Editor's Choice Intersections Reader for Sociology A short, inexpensive collection of readings from Pearson Custom Publishing's Intersections database, selected by Ron Matson, Wichita State University, specifically to accompany Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 6/E, by James M Henslin.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. Ralph B. McNeal, Jr. and Kathleen A. Tiemann. Sociology is a fascinating discipline which has theory, methods, and ethics to guide its work. Seeing the everyday world through the lens of sociology adds insight to our personal lives and to our understanding of human behavior. Welcome! 1. The Sociological Perspective The Promise, C. Wright Mills. The promise of sociology is to develop the student's sociological imagination' and come to understand how history and social structures affect personal behavior. C. Wright Mills give us many examples of how to connect “biography” and “history.” 2. Culture. Barbie Doll Culture and the American Waistland, Kamy Cunningham. Barbie Dolls have been a part of American culture for more than a generation, and the symbolic significance of this phenomenon allows us to see how gendered ideals influence the lives of all Americans. 3. Socialization. The Effect of Extreme Isolation on Socialization, Kingsley Davis. In this expert analysis of some unique events, we are able to examine the importance of social life to human functioning. The case histories of two young girls who were raised in relative social isolation bring to light the age-old discussion of “nature vs nurture.” 4. Social Structure and Social Interaction. Police Accounts of Normal Force, Jennifer Hunt. In this fine piece of qualitative research we are introduced to the work lives of police officers and the separate worlds of the street and the department. Learning to live in both worlds requires support from other officers and a vocabulary which legitimates the use of force. 5. How Sociologists Do Research. Engagement and Ethical Responsibility in Field Work, Arlene K. Daniels. Field work is a method of study in sociology which is closely tied to the everyday world. Daniels discusses the inevitability of “engagement” with our work and points to ways we can improve the quality of the research endeavor while learning more about ourselves and our impact on what we study. 6. Societies to Social Networks. Opinions and Social Pressure, Solomon E. Asch. A classic experiment illustrates how powerful group pressure can be. What would you do if faced with the opportunity to stand alone, independent of the group, or to conform by following the group's conclusions? Even though we value independence, this research shows many of us would comply with the majority. 7. Bureaucracy and Formal Organizations. Why Bureaucracy? Charles Perrow. Complex society requires structures which efficiently organize everyday activities. Businesses, schools, political parties, etc. must be able to achieve their objectives through the organization of behavior. Perrow, using the classic ideas of Max Weber, illustrates the advantages of bureaucracies in achieving rational and efficient outcomes. 8. Deviance and Social Control. Becoming a Marijuana User, Howard S. Becker. Deviance, like most things, is learned. This creative research, by one of the great names in the study of deviance, shows us how people who are exposed to a drug must “learn” the process of getting high...that social factors are as important as the effects of the drug itself. 9. Global Stratification. Women in the Global Factory, Annette Fuentes and Barbara Ehrenreich. Globalization of the economy by multinational corporations brings into focus the roles of women in different societies. How will the employment of women in these factories affect their oppression and freedom? One would think that employment and emancipation go together...let's look more closely. 10. Social Class in the United States The Job Ghetto, Katherine Newman and Chauncy Lennon. Poor people, who many Americans believe could have jobs if they wanted, find extreme difficulties in being hired. Class and ethnicity are factors which affect opportunities, regardless of the overall health of the economy in America, and solving the unemployment problem for these groups will likely require some massive intervention. 11. Sex and Gender. If Men Could Menstruate, Gloria Steinem. Little in our lives is more “down to earth” than menstruation. A noted feminist uses humor to illustrate the relevance of power in understanding how men and women would approach this inevitable event. Power shapes ideology and ideology maintains gender inequities. 12. Race and Ethnicity. Does TV Shape Ethnic Images? S. Robert Lichter and Linda S. Lichter. Television is one of our most cherished technological developments. TV is full of images of social life and the images often have an impact which we do not expect. Lichter and Lichter report findings on how race and ethnicity portrayed on TV affect people's perceptions. 13. The Elderly. Women and Men in the Caregiving Role, Rhonda J. V. Montgomery and Mary McGlinn Datwyler. America is an aging society. As more and more people live into their 80's and 90's, what will the implications be for caregiving by family members? Consider that you may well provide care to an aging family member, and this article helps focus the sociological lens on how gender affects such life-changing events. 14. The Economy. Manifesto of the Communist Party, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This classic piece on political economy articulates the relationship between economics and oppression. As the basis for conflict theory in sociology, the reader is treated to a detailed examination of class relationships and to the idea that inequality will ultimately produce the communist state. And, yet, it hasn't. 15. Politics. The Big Tilt: Participatory Inequality in America, Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman, and Henry E. Brady. The authors note the unequal participation of different social classes in American politics. The reader is brought into the discussion through interesting data showing how income affects American political involvement. If the interests of the lower and working classes are to be represented in American democracy, is there hope on the political horizon? 16. The Family. Love, American Style, Lisa E. Phillips. Love and marriage are alive and well in the USA. This fascinating examination of two generations' different approaches to family life tells how even as some things change, they stay the same. Can you find yourself or your values among the data on “Boomers” from the 70's and “Gen-xers” from the 90's? 17. Education. Civilize Them With a Stick, Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes. Emerging from the desire to “save” Native-American children, they were removed from their homes and brought to religiously-based schools. This is the story of a Sioux family and the experiences they endured to survive such a “school.” Resocialization of the children stole their identity and their culture. 18. Religion. In Search of the Sacred, Barbara Kantrowitz. As we have headed into a new millennium, how has religion in America changed? The infusion of spirituality and eastern thought into the everyday experiences of people suggests that we are entering into a new age which is less traditional in its approach to religious life. 19. Medicine. From Badness to Sickness: Changing Designations of Deviance and Social Control, Peter Conrad and Joseph W. Schneider. Society and social definitions have a large part to play in understanding deviance and disease. Many of us believe that illness is a biological fact and fail to consider the social and institutional dimensions of disease. Conrad and Schneider introduce us to the “medicalization of America” and show how immorality is being redefined as illness. 20. Population and Urbanization. Is There a “There” in Cyberspace? John Perry Barlow. The advent of the internet and virtual communities are among the most socially relevant changes on the landscape of everyday life. Will the connections we make with others on-line replace the sense of “community” so important to past generations? Barlow's ideas and experiences show some of the possibilities. 21. Collective Behavior and Social Movements. How Will the Internet Change Society? Conrad L. Kanagy. In just more than 40 years, the Internet has evolved into a major part of American society, perhaps the world. As technology often leads the way in social movements and collective behavior, this article asks the reader to wonder what impact the technology will have on our personal and collective lives. Watch out! 22. Social Change and the Environment. The McDonaldization of Society, George Ritzer. By using one of the most recognizable symbols in the American landscape, Ritzer examines the impact that efficiency and rationality (exemplified by McDonalds) have had on our lives in other ways. Are we destined to continue this trend toward a convenient but meaningless future? ONLINE CHAPTER. The Sociology of Human Sexuality. He Defies You Still: Memoirs of a Sissy, Tommi Avicolli. In a poignant biographical sketch, the reader is able to observe the evolution of a sexual identity. How many of us can relate to the defining moments in this man's life and see the similarities in our own unfolding identity? The harsh stigma of an alternate sexual lifestyle is eloquently and painfully portrayed.