Социология

Различные книги в жанре Социология

Understanding agency

Jeffery, Liz

Classical Sociological Theory

Sinisa Malesevic

Introducing the founders of sociological theory – from Marx, Weber, Durkheim and Martineau through to Simmel, DuBois, Mead and others – this accessible textbook locates each thinker within their own social, political and historical context. By doing so, it helps readers to understand the development of central sociological concepts and how they can help us understand the contemporary world. The book includes: Lively biographical sections to help readers get to know each thinker Clear and easy-to-understand accounts of each theorist’s arguments – and the most common criticisms Key concept boxes highlighting the most influential ideas This comprehensive, enlightening text brings the rich and diverse field of classical sociological theory to life.

Sociology

David M. Newman

Understanding Racism

Hephzibah Strmic-Pawl

[i][/i] Understanding Racism systematically examines the theories and theorists that have contributed the most to our contemporary understanding of racism in its various forms—making it easier for you to understand the multiple dynamics of how racism operates. In every chapter, activist and award-winning sociologist Hephzibah Strmic-Pawl describes the emergence of a theory and the problem it addresses; discusses the scholars who are most closely associated with the theory; and explores the strengths and limitations of the theory. From foundational theories such as Prejudice and White Privilege to contemporary theories such as Color-Blind Racism, Understanding Racism is the first text to present thirteen approaches for explaining racism in one book. The book's systematic organization and pedagogical features will help you think theoretically about race and racism at different levels of analysis, as well as reflect and discuss how to challenge racism.

Fearing the Black Body

Sabrina Strings

How the female body has been racialized for over two hundred years There is an obesity epidemic in this country and poor black women are particularly stigmatized as “diseased” and a burden on the public health care system. This is only the most recent incarnation of the fear of fat black women, which Sabrina Strings shows took root more than two hundred years ago.Strings weaves together an eye-opening historical narrative ranging from the Renaissance to the current moment, analyzing important works of art, newspaper and magazine articles, and scientific literature and medical journals—where fat bodies were once praised—showing that fat phobia, as it relates to black women, did not originate with medical findings, but with the Enlightenment era belief that fatness was evidence of “savagery” and racial inferiority. The author argues that the contemporary ideal of slenderness is, at its very core, racialized and racist. Indeed, it was not until the early twentieth century, when racialized attitudes against fatness were already entrenched in the culture, that the medical establishment began its crusade against obesity. An important and original work, Fearing the Black Body argues convincingly that fat phobia isn’t about health at all, but rather a means of using the body to validate race, class, and gender prejudice.

Living on the Spectrum

Elizabeth Fein

How youth on the autism spectrum negotiate the contested meanings of neurodiversity Autism is a deeply contested condition. To some, it is a devastating invader, harming children and isolating them. To others, it is an asset and a distinctive aspect of an individual’s identity. How do young people on the spectrum make sense of this conflict, in the context of their own developing identity? While most of the research on Asperger’s and related autism conditions has been conducted with individuals or in settings in which people on the spectrum are in the minority, this book draws on two years of ethnographic work in communities that bring people with Asperger’s and related conditions together. It can thus begin to explore a form of autistic culture, through attending to how those on the spectrum make sense of their conditions through shared social practices.Elizabeth Fein brings her many years of experience in both clinical psychology and psychological anthropology to analyze the connection between neuropsychological difference and culture. She argues that current medical models, which espouse a limited definition, are ill equipped to deal with the challenges of discussing autism-related conditions. Consequently, youths on the autism spectrum reach beyond medicine for their stories of difference and disorder, drawing instead on shared mythologies from popular culture and speculative fiction to conceptualize their experience of changing personhood. In moving and persuasive prose, Living on the Spectrum illustrates that young people use these stories to pioneer more inclusive understandings of what makes us who we are.