Liberation sociology is concerned with eliminating social oppressions and creating truly just societies. Liberation sociology takes sides with the oppressed and envisions an end to that oppression. Liberation social scientists featured in this book consciously try to step outside their groups or societies and view them critically. The authors examine theories and research of social scientists who ask, Social science for what purpose? and Social science for whom? Case studies offer humanistic, democratic, and activist answers. Featured researchers provide tools to increase human abilities to understand deep social realities, engage in better dialogues, and increase democratic participation in use of knowledge.Many people of all ages today continue to be attracted to sociology and other social sciences because of their promise to contribute to better political, social, and moral understandings of themselves and their social worlds-and often because they hope it will help them to build a better society. We accent the liberation potential of social science with these social science teachers and students firmly in mind.

The author examines the field of sociology and the closing of many sociology departments and then proposes "an alternative, plsitive view of social research."--Jacket.

Providing a much needed overview of the growing field of digital sociology, this handbook connects digital media technologies to the traditional sociological areas of study, like labour, culture, education, race, class and gender. Rooted in a critical understanding of inequality as foundational to digital sociology and is edited by leaders in the field. It includes topics ranging from web analytics, wearable technologies, social media analysis and digital labour. This rigorous, accessible text explores contemporary dilemmas and problems of the digital age in relation to inequality, institutions and social identity, making it suitable for use for a global audience on a variety of social science courses and beyond. Offering an important step forward for the discipline of sociology Digital sociologies is an important intellectual benchmark in placing digital at the forefront of investigating the social.

Though the word “sociology” was coined in Europe, the field of sociology grew most dramatically in America. Despite that disproportionate influence, American sociology has never been the subject of an extended historical examination. To remedy that situation—and to celebrate the centennial of the American Sociological Association—Craig Calhoun assembled a team of leading sociologists to produce Sociology in America. Rather than a story of great sociologists or departments, Sociology in America is a true history of an often disparate field—and a deeply considered look at the ways sociology developed intellectually and institutionally. It explores the growth of American sociology as it addressed changes and challenges throughout the twentieth century, covering topics ranging from the discipline’s intellectual roots to understandings (and misunderstandings) of race and gender to the impact of the Depression and the 1960s. Sociology in America will stand as the definitive treatment of the contribution of twentieth-century American sociology and will be required reading for all sociologists. Contributors: Andrew Abbott, Daniel Breslau, Craig Calhoun, Charles Camic, Miguel A. Centeno, Patricia Hill Collins, Marjorie L. DeVault, Myra Marx Ferree, Neil Gross, Lorine A. Hughes, Michael D. Kennedy, Shamus Khan, Barbara Laslett, Patricia Lengermann, Doug McAdam, Shauna A. Morimoto, Aldon Morris, Gillian Niebrugge, Alton Phillips, James F. Short Jr., Alan Sica, James T. Sparrow, George Steinmetz, Stephen Turner, Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Immanuel Wallerstein, Pamela Barnhouse Walters, Howard Winant

Public Sociology features a wide-ranging discussion of the controversial model of a social science that reaches out to non-academic audiences, including both average citizens and policymakers. This approach has been greeted with enthusiasm by supporters, and with skepticism and anxiety among critics. Both perspectives are well represented in this volume.Some of the critical voices question whether public sociology is even a good idea. Others dissent, arguing for a strong program in professional sociology as an alternative. Still others express concern that public sociology promotes a liberal-left political agenda, despite its nonpartisan pretensions. Some elements of the model are queried, such as ""critical sociology."" Others are supportive--discussing personal experiences, the benefits of an engaged social science, and how it could take social science into a broader, global marketplace.Following an introduction by the editor, the contributions include: David Boyns and Jesse Fletcher, ""Public Relations, Disciplinary Identity, and the Strong Program in Professional Sociology,"" Jonathan H. Turner, ""Is Public Sociology Such a Good Idea?"" Steven Brint, ""Guide to the Perplexed,"" Vincent Jeffries, ""Piritim A. Sorokin's Integralism and Public Sociology,"" Norella M. Putney, Dawn E. Alley, and Vern L. Bengston, ""Social Gerontology as Public Sociology in Action,"" Edna Bonacich, ""Working with the Labor Movement: A Personal Journey in Organic Public Sociology,"" Christopher Chase-Dunn, ""Globabl Public Social Science,"" Neil McLauglin, Lisa Kowalchuk, and Kerry Turcotte, ""Why Sociology Does Not Need to be Saved,"" Michael Burawoy, ""Third-Wave Sociology and the End of Pure Science,"" Patricia Madoo Lengerman and Jill Niebrugge-Brantley, ""Back to the Future: Settlement Sociology, 1885i?1/2-1930,"" Sean McMahon, ""From the Platform: Public Sociology in the Speeches of Edward A. Ross,"" Chet Ballard, ""The Origin and Early History of the Association for Humanist So

This best-selling textbook explains the current state of research in the sociology of race/ethnicity, emphasizing white privilege, the social construction of race, and the newest theoretical perspectives for understanding race and ethnicity. It is designed to engage students with an emphasis on topics that are meaningful to their lives, including sports, popular culture, interracial relationships, and biracial/multiracial identities and families. The new third edition comes at a pivotal time in the politics of race and identity. Fitzgerald includes vital new discussions on white ethnicities and the politics of Trump and populism. Prominent attention is given to immigration and the discourse surrounding it, police and minority populations, and the criminal justice system. Using the latest available data, the author examines the present and future of generational change. New cases studies include athletes and racial justice activism, removal of Confederate monuments, updates on Black Lives Matter, and Native American activism at Standing Rock and against the Bayou Bridge pipeline.

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) is a founding figure in the field of sociology. His stature is comparable to that of his contemporaries Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Mead's contribution was a profound and unique American theory that analyzed society and the individual as social objects. As Mead saw it, both society and the individual emerged from cooperative, democratic processes linking the self, the other, and the community. Mary Jo Deegan, a leading scholar of Mead's work, traces the evolution of his thought , its continuity and change. She is particularly interested in the most controversial period of Mead's work, in which he addressed topics of violence and the nation state. Mead's theory of war, peace, and society emerged out of the historical events of his time, particularly World War I. During this period he went from being a pacifist, along with his contemporaries John Dewey and Jane Addams, to being a strong advocate for war. From 1917-1918 Mead became a leader in voicing the need for war based on his theory of self and society. After the war, he became disillusioned with President Woodrow Wilson, with Americans' failure to support mechanisms for international arbitration, and with the political reasons for American participation in World War I. He returned to a more pacifist and co-operative model of behavior during the 1920s, when he became less political, more abstract, and more withdrawn from public debate. The book includes Deegan's interpretation of Mead's early social thought, his friendship and family networks, the historical context of America at war, and the importance of analysis of violence and the state from Mead's perspective. She also provides illustrative selections from Mead's work, much of which was previously unpublished.

The global economic collapse of 2008 has brought into sharp relief the penetration of global capitalism and its impact on working people both in the industrial core and in developing nations. In response, social movements challenging the World Trade Organization and annual gathering of progressive groups and NGOs at the World Social Forums have embarked on the goal of creating an alternative to the neo-liberal policies that have immiserated generations. The articles in this book address the need for a progressive pedagogy, highlight the organizational forms of resistance to capitalism, and explore new forms of struggles against capitalist practices by people throughout the world. Contributors include: Emily Achtenberg, Melanie E L Bush, Deborah L. Little, Victoria Carty, Margaret Cerullo, Chris Chase-Dunn,Victor Figueroa, Matt Kaneshiro, Laura Collin, Ximena de la Barra, Richard Dello Buono, Heather Gautney, Arseniy Gutnik, Kristen Hopewell, Lauren Langman, Marie Kennedy, Chris Tilly, Fernando Leiva.

As we are faced with recurring crises--financial, migration, climate, etc.--there is a need to reconsider public theology as both a practice and a field of study. By discussing public statements made by Christians faced with different kinds of crisis, this book contributes to the development and understanding of public theology. The public statements addressed are three kairos documents: The Kairos Document from South Africa in the mid-1980s; The Road to Damascus document from authors in developing countries, issued in 1989; and the Palestinian Kairos Document from 2009. The discussion is structured around three problems of public theology: social analysis, politics and ethics, and language and voice. Fretheim suggests a constructionist understanding of public theology--a public theology that interrupts current debates and expands the imagination of the public sphere. As public theology is concerned with public life and social issues, Interruption and Imagination will be of interest to scholars and students of theology, political science, sociology, and religious studies, as well as practitioners, policymakers, and professionals in the public sector, civil society, churches, and Christian organizations.