Synopses & Reviews
Offering an innovative new approach to sociology that takes the global dimensions of the contemporary world as its overarching framework,
Global Sociology is written in a style that is relevant and fresh for the undergraduate reader whether they have studied sociology before or approaching the subject for the first time.
Carefully balancing contemporary sociological theory and concepts with arguments and concrete examples drawn from around the globe, Global Sociology highlights the scope and the importance of sociology for understanding the complex and fast-changing world in which we live. In twenty chapters, the authors consider an immensely rich and diverse range of material, from the emergence of global society and debates surrounding its social, political and economic structure, to topics such as migration, tourism, crime, drugs, famine, mass media, feminism and the environmental movement. The text includes an extensive glossary, boxed case studies, suggestions for classroom projects and seminar activities, and numerous graphs and illustrations. Accessibly written and jargon-free, Global Sociology is the ideal introduction to the topic for students.
Review
“A thorough ethnography that sweeps the reader into the world of Marian visionary Estela Ruiz, her family and followers, and the evangelizing ministries they have created in South Phoenix. . . . Fascinating.”
“This wonderfully written study, one of the most comprehensive and insightful books about modern Marian apparitions in North America, takes the story from the Virgin's first appearance to a feminist professional woman distressed by family burdens, through the widening sphere of the apparitions' impact on family and community, to the cult's ultimate role as a national and international vehicle for Catholic evangelizing, especially among Hispanics.”
“This book stands as an intimate portrait of the visionary; 'a woman torn between the individualism she enjoyed in the ‘Anglo world’ and her familial commitments in her Mexican-American home.”
“This is a respectful, sensitive, clearly written book in which the author seeks to resolve the alien ethnographer's dilemma by ‘writing like a relative.’ The reader's reward is a rich sense of the circumstances and struggles of at least some Mexican Americans in South Phoenix to make a good life in the contemporary United States that balances faith and family with education, material strivings, professional growth, discrimination, and personal suffering in ways that begin to bridge the conceptual divide between official and popular religion.”
“A compelling account of Marian devotion as 'lived religion'”
Synopsis
In 1998, a Mexican American woman named Estela Ruiz began seeing visions of the Virgin Mary in south Phoenix. The apparitions and messages spurred the creation of Mary's Ministries, a Catholic evangelizing group, and its sister organization, ESPIRITU, which focuses on community-based initiatives and social justice for Latinos/as.
Based on ten years of participant observation and in-depth interviews, The Virgin of El Barrio traces the spiritual transformation of Ruiz, the development of the community that has sprung up around her, and the international expansion of their message. Their organizations blend popular and official Catholicism as well as evangelical Protestant styles of praise and worship, shedding light on Catholic responses to the tensions between popular and official piety and the needs of Mexican Americans.
Synopsis
A thorough ethnography that sweeps the reader into the world of Marian visionary Estela Ruiz, her family and followers, and the evangelizing ministries they have created in South Phoenix. . . . Fascinating. -Timothy Matovina, Director, Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, University of Notre Dame In 1998, a Mexican American woman named Estela Ruiz began seeing visions of the Virgin Mary in south Phoenix. The apparitions and messages spurred the creation of Marys Ministries, a Catholic evangelizing group, and its sister organization, ESPIRITU, which focuses on community-based initiatives and social justice for Latinos/as. Based on ten years of participant observation and in-depth interviews, The Virgin of El Barrio traces the spiritual transformation of Ruiz, the development of the community that has sprung up around her, and the international expansion of their message. Their organizations blend popular and official Catholicism as well as evangelical Protestant styles of praise and worship, shedding light on Catholic responses to the tensions between popular and official piety and the needs of Mexican Americans.
About the Author
Robin Cohen is Professor of Sociology and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization, University of Warwick (UK).
Paul Kennedy is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the Manchester Metropolitan University.