Social prisms : reflections on everyday myths and paradoxes

Author(s)

• O'Brien, Jodi

Bibliographic Information

Social prisms : reflections on everyday myths and paradoxes

Jodi O'Brien

Pine Forge Press, c1999

• : pbk

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-247) and index

Contents of Works

• The paradox of reduction : some observations on sociology as science
• The case of the designer genes : reconsidering the nature/nurture binary
• To belong or not to belong? : paradoxes of community
• Which box do I check? : paradoxes of social difference
• How do we cut the American pie? : the myth of meritocracy
• Family equations : whose family? : whose values?
• The paradox of value in the age of certainty : reflections on Max Weber and Georg Simmel

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This is a superb book. By presenting basic sociological topics in terms of the paradoxes they contain, O'Brien situates the discipline and its subject matter in historical and intellectual context, while using examples that are contemporary, accessible, and of interest and relevance to students. I look forward to using Social Prisms in my sociology courses and to the animated class discussions that I'm sure her book will engender. --Anita Ilta Garey, University of New Hampshire "Pine Forge Press has done it again! Social Prisms bolsters the well-deserved reputation of Pine Forge Press for publishing serious and innovative yet interesting and accessible works for undergraduate sociology courses. Students will enjoy O'Brien's frequent references to the popular culture (sports, television, movies) which is so central to their existence outside the classroom, and be challenged by her call to embrace rather than resolve the many paradoxes of contemporary social life in America." --David Yamane, University of Notre Dame

Table of Contents

Prologue The Paradox of Reduction Some Observations on Sociology as Science The Case of the Designer Genes Reconsidering the Nature/Nurture Binary To Belong or Not to Belong? Paradoxes of Community Which Box Do I Check? Paradoxes of Social Difference How Do We Cut the American Pie? The Myth of Meritocracy Family Equations Whose Family? Whose Values? The Paradox of Value in the Age of Certainty Reflections on Max Weber and Georg Simmel Epilogue Paradoxes of Subjectivity

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BA44761777
• ISBN:
  • 0803990316
• LCCN: 98040123
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Thousand Oaks, Calif.
• Pages/Volumes: xiii, 254 p.
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : HM73
  • DC21 : 303.3/72
  • DC21 : 303.372
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Social action
  • LCSH : Social values
  • LCSH : Social role
  • LCSH : Social action.GBA311422