Social Blueprints: Conceptual Foundations of Sociology

Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 12
Acknowledgments......Page 16
Introduction......Page 20
The Sociological Imagination: C. Wright Mills......Page 24
Individual Problems Versus Social Problems......Page 26
The Sociology of Celebrities: Individuals in Social Context......Page 30
The American Preoccupation with Individualism in Cultural, Political, and Economic Life......Page 35
Individuals as Webs of Group Affiliation......Page 41
Social Identities: Repertoire Selection, Multiple Consciousness, and Ambiguity......Page 44
The Contested Terrain of Sociological Knowledge......Page 49
Some Cautionary Notes About Sociology Versus Psychology......Page 50
The Reality of the Social: Social Facts......Page 51
The Gulf Between Fact and Value Statements......Page 53
Muddying the Waters: The Politics of Social Knowledge......Page 57
Conclusion......Page 60
Suggestions for Further Study......Page 62
The Nature and Relevance of Social Theories......Page 64
Theories as Paradigms......Page 65
Theoretical Reasoning: Induction and Deduction......Page 66
Four Broad Types of Social Theory......Page 67
Rational Choice Theories: Individuals Pursuing Interests......Page 69
Where Do Desires Come From?......Page 72
The Free-Rider Problem: Are Rational People Honest?......Page 75
Do People Choose to Be Unequal?......Page 77
Functional Theories: Harmony and Necessary Differences in Social Organization......Page 78
Basic Functionalist Imagery......Page 79
Symbolic Interactionist and Social Constructionist Theories: Interaction, Meaning, and Everyday Life......Page 83
Mind, Self, and Society......Page 85
Modern Symbolic Interactionism......Page 86
Symbolic Interactionism/Constructionism: Are the Trees Hiding the Forest?......Page 93
Conflict Theories: Too Much Pessimism, or Sober Realism?......Page 94
The Interplay of Conflict Theory with Other Perspectives......Page 96
Karl Marx’ Enduring Legacy......Page 98
Max Weber’s Multidimensional Conflict Theory......Page 103
Conclusion......Page 113
Suggestions for Further Study......Page 114
Introduction......Page 116
Distinguishing Social Structure, Culture, and Social Interaction......Page 117
Social Structural Determinism, Cultural Autonomy, and Human Agency......Page 120
Beyond Good and Evil: Religion as an Emblem of Society......Page 122
Beyond Cold Hard Cash: The Sociology of Money......Page 127
Understanding Culture and Social Power......Page 131
Cashing in on Culture: The Flow of Cultural, Social, and Economic Capital......Page 133
Roads Between High Culture and Popular Culture......Page 136
Interpreting Pink Flamingos: Everyday Expressions of Social Positions......Page 138
“Lions and Tigers and Bears—Oh My!” The Cultural and Political Construction of Social Problems......Page 141
Cultural Production, Distribution, and Interpretation......Page 146
A Basic Model of Cultural Production Processes......Page 148
Making Chili Peppers: Organizational Processes in the Rise of a Band......Page 151
Pets or Meat? The Interpretation of Cultural Products......Page 156
Conclusion......Page 159
Suggestions for Further Study......Page 160
The Sociological Perspective on Power......Page 162
The Power Prism and Its Refractions: An Analytical Tool......Page 163
Social Power and Social Movements......Page 166
Reading Power into Political Protests......Page 171
Power, States, and Legitimacy......Page 178
Spreading Social Power in Authoritarian Regimes......Page 179
Theaters of War: The Social Construction of State Legitimacy......Page 182
Power in Organizations......Page 190
Power and Control in Workplaces......Page 192
Bureaucratic Organizations and Abstract Social Power......Page 202
The Symbolic Architecture of Organizational Power......Page 204
Suggestions for Further Study......Page 211
Introduction......Page 213
Globalization: How Global, How New?......Page 214
Economic and Political Globalization......Page 216
The Ideological and Policy Basis of the New World Order: Neoliberalism and Its Critics......Page 218
The Global Power of Transnational Corporations......Page 223
International Governmental and Nongovernmental Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization, and the G-8......Page 228
Bittersweet Chocolate: Child Slave Labor in West Africa......Page 232
So Long Nation, Hello Corporation?......Page 233
International Social Movements......Page 235
Mexico: Poverty and Protest in a “Model” Free Trade Nation......Page 238
Cultural Globalization......Page 242
Limiting Factors Concerning Cultural Globalization......Page 243
Global Consumerism: You Gotta Shop Around, Even If It’s All the Same......Page 247
Global Tourism: Cultural Freedom, Structural Constraints, and Exploitation......Page 252
Conclusion......Page 257
Suggestions for Further Study......Page 261
References......Page 262
B......Page 270
C......Page 271
E......Page 273
F......Page 274
H......Page 275
I......Page 276
L......Page 277
M......Page 278
P......Page 279
Q......Page 280
S......Page 281
T......Page 284
W......Page 285
Z......Page 286