Sociology

A collection of contributions from globally-recognized scholars and experts explore the theoretical and methodological foundations of sociology, new and established debates, and the most current research in the field. Broad in scope, this book covers a multitude of topics ranging from crime, urbanization, sexuality, and education to new questions surrounding big data, authoritarian capitalism, and the rise of nationalism. Previous material has been updated to reflect current research, while eleven new chapters address topics including feminist theory, debt and social change, and armed conflict and war.

A masterful introduction to and appreciation of sociology as a window into our world. This fascinating exploration into the nature of human social life describes the field of sociology as a way of looking at the world rather than as a simple gathering of facts about it. Erikson's lively and accessible volume considers how sociology became a field of study, and how it has turned its attention over time to new areas of study such as race and gender and what Erikson calls "social speciation." This book provides readers with new ways of thinking about human culture and social life-an exhilarating sense of what the world looks like when viewed with a sociologist's eye.

At the heart of this Handbook’s vision is the twin goals of making theory a viable enterprise by reconceptualizing how we teach theory and keeping theory closely tied to its empirical applications. Three strategies are offered: (1) Elucidating how classic issues like integration or interaction are interrogated today; (2) Presenting a coherent vision of the social levels of reality that theorists work on such as communities, groups, and the self as well as how the coherence of these levels speaks to the macro-micro link; and, (3) Theorizing the social world rather than celebrating theorists or theories; that is, one can look at how theory is used holistically to understand the constraints the social world places on our lived experience or the dynamics of social change.

Examining key countries in every region of world, this handbook presents population profiles and analyses concerning racial/ethnic disparities and changing intergroup relations. Inside, prominent scholars from various parts of the world and disciplines address the links between stratification, demography, and conflict across the globe. Organized by region/continent, coverage for each profiled country includes demographic information; a historical overview that addresses past racial/ethnic conflict; identification of the most salient demographic trends and issues that the country faces; theoretical issues related to the linkages between stratification, demography, and conflict; methodological issues including quality of data and cutting-edge methods to better understand the issue at hand; and details on the possible future of the existing trends and issues with particular emphasis on public policy and human rights.

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology is a follow-up to two earlier volumes of this book and the latest work currently in Wiley Blackwell's Companion series. The goal is to bring together leading scholars in medical sociology to provide discussion of the most important issues and review the current research in the field. This edition follows this practice by providing chapters on health-related topics of significant interest. The contributors are from Canada, China, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who were carefully selected to write chapters on topics in which they were recognized experts.

This handbook provides a comprehensive view of the field of the sociology of gender. It presents the most important theories about gender and methods used to study gender, as well as extensive coverage of the latest research on gender in the most important areas of social life, including gendered bodies, sexuality, carework, paid labor, social movements, incarceration, migration, gendered violence, and others. Building from previous publications this handbook includes a vast array of chapters from leading researchers in the sociological study of gender. It synthesizes the diverse field of gender scholarship into a cohesive theoretical framework, gender structure theory, in order to position the specific contributions of each author/chapter as part of a complex and multidimensional gender structure. Through this organization of the handbook, readers do not only gain tremendous insight from each chapter, but they also attain a broader understanding of the way multiple gendered processes are interrelated and mutually constitutive.

Unprecedented social changes are taking place that pose new challenges for families. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families brings together a collection of original essays that investigate partnering, parenting, and families against the backdrop of rapid social change brought about by globalization, contested cultural values, severe economic shocks, new technologies, and widespread rethinking of welfare state protection for families today.

This handbook brings together essays by leading contributors to development sociology by addressing intellectual challenges: internal and international migration, transformation of political regimes, globalization, changes in household and family formations, gender dynamics, technological change, population and economic growth, environmental sustainability, peace and war, and the production and reproduction of social and economic inequality.