Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach is heralded by students and instructors alike as the most friendly and inviting introduction to sociology available. James Henslin guides students on an intellectual voyage through through the sociological imagination, helping them better understanding both themselves and their world. With humor, personal reflection and illuminating examples, he shares with readers his passion for sociology.   Six central themes run throughout the text: down-to-earth sociology, globalization, cultural diversity, critical thinking, the new technology and the influence of mass media on everyday life. Each of these themes is reflected in the central narrative, in boxed features throughout the text.  

Table of Contents:
IN THIS SECTION: 1.) BRIEF 2.) COMPREHENSIVE       BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:   Part I The Sociological Perspective   Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective     Chapter 2 Culture Chapter 3 Socialization      Chapter 4 Social Structure and Social Interaction    Chapter 5 Social Groups and Formal Organizations                        Chapter 6 Deviance and Social Control     Chapter 7 Global Stratification      Chapter 8 Social Class in the United States                       Chapter 9 Race and Ethnicity        Chapter 10 Gender and Age Chapter 11 Politics and the Economy          Chapter 12 Marriage and Family     Chapter 13 Education and Religion  Chapter 14 Population and Urbanization      Chapter 15 Social Change and the Environment       Epilogue: Why Major in Sociology?            COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS:     Part I The Sociological Perspective   Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective            The Sociological Perspective          Seeing the Broader Social Context              The Global Context — and the Local      Origins of Sociology          Tradition Versus Science               Auguste Comte and Positivism                  Herbert Spencer and Social Darwinism      Karl Marx and Class Conflict         Emile Durkheim and Social Integration       Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic     Sociology in North America           Sexism and Early Female Sociologists      Racism at the Time: W.E.B. Du Bois      Down-to-Earth Sociology: W.E.B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk      Jane Addams and Social Reform      Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills: Theory Versus Reform        The Continuing Tension: Basic, Applied, and Public Sociology      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Careers in Sociology: What Applied Sociologists Do                 Cultural Diversity in the United States: Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology         Symbolic Interactionism                 Functional Analysis            Conflict Theory                   Putting the Theoretical Perspectives Together      Levels of Analysis: Macro and Micro      How Theory and Research Work Together       Doing Sociological Research      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Enjoying A Sociology Quiz: Sociological Findings Versus Common Sense A Research Model Research      Surveys      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Loading the Dice: How Not to Do Research      Participant Observation (Fieldwork)      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Gang Leader for a Day: Adventures of a Rogue Sociologist      Case Studies      Secondary Analysis      Documents      Experiments      Unobtrusive Measures Gender in Sociological Research Ethics and Values in Sociological Research       Ethics: Protecting the Subjects — The Brajuha Research       Ethics: Misleading the Subjects — The Humphreys Research       Values and Controversy in Research Summary and Review      Chapter 2 Culture            What Is Culture?            Culture and Taken-for-Granted Orientations to Life            Cultural Diversity Around the World: Culture Shock: The Arrival of the Hmong            Practicing Cultural Relativism      Cultural Diversity Around the World: You Are What You Eat? An Exploration in Cultural Relativity Components of Symbolic Culture            Gestures            Language            Cultural Diversity in the United States: Miami–Continuing Controversy Over Language      Language and Perception: The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis      Cultural Diversity in the United States: Race and Language: Searching for Self-Labels      Values, Norms, and Sanctions          Folkways and Mores        Many Cultural Worlds       Subcultures            Down-to-Earth Sociology: 2-D: A New Subculture and a Different Kind of Love      Countercultures     Values in U.S. Society          An Overview of U.S. Values           Value Clusters          Value Contradictions        Emerging Values          Culture Wars: When Values Clash           Values as Distorting Lens          “Ideal” Versus “Real” Culture     Technology in the Global Village           The New Technology          Cultural Lag and Cultural Change          Technology and Cultural Leveling     Summary and Review       Chapter 3 Socialization    Society Makes Us Human          Down-to-Earth Sociology:Heredity or Environment? The Case of Jack and Oscar, Identical Twins          Feral Children        Isolated Children          Institutionalized Children          Deprived Animals     Socialization into the Self and Mind            Cooley and the Looking-Glass Self          Mead and Role Taking          Piaget and the Development of Reasoning      Global Aspects of the Self and Reasoning   Learning Personality, Emotions, and Internal Control      Freud and the Development of Personality           Socialization into Emotions                         Society Within Us: The Self and Emotions as Social Control Socialization into Gender          Learning the Gender Map      Gender Messages in the Family      Cultural Diversity Around the World: Women Becoming Men: The Sworn Virgins          Gender Messages From Peers       Gender Messages in the Mass Media        Mass Media in Social Life: Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: Changing Images of Women in the Mass Media Agents of Socialization          The Family           The Neighborhood          Religion          Day Care          The School and Peer Groups      Cultural Diversity in the United States: Immigrants and Their Children: Caught Between Two Worlds        The Workplace     Resocialization          Total Institutions          Down-to-Earth Sociology: Boot Camp as a Total Institution     Socialization Through the Life Course          Childhood (from birth to about age 12)          Adolescence (ages 13-17)          Transitional Adulthood (ages 18-29)          The Middle Years (ages 30-65)         The Older Years (about 65 on)             Are We Prisoners of Socialization?     Summary and Review       Chapter 4 Social Structure and Social Interaction          Levels of Sociological Analysis          Macrosociology and Microsociology          The Macrosociological Perspective: Social Structure      The Sociological Significance of Social Structure          Down-to-Earth Sociology:College Football as Social Structure               Culture          Social Class          Social Status          Roles          Groups          Social Institutions          Societies — and Their Tranformation      Sociology and the New Technology: Avatar Fantasy Life: The Blurring Lines of Reality      What Hold Society Together?      Cultural Diversity in the United States: The Amish: Gemeinschaft Community in a Gesellschaft Society The Microsociological Perspective: Social Interaction in Everyday Life       Symbolic Interaction          Down to Earth Sociology: Looks: The Last Frontier of Socially Acceptable Discrimination?      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Beauty May Be Only Skin Deep, But Its Effects Go On Forever      Dramaturgy: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life          Mass Media in Social Life:You Can’t Be Thin Enough: Body Images and the Mass Media          Ethnomethodology: Uncovering Background Assumptions      The Social Construction of Reality     The Need for Both Macrosociology and Microsociology          Through the Author's Lens: When a Tornado Strikes   Summary and Review       Chapter 5 Social Groups and Formal Organizations     Groups Within Society      Primary Groups      Seconary Groups      In-Groups and Out-Groups      Reference Groups      Social Networks      New Group: Electronic Communities Bureaucracies      The Characteristics of Bureaucracies      Down-to-Earth Sociology: The McDonaldization of Society      Goal Displacement and the Perpetuation of Bureaucracies      Dysfunctions of Bureaucracies      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Group Pranking: Escaping the Boredom of Bureaucracy? Working for the Corporation      Self-Fulfilling Stereotypes in the “Hidden” Corporate Culture      Thinking Critically: Managing Diversity in the Workplace Group Dynamics      Effects on Group Size on Stability and Intimacy      Effects on Group Size on Attitudes and Behavior      Leadership      The Power of Peer Pressure: The Asch Experiment      Down-to-Earth Sociology: The Power of Cascades: When Error Escalates      The Power of Authority: The Milgram Experiment      Thinking Critically:If Hitler Asked You to Execute a Stranger, Would You? The Milgram Experiment           Global Consequences of Group Dynamics: Groupthink Summary and Review     Chapter 6 Deviance and Social Control What Is Deviance?            Cultural Diversity Around the World:Human Sexuality in Cross-Cultural Perspective      How Norms Make Social Life Possible      Sanctions               Competing Explanations of Deviance: Sociobiology, Psychology, and Sociology The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective      Differential Association Theory       Control Theory      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Shaming: Making a Comeback? Labeling Theory      Mass Media in Social Life:Pornography and the Mainstream: Freedom Versus Censorship       The Functionalist Perspective         Can Deviance Really Be Functional for Society?                 Strain Theory: How Social Values Produce Deviance      Illegitimate Opportunity Structures: Social Class and Crime      Down-to-Earth Sociology:Islands in the Street: Urban Gangs in the United States       The Conflict Perspective                The Law as an Instrument of Oppression           Reactions to Deviance       Cultural Diversity Around the World: What Kind of Prison Is This?      Street Crime and Prisons               Thinking Critically:“Three Strikes and You're Out!” Unintended Consequences of Well-Intended Laws         The Decline in Crime         Recidivism             The Death Penalty and Bias           Down-to-Earth Sociology:The Killer Next Door: Serial Murderers in Our Midst                 Legal Change        Thinking Critically:Changing Views: Making Hate a Crime                    The Medicalization of Deviance: Mental Illness       The Need for a More Humane Approach          Summary and Review     Chapter 7 Global Stratification   Systems of Social Stratification       Slavery      Mass Media in Social Life:What Price Freedom? Slavery Today      Caste        Estate        Class         Global Stratification and the Status of Females        The Global Superclass What Determines Social Class?      Karl Marx: The Means of Production         Max Weber: Property, Power, and Prestige      Why Is Social Stratification Universal?       The Functionalist View: Motivating Qualified People        The Conflict Perspective: Class Conflict and Scarce      Resources             Lenski's Synthesis         How Do Elites Maintain Stratification?       Soft Control Versus Force Comparative Social Stratification                Social Stratification in Great Britain            Social Stratification in the Former Soviet Union Global Stratification: Three Worlds             The Most Industrialized Nations                 The Industrializing Nations             Thinking Critically:Open Season: Children As Prey        The Least Industrialized Nations      Through the Author's Lens: The Dump People: Working and Living and Playing in the City Dump of Phnom Penh, Cambodia How Did the World's Nations Become Stratified?              Colonialism            World System Theory                    Thinking Critically:When Globalization Comes Home: Maquiladoras South of the Border      Culture of Poverty             Evaluating the Theories Maintaining Global Stratification                 Neocolonialism      Multinational Corporations             Technology and Global Domination       Strains in the Global System      Summary and Review   Chapter 8 Social Class in the United States      What Is Social Class?        Property      Down-to-Earth Sociology: How the Super-Rich Live        Power       Prestige                 Status Inconsistency      Down-to-Earth Sociology:The Big Win: Life After the      Lottery Sociological Models of Social Class           Updating Marx      Updating Weber                       Consequences of Social Class        Physical Health      Mental Health      Thinking Critically: Mental Illness and Inequality in Medical Care          Family Life            Education              Religion                 Politics      Crime and the Criminal Justice Social Mobility      Three Types of Social Mobility      Cultural Diversity in the United States:Social Class and the Upward Mobility of African Americans Women in Studies of Social      Mobility     Poverty                 Drawing the Poverty Line               Down-to-Earth Sociology: Taking Another Fun Quiz: Exploring Stereotypes About the Poor           Who Are the Poor?            Children of Poverty             Thinking Critically: The Nation's Shame: Children in       Poverty                  The Dynamics of Poverty                Why Are People Poor?                  Welfare Reform       Where Is Horatio Alger? The Social Functions of a Myth   Summary and Review     Chapter 9  Race and Ethnicity       Laying the Sociological Foundation            Race: Myth and Reality      Cultural Diversity in the United States: Tiger Woods: Mapping the Changing Ethnic Terrain      Ethnic Groups                    Minority Groups and Dominant Groups      How People Construct Their Racial-Ethnic Identity       Prejudice and Discrimination          Learning Prejudice             Down-to-Earth Sociology: The Racist Mind         Individual and Institutional Discrimination           Theories of Prejudice         Psychological Perspectives             Sociological Perspectives               Down-to-Earth Sociology: The Man in the Zoo Global Patterns of Intergroup Relations                  Genocide               Population Transfer            Internal Colonialism           Segregation           Assimilation           Multiculturalism (Pluralism)                    Racial-Ethnic Relations in the United States            European Americans          Latinos (Hispanics)            Cultural Diversity in the United States: The Illegal Travel Guide      African Americans             Down-to-Earth Sociology: Stealth Racism in the Rental Market: What You Reveal by Your Voice           Asian Americans                Native Americans         Looking Toward the Future           The Immigration Debate                             Cultural Diversity in the United States: Glimpsing the Future: The Shifting U.S. Racial-Ethnic Mix             Summary and Review     Chapter 10 Gender and Age         INEQUALITIES OF GENDER [SUPER A HEAD] Issues of Sex and Gender                          Gender Differences in Behavior: Biology or Culture?           Opening the Door to Biology    Gender Inequality in Global Perspective      Through the Author's Lens: Work and Gender: Women at Work in India                 Mass Media in Social Life: Women in Iran: The Times Are Changing, Ever So Slowly      The Origins of Patriarchy               Global Violence Against Women      Cultural Diversity Around the World: Female Circumcision   Gender Inequality in the United States        Fighting Back: The Rise of Feminism          Gender Inequality in Health Care                Down-to-Earth Sociology: Cold-Hearted Surgeons and Their Women Victims      Gender Inequality in Education       Down-to-Earth Sociology: Affirmative Action for Men      Gender Inequality in the Workplace           Sexual Harassment–and Worse                Violence Against Women               The Changing Face of Politics        Glimpsing the Future–With Hope        INEQUALITIES OF AGING [SUPER A HEAD] Aging in Global Perspective             The Social Construction of Aging               Industrialization and the Graying of the Globe         The Graying of America              The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective      Shifting Meanings of Growing Old              The Influence of the Mass Media               Mass Media in Social Life: Shaping Our Perceptions of the Elderly The Functionalist Perspective         Disengagement Theory         Activity Theory      Continuity Theory         The Conflict Perspective                Fighting for Resources: Social Security Legislation                Intergenerational Competition and Conflict             Down-to-Earth Sociology: Senior Citizen Discounts: Stirrings of Resentment Looking Toward the Future           New Views of Aging Summary and Review     Chapter 11 Politics and the Economy       POLITICS: ESTABLISHING LEADERSHIP [SUPER A HEAD]       Power, Authority, and Violence                 Authority and Legitimate Violence              Traditional Authority          Rational-Legal Authority                Charismatic Authority        The Transfer of Authority          Types of Government        Monarchies: The Rise of the State                Democracies: Citizenship as a Revolutionary Idea               Dictatorships and Oligarchies: The Seizure of Power    The U.S. Political System                 Political Parties and Elections                      Voting Patterns        Lobbyists and Special-Interest Groups               Who Rules the United States?        The Functionalist Perspective: Pluralism      The Conflict Perspective: The Power Elite      Which View is Right?    War and Terrorism: Implementing Political Objectives        Why Nations Go to War                Terrorism              Down-to-Earth Sociology: Who Are the Suicide Terrorists? Testing Your Stereotypes      Down-to-Earth Sociology: Child Soldiers THE ECONOMY: WORK IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE [SUPER A HEAD] The Transformation of Economic Systems              Preindustrial Societies: The Birth of Inequality         Industrial Societies: The Birth of the Machine          Postindustrial Societies: The Birth of the Information Age         Biotech Societies: The Merger of Biology and Economics        Implications for Your Life              Cultural Diversity Around the World: The Child Workers World Economic Systems              Capitalism               Socialism               Ideologies of Capitalism and Socialism                   Criticisms of Capitalism and Socialism        The Convergence of Capitalism and Socialism        Cultural Diversity Around the World: The New Capitalism in China     The Globalization of Capitalism      A New Global Structure and the Global Oppression of Workers           Through the Author’s Lens: Small Town USA      Stagnant Paychecks           The New Economic System and the Old Divisions of Wealth      The Global Superclass A New World Order?       Trends Towards Unity       Strains in the Global System   Summary and Review       Chapter 12 Marriage and Family Marriage and Family in Global Perspective             What Is a Family?      What Is Marriage?             Common Cultural Themes              Sociology and the New Technology: Finding a Mate: Not the Same as It Used to Be   Marriage and Family in Theoretical Perspective      The Functionalist Perspective: Functions and Dysfunctions        The Conflict Perspective: Struggles Between Husbands and Wives        The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Gender, Housework, and Child Care             The Family Life Cycle        Love and Courtship in Global Perspective                Marriage               Childbirth      Child Rearing         Family Transitions Diversity in U.S. Families                           African American Families             Latino Families      Asian American Families                Native American Families              One-Parent Families          Families Without Children              Blended Families               Gay and Lesbian Families         Trends in U.S. Families      Postponing Marriage and Childbirth           Cohabitation          Down-to-Earth Sociology: “You Want Us to Live Together? What Do You Mean By That?” Divorce and Remarriage                Ways of Measuring Divorce           Down-to-Earth Sociology: “What Are Your Chances of Getting Divorced?”            Children of Divorce           Grandchildren of Divorce               The Absent Father and Serial Fatherhood              The Ex-Spouses                Remarriage       Two Sides of Family Life               The Dark Side of Family Life: Battering, Child Abuse, Marital Rape, and Incest                Down-to-Earth Sociology: “Why Doesn't She Just Leave?” The Dilemma of Abused Women                 The Bright Side of Family Life: Successful Marriages          Symbolic Interactionism and the Misuse of Statistics The Future of Marriage and Family       Summary and Review       Chapter 13 Education and Religion          EDUCATION: TRANSFERRING KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS [SUPER A HEAD]      Education and Industrialization       Down-to-Earth Sociology: Community Colleges Old and New Education in the Most Industrialized Nations: Japan          Education in the Industrializing Nations: Russia          Education in the Least Industrialized Nations: Egypt    The Functionalist Perspective: Providing Social Benefits      Teaching Knowledge and Skills      Cultural Transmisssion of Values                Social Integration               Gatekeeping (Social Placement)      Replacing Family Functions         The Conflict Perspective: Perpetuating Social Inequality      The Hidden Curriculum        Tilting the Tests: Discrimination by IQ              Stacking the Deck: Unequal Funding          The Bottom Line: Family Background The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: Teacher Expectations        The Rist Research                           How Do Teacher Expectations Work?  Problems in U.S. Education–and Their Solutions              Mediocrity      Cheating      Violence      Mass Media in Social Life: School Shootings: Exploring a Myth Technology and Education      Sociology and the New Technology: Internet University: No Walls, No Ivy, No All Night Parties RELIGION: ESTABLISHING MEANING [SUPER A HEAD] What Is Religion?         The Functionalist Perspective         Functions of Religion          Dysfunctions of Religion              The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective      Religious Symbols              Rituals         Through the Author’s Lens: Holy Week in Spain         Beliefs       Religious Experience     The Conflict Perspective                Opium of the People          A Legitimation of Social Inequalities      Religion and the Spirit of Capitalism        Types of Religious Groups             Cult           Sect          Church      Ecclesia                 Variations in Patterns    Religion in the United States           Characteristics of Members           Characteristics of Religious Groups            Cultural Diversity in the United States: Human Heads and Animal Blood: The Toleration of Religion         The Future of Religion           Mass Media in Social Life: God on the Net: The Online Marketing of Religion    Summary and Review     Chapter 14  Population and Urbanization  POPULATION IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE [SUPER A HEAD]     A Planet with No Space for Enjoying Life?             The New Malthusians        The Anti-Malthusians         Who Is Correct?               Why Are People Starving?        Population Growth             Down-to-Earth Sociology: How the 2004 Tsunami Can Help Us to Understand Population Growth      Why the Least Industrialized Nations Have So Many Children                              Implications of Different Rates of Growth                The Three Demographic Variables              Problems in Forecasting Population Growth            Cultural Diversity Around the World: Killing Little Girls: An Ancient and Thriving Practice            URBANIZATION [SUPER A HEAD]                 Through the Author's Lens: A Walk Through El Tiro in Medellin, Columbia The Development of Cities             The Process of Urbanization            U.S. Urban Patterns          Down-to-Earth Sociology: Reclaiming Harlem: A Twist in the Invasion — Succession Cycle      The Rural Rebound       Models of Urban Growth               The Concentric-Zone Model            The Sector Model             The Multiple-Nuclei Model              The Peripheral Model          Critique of the Models      Cultural Diversity Around the World: Why City Slums Are Better Than the Country: Urbanization in the Least Industrialized          Nations                  City Life                Community in the City      Who Lives in the City?                    The Norm of Noninvolvement and the Diffusion of Responsibility   Urban Problems and Social Policy             Surburbanization                Disinvestment and Deindustrialization          The Potential of Urban Revitalization     Summary and Review     Chapter 15 Social Change and the Environment How Social Change Transforms Social Life            The Four Social Revolutions          From Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft         The Industrialization Revolution and Capitalism       Conflict, Power, and Global Politics      Theories and Processes of Social Change                 Evolution From Lower to Higher                Natural Cycles       Conflict Over Power          Ogburn's Theory           How Technology Changes Society             The Social Significance of Technology      Sociology and the New Technology: From Electronic Toy to Political Weapon: Twittering in the Digital Age    Social Movements as a Source of Social Change      Types of Social Movements      Propaganda and the Mass Media      Down-to-Earth Sociology: “The Tricks of the Trade” — Deception and Persuasion in Propaganda      The Stages of Social Movements      Resurgence      Thinking Critically: Which Side of the Barricades? Prochoice and Prolife as a Social Movement The Growth Machine Versus the Earth       Environmental Problems in the Most Industrialized Nations               Environmental Problems in the Industrializing and Least Industrialized Nations         Cultural Diversity Around the World: The Rainforests: Lost Tribes, Lost Knowledge                 The Environmental Movement        Thinking Critically: Ecosabatage              Environmental Sociology           Summary and Review     Epilogue: Why Major in Sociology?