Synopses & Reviews
"I suspect that beginning students assigned to read sociology feel much like the theatergoer who stumbles into a foreign film without subtitles. [So] I tried to keep the needs of the introductory student in mind. I tried to bridge the gap between the sociologists who wrote these articles and the students who will read them. My goal is to replace boredom with intellectual challenge, to make sociology not 'easy,' but accessible."
--Lisa McIntyreUsing a conceptual framework, The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology includes classic sociological research writings as well as recent pieces on fascinating topics of interest to students. It is the ideal companion to McIntyres text, The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology or other sociology texts. Readings in this edition challenge students to re-evaluate familiar social arenas: the college classroom, televised sports shows, restaurants, doctors offices and even public restrooms. The essential lesson of the readings is this: There is much that goes on in the social world that escapes the sociologically untrained eye.
"I would certainly adopt this reader again. It is a wonderful, enriching complement to McIntyres textbook and introduces students to the richness and depth that characterizes the sociological literature." -- Susan Humpers-Ginther, Minnesota State University, Moorhead
Synopsis
The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology includes classic sociological research writings as well as recent pieces on fascinating topics of interest to students. It is the ideal companion to McIntyres text, The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology or other sociology texts. Readings in this edition challenge students to re-evaluate familiar social arenas: the college classroom, televised sports shows, restaurants, doctors offices and even public restrooms. The readings focus around the essential message that there is much that goes on in the social world that escapes the sociologically untrained eye.
About the Author
Lisa J. McIntyre is associate professor in sociology at Washington State University. She received the PhD in sociology from The University of Chicago. She is the author of three books including The Public Defender: The Practice of Law in the Shadows of Repute; Law in the Sociological Enterprise and The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology and the editor of The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology. With Marvin Sussman, McIntyre edited Families and Law. An enthusiastic teacher and popular lecturer, McIntyre is a winner of Washington State Universitys William F. Mullen Teaching Medal and numerous departmental teaching awards. Her central research focus is on how law and social behavior interact.
Table of Contents
PART I. THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION 1. C. Wright Mills, The Promise2. Stephanie Coontz, How History and Sociology Can Help Todays Families 3. Lisa J. McIntyre, Hernando WashingtonPART II. THE RESEARCH CRAFT4. Simon Davis, Men as Success Objects and Women as Sex Objects: A Study of Personal Advertisements*5. A. Karp and William C. Yoels, Student Participation in the College Classroom6. Lisa J. McIntyre, Doing the Right Thing: Ethics in Social Research7. Philip Meyer, If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would You? ProbablyPART III. CULTURE8. Clyde Kluckhohn, Queer Customs9. Horace Miner, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema10. Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel, The Young, the Rich, and the Famous: Individualism as an American Cultural Value 11.Theodore Caplow, Rule Enforcement without Visible Means: Christmas Gift Giving in Middletown 12. Elijah Anderson, The Code of the Streets *13. Michael A. Messner, Margaret Carlisle Duncan and Kerry Jensen, Separating the Men from the Girls: The Gendered Language of Televised SportsPART IV. SOCIAL STRUCTURE 14. Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life15. Philip G. Zimbardo, Pathology of Imprisonment16. Deborah Tannen, Marked: Women in the Workplace / Greta Foff Paule, “Getting” and “Making” a Tip*17. Greta Feoff Paules, “Getting” and “Making” a Tip18. William E. Thompson, Handling the Stigma of Handling the Dead: Morticians and Funeral Directors*19. Harvey Molotch, The Rest Room and Equal OpportunityPART V. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIALIZATION20. Myra and David Sadker, Hidden Lessons21. Peter W. Cookson, Jr. and Caroline Hodges Persell, Preparing for Power: Americas Elite Boarding Schools 22. Nancy Tatom Ammerman, Bible Believers-The Nature and Admonition of the Lord: Raising Children23. Philip Cowan and Carolyn Pape Cowan, New Families: Modern Couples as New Pioneers24. Gwynne Dyer, Anybodys Son Will Do25. Thomas J. Schmid and Richard S. Jones, Suspended Identity: Identity Transformation in a Maximum Security Prison*26. Patti A. Giuffre and Christine L. Williams, Not Just Bodies: Strategies for Desexualizing the Physical Examination of PatientsPART VI. DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL27. Émile Durkheim, The Normality of Crime28. William J. Chambliss, The Saints and the Roughnecks29. D. L. Rosenhan, On Being Sane in Insane Places30. A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade, Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women? 31. Emily E. LaBeff, Robert E. Clark, Valerie J. Haines, and George M. Dickhoff, Situational Ethics and College Student Cheating32. Michael L. Benson, Denying the Guilty Mind: Accounting for Involvement in White-Collar CrimePART VII. INEQUALITY33. James Loewan, The Land of Opportunity34. Melvin M. Tumin, Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis*35. Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America36. Katherine Newman and Chauncy Lennon, The Job Ghetto *37. Joe R. Feagin, Racism38. Robin D. G. Kelley, Confessions of a Nice Negro or Why I Shaved My Head39. Yin Ling Leung, The Model Minority Myth: Asian Americans Confront Growing Backlash40. Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D, Tales Out of Medical School