Getting Started in Sociology

Sociology is the study of what individuals and groups do, in relation to each other. Because of that in-relation-to-each-other part, sociologists call the conduct they study interpersonal or social behavior. The other, referred to in the phrase “in relation to each other,” could be one other person in direct physical contact with you. Or, other could refer to everyone else in the world, whom you are considering in the abstract.

Table of Contents
PART I: The Basics
PART II: Socialization and Culture
1: ABIDING FAITH
2: THE MCDONALDIZATION OF SOCIETY
3: WHAT MAKES YOU WHO YOU ARE

PART III: Stratification and Social Inequality
1: WORKING AND POOR IN THE USA
2: WHO RULES AMERICA?: The Corporate Community and the Upper Class
3: CIVILIZE THEM WITH A STICK

PART IV: Work and Organizations
1: SURVEYING THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE
2: YOUR ANXIOUS WORKPLACE: Staying Calm and Clearheaded in a Crazy Environment
3: THE TIME BIND: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work

PART V: Deviance and Crime
1: THE INFLUENCE OF SITUATIONAL ETHICS ON CHEATING
2: POLICE ACCOUNTS OF NORMAL FORCE
3: DISCLAIMERS AND ACCOUNTS IN CASES OF CATHOLIC PRIESTS ACCUSED OF PEDOPHILIA

PART VI: Close Ties
1: THE LIFE CYCLE OF FRIENDSHIP
2: NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND OUR FEELINGS: Romance on the Internet
3: THIS THING CALLED LOVE
4: DYSFUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

PART VII: Social Problems and Solutions
1: SUSTAINABILITY AMID GLOBALIZATION
2: HUMAN TRAFFICKING
3: FOOD AND AGRICULTURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Rethinking Our Paradigms
4: JUST YOUR AVERAGE SEX OFFENDER

Glossary

Subject and Name Index