering Where Sociology Is ‘Done’
• Recognising How Sociology Affects Your Life and Your World
• Chapter 3: Making It Up As They Went Along: The History of Sociology
• So . . . Who Cares about History?
• Thinking about Society before There Was Sociology
• The Development of ‘Sociology’
• Sociology’s Power Trio
• Sociology in the 20th Century
• Sociology Today
• Chapter 4: Research Methods: Because You Can’t Put Society in a Test Tube
• The Steps of Sociological Research
• Choosing a Method
• Analyzing Analytical Tools
• Preparing For Potential Pitfalls
• Part 2: Seeing Society Like a Sociologist
• Chapter 5: Socialisation: What is ‘Culture,’ and Where Can I Get Some?
• Understanding What Culture Is – and Isn’t
• Studying Culture: Makin’ It and Takin’ It
• Paddling the ‘Mainstream’
• Socialisation: Where You Connect in Culture
• Culture Paradox: Pulling Us Together and Pushing Us Apart
• Chapter 6: Microsociology: If Life Is a Game, What Are the Rules?
• Within You and Without You: The Paradox of Society
• Rational – and Irrational – Choices
• Symbolic Interactionism: Life is a Stage
• Part 3: Equality and Inequality in Our Diverse World
• Chapter 7: Caught in the Web: The Power of Networks
• The Global Village: Seeing Society as a Network
• The Strength of Weak Ties
• Insights from Network Analysis
• Chapter 8: Social Stratification: We’re All Equal, But Some of Us Are More Equal Than Others
• Excavating the Social Strata
• The Many Means of Inequality
• Comparing inequality internationally
• Chapter 9: Gender and Ethnicity: I Know My Race, But Where’s the Finish Line?
• Bias and Discrimination: A Two-Sided Coin
• Race and Ethnicity
• Sex and Gender
• Race, Ethnicity, Sex, and Gender: Why They Still Matter
• Chapter 10: Ways of Belonging: Citizenship and National Identities
• Stating the Obvious: The Emergence of the State
• ‘What is a Nation?’
• When Nationalism Turns Ugly
• Addressing Concepts of Citizenship
• Multicultural Citizenship
• Chapter 11: Getting Religion: Faith in the Modern World
• Understanding Religion in History
• Religion in Theory . . . and in Practice
• Faith and Freedom in the World Today
• Chapter 12: Crime and Deviance: I Fought the Law . . . and I Won!
• All Crime is Deviance, but Not All Deviance is a Crime
• Criminals in Society
• The Social Construction of Crime
• Becoming Deviant
• Fighting Crime
• Part 4: All Together Now: The Ins and Outs of Social Organisation
• Chapter 13: Corporate Culture: The Study of Organisations (and Disorganisations)
• The Corporate Conundrum: Making a Profit Isn’t as Easy – or as Simple – as it Sounds
• Weber’s Big Idea About Organisations
• Rational Systems: Bureaucracy at its Purest
• Natural Systems: We’re Only Human
• Open Systems: The Whole Wide World of Work
• Chapter 14: The Rules of the Game: Social Movements and Political Sociology
• State and Government: Governing and Being Governed
• Sharing (or Not Sharing) Power in Society
• Social Movements: Working for Change
• Chapter 15: Urban Sociology and Demographics: (Ain’t No) Love in the Heart of the City
• Sociology in the City
• Changing Neighbourhoods
• Life in the City: Perils and Promise
• Part 5: Sociology and Your Life
• Chapter 16: The Family and the Life Course
• The Social Construction of Age
• Running the Course of Life
• Taking Care: Health Care and Society
• Families Past and Present
• Chapter 17: Future Passed: Understanding Social Change
• Why Societies Change
• What Comes Next?
• Sociology in the Future
• Part 6: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 18: Ten Sociology Books That Don’t Feel Like Homework
• Randall Collins: Sociological Insight
• William Foote Whyte: Street Corner Society
• Laud Humphreys: Tea Room Trade
• Erving Goffman: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
• Stan Cohen: Folk Devils and Moral Panics
• Arlie Hochschild: The Second Shift
• Viviana Zelizer: Pricing the Priceless Child
• Michael Schwalbe: Unlocking the Iron Cage
• Tariq Modood: Not Easy Being British
• Katherine Newman: No Shame in My Game
• Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Use Sociological Insight in Everyday Life
• Think Critically About Claims That ‘ Research Proves’ One Thing or Another
• Beware of Unprovable Assertions About Society
• Understand Barriers to Effective Communication
• Know the Difference Between the Identity You Choose and the Identities Others Choose For You
• Understanding Art: If It Seems Confusing, That’s Exactly the Point
• Be Clever About Relationship-Building
• Changing Society: Be Optimistic, But Keep Your Expectations Reasonable
• Learn How to Mobilise a Social Movement
• Run Your Company Effectively
• Understand How We Can All Be Different, Yet All Be the Same
• Chapter 20: Ten Myths About Society Busted by Sociology
• With Hard Work and Determination, Anyone Can Get What They Deserve
• Our Actions Reflect Our Values
• We’re Being Brainwashed by the Media
• Understanding Society is Just a Matter of ‘Common Sense’
• Race Doesn’t Matter Any More
• In Time, Immigrant Families Will Assimilate and Adopt a New Culture
• Bureaucracy is Dehumanizing
• People Who Make Bad Choices Are Just Getting the Wrong Messages
• Society Stops Us Being Our ‘True Selves’
• A Perfect Society Can Exist
• Index