Sociological Wisdom is based on applying the basic principles of sociology to the world around us. Sociologists study patterns of behavior in order to draw general conclusions about a social issue that transcend the effect of the problem or issue on any particular individual. This is not to say that sociologists are unconcerned about individuals and their lives, but sociology’s emphasis is on the way individuals relate to others, people’s positions in society, and the interdependence between society and individuals. This text teaches students that it is more important than ever to study human behavior, social groups, and society utilizing critical thinking skills and careful analysis associated with sociological wisdom.

Learning More About It Exercises SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: THE ECONOMY Essay 20 Welfare Is Ruining This Country A frequently expressed opinion when talk turns to welfare reform is that too many people are on the dole and too many recipients have other options. In this essay, we review some of the least understood dimensions of welfare and explore exactly where welfare moneys are going. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 21 Immigrants Are Ruining This Nation?Why don?t you go back where you came from?? This angry cry seems to be getting more and more familiar as the United States faces the highest levels of immigration in its history. Is immigration ruining this nation? This essay reviews the historical impact and future trends of immigration in the United States. Learning More About It Exercises SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY Essay 22 Technology Is Taking Over Our Lives This essay examines new communication technologies and explores their role in contemporary social life. We begin by considering the ways in which technology has changed the development of community and intimacy. We explore as well the impact of new technologies on our definitions of social relations, social actors, and the public and private spheres. Learning More About It Exercises SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: EDUCATION Essay 23 Education Is the Great Equalizer Conventional wisdom tells us that educating the masses will bring equal opportunities to people of all races, ethnicities, and genders. In this essay, we explore the truth of this claim and review the progress we have made in bringing a quality education to all. Learning More About It Exercises SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: RELIGION Essay 24: We Are One Nation Under God God bless America ... it?s an invocation frequently heard across the U.S. Yet, in light of our country?s long standing commitment to the separation of church and state, God bless America is also a prayer that can make some uncomfortable. Are we united or divided with regard to the place of God in our nation? This essay explores the issue. Learning More About It Exercises Conclusion: Why Do Conventional Wisdoms Persist? The Positive Functions of Conventional Wisdom Conventional Wisdom as Knowledge In Closing Learning More About It References Glossary / Index.

Co-authored by Karen A. Cerulo, the Eastern Sociological Society’s Robin L. Williams Lecturer for 2013-2014 Do birds of a feather flock together or do opposites attract? Is honesty the best policy? Are children our most precious commodity? Is education the great equalizer? Adages like these shape our social life. This Sixth Edition of Second Thoughts reviews several popular beliefs and notes how these conventional wisdoms cannot be taken at face value, but instead require careful second thoughts. This unique text encourages students to step back and sharpen their analytic focus with 25 essays that use social research to expose the gray areas of commonly held beliefs, revealing the complexity of social reality and sharpening students’ sociological vision.

This book reinvigorates the use of wisdom in management and work practice, promoting it as an important research topic and demonstrating how it can be applied across a number of important management areas such as knowledge innovation and strategy.

This latest edition to the ISA handbook series actively engages with the many traditions of sociology in the world. Twenty-nine chapters from prominent international contributors discuss, challenge and re-conceptualize the global discipline of sociology; evaluating the diversities within and between sociological traditions of many regions and nation-states. They assess all aspects of the discipline: ideas and theories; scholars and scholarship; practices and traditions; ruptures and continuities through an international perspective. Its goal is to become a text for debating the contours of international sociology.

Steven Threadgold’s study represents the first comprehensive engagement of Pierre Bourdieu’s influential sociology with affect theory. With empirical research and examples from sociology, it develops a theory of “Affective Affinities,” deepening our understanding of how everyday moments contribute to the construction and remaking of social class and aspects of inequalities. It identifies new ways to consider the strengths and weaknesses of Bourdieusian principles and their interaction with new developments in social theory. This is a stimulating read for students, researchers and academics across studies in youth, education, labour markets, pop culture, media, consumption and taste.

South Africa’s recent higher education protests around fees and decolonizing institutions have shone a spotlight on important issues and inspired global discussion. The educational space was the most affected by clashes between languages and ideas, the prioritizing of English and Afrikaans over indigenous African languages, and the prioritizing of Western medicine, literature, arts, culture, and science over African ones. Ethical Research Approaches to Indigenous Knowledge Education is a cutting-edge scholarly resource that examines forthcoming methodologies and strategies on educational reform and the updating of curricula to accurately reflect cultural shifts. The book examines the bias and problems that bias creates in educational systems around the world that have been dominated by Western forms of knowledge and scientific processes. Featuring a range of topics such as andragogy, indigenous knowledge, and marginalized students, this book is ideal for education professionals, practitioners, curriculum designers, academicians, researchers, administrators, and students.

In this, the twentieth volume in the Transaction series honoring distinguished social scientists of the twentieth century, the life and work of the eminent Swedish sociologist, Hans L. Zetterberg is featured. He has had a long and distinguished career in a number of fields including, sociology, publishing, private business and public policy. For many years he was head of the Swedish Institute for Opinion Research, SIFO, and more recently he has been active in the creation of Sweden's only private university, the City University of Stockholm.In this volume the focus is on Zetterberg's activities as a sociologist, and the reader gets an opportunity to become acquainted with the work of one of Sweden's most prominent sociologists. The contributions cover a period of several decades and include several of Zetterberg's classical articles as well as anexcerpt from his most famous book, On Theory and Verification in Sociology. Many recent articles can also be found in the volume, and these well testify to the relevance of Hans Zetterberg's work to contemporary issues.This book is an outstanding sampling of Zetterberg. It is must reading for aspiring sociologists. He provides tools for analyzing distinct national cultures. Zetterberg has shown how one person by combining the roles of scholar, pollster, editor and businessman can integrate insights from each to help us understand modernity.

William Edward Burghardt DuBois was the most influential black American leader of the first half of the twentieth century. His work paved the way for the civil rights, Pan-African and Black Power movements and inspired generations of leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A brilliant writer and speaker, he was the outstanding black American intellectual of his time and co-founder of the NAACP. Drawing upon his many written works and speeches, this volume collects together some of his most thought-provoking and important ideas.

Zygmunt Bauman is one of the most inspirational and controversial thinkers on the scene of contemporary sociology. For several decades he has provided compelling analyses and diagnoses of a vast variety of aspects of modern and liquid modern living. This book considers the theoretical significance of his contribution to sociology, but also discusses and adopts a critical stance towards his work. The Sociology of Zygmunt Bauman introduces and critically appraises some of the most significant as well as some of the lesser known of Bauman's contributions to contemporary sociology. An international team of scholars delineates and discusses how Bauman's treatment of these themes challenges conventional wisdom in sociology, thereby revising and revitalizing sociological theory. As a special feature, the book concludes with Bauman's intriguing reflections and contemplations on his own life and intellectual trajectory, published here for the first time in English. In this postscript aptly entitled 'Pro Domo Sua' ('About Myself'), he describes the pushes and pulls that throughout the years have shaped his thinking.