Synopses & Reviews
This book employs a unique approach to introducing and examining sociological principles by posing and answering in each chapter a question such as What does it mean to be human?; Are human beings free?; and Why is there misery in the world? The book examines the philosophies of the classical sociologists such as Marx, Webber, Durkheim, Mead, and Berger and looks at how the field of sociology has approached these questions over the past 150 years.
Synopsis
What does it mean to be human? Are human beings free? Why is there misery in the world? TEN QUESTIONS: A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE examines the philosophies of the classical sociologists such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Mead, and Berger and looks at how the field of sociology has approached these questions over the past 150 years.
About the Author
Joel Charon is a successful author and emeritus professor of Sociology at Minnesota State University at Moorhead. He received his Ph.D. from University of Minnesota. He has published numerous textbooks and readers. Dr. Charon is a member of the ASA and the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.
Table of Contents
Introduction. 1. How Do Sociologists Study Society? Researching the Social World. 2. What Does It Mean to Be Human? Human Nature, Society, and Culture. 3. How is Society Possible? The Basis for Social Order. 4. Why Are People Unequal in Society? The Origin and Perpetuation of Social Inequality. 5. Are Human Beings Free? The Power of Society Over Human Thinking and Action. 6. Why Can't Everyone Be Just Like Us? Value Judgments, Ethnocentrism, and Human Differences. 7. Why Is There Misery in the World? Society as an Important Source of Human Problems. 8. Does the Individual Really Make a Difference? An Introduction to Social Change. 9. Is Organized Religion Necessary for Society? Tradition, Modernization, and Secularization. 10. Should We Generalize about People? Generalizing, Categorizing, Stereotyping, and the Importance of Social Science. 11. Why Study Sociology? Understanding, Questioning, and Caring. Glossary. Index.