Sociology: Pop Culture to Social Structure - Softcover

This book demonstrates sociology's relevance by illustrating sociological concepts and theories in a fun, hip way with examples from pop culture that you know and enjoy. The new title, SOCIOLOGY: POP CULTURE TO SOCIAL STRUCTURE, underscores this approach by reflecting the book's themes, which 1) apply sociological concepts to everyday pop culture phenomena, 2) illustrate how technological change drives social change through examples that are familiar to you, and 3) engage you in thinking critically by asking you where you fit in to the larger context of social patterns in the world. The book teaches you "how" to think sociologically, not just "what" to think, and emphasizes the importance of diversity and a global perspective. Movie reviews in a popular "Sociology at the Movies" boxes explore the sociological messages in recent movies such as The Social Network, Avatar, Milk, and many others. Up-to-date discussions of topics such as race, poverty, and religious practices are accompanied by exploration of contemporary issues related to our increasingly digital world, including examinations of how technological change shortens attention span, the Internet as an atomizing and a community-building force, and electronic surveillance and social control.

Robert Brym is S. D. Clark Chair in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a member of the President's Teaching Academy, and a winner of the Northrop Frye Prize for academic and teaching excellence. His introductory-level textbooks have been published in Canada, Quebec (in French), the United States, Brazil (in Portuguese), and Australia. He has published research on the sociology of intellectuals, social movements in Canada, Jews in Russia, and collective and state violence in Israel and Palestine. Currently, his research focuses on the 2010-11 Arab Spring and the ensuing Arab Winter. John Lie (pronounced "lee") was born in South Korea, grew up in Japan and Hawaii, and received his A.B., A.M., and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. His main interests are in social theory and political economy. Currently, he is the C. K. Cho Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he previously served as the Dean of International and Area Studies. His recent publications include Zainichi (Koreans in Japan) (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008) and Modern Peoplehood: On Race, Racism, Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Identity, paperback ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011).