Author's Choice "Intersections" Reader to accompany Renzetti & Curran's "Living Sociology"

A short, inexpensive collection of readings from Pearson Custom Publishing's Intersections database selected by Claire Renzetti and Daniel Curran specifically to accompany their textbook, Living Sociology, Second Edition.

Table of Contents:
1. An Idea Whose Time Has Come , Earl Babbie. In Chapters 1 & 2 of Living Sociology, we introduce the major theories and methods of the discipline. In this reading, Babbie draws the connections between theory and method while illustrating some of the discipline's frequently used research techniques. 2. The Mountain People , Colin M. Turnbull. Turnbull provides a link between Chapters 3 & 4 of Living Sociology by offering an illustration of one type of society while showing how the meaning of specific values is socially constructed. 3. Suspended Identity: Identity Transformation in a Maximum Security Prison , Thomas J. Schmid and Richard S. Jones. After reading Chapter 5 of Living Sociology, you may wonder what resocialization in a total institution is like and how individuals who experience it manage their “spoiled” identities. Schmid and Jones provide some answers. 4. If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would You? Probably. , Philip Meyer. Think you are different from the people who participated in Stanley Milgram's famous obedience experiment? Meyer makes a convincing argument that you probably are not. 5. Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System , David Cole. As we show in Chapter 7 of Living Sociology, not everyone has an equal chance of being officially labeled deviant. Cole reviews some of the data that support this position. 6. Preparing for Power: Prep Schools and Higher Education , Peter W. Cookson and Caroline Hodges Persell. While many of us would like to believe that with talent and hard work we can reach “the top,” Cookson and Persell illustrate a point made in Chapter 8 of Living Sociology: that elites use particular institutions to reproduce and sustain their privileged position in society. 7. The Feminization of Poverty in Africa , Daphne Topouzis. While the majority of people living in the developing world are poor, Chapter 9 of Living Sociology maintains that women and children in these countries are especially disadvantaged. Topouzis examines some of the data that show this problem is worsening. 8. The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough , Anne Fausto-Sterling. Do you think the world is made up of only males and females? Chapter 10 of Living Sociology disputes that idea and Fausto-Sterling tells us why we should, too. 9. A Different Mirror , Ronald T. Takaki. What does racial and ethnic diversity mean? In this reading, Takaki provides answers from the historical contemporary experiences of some of the groups that are part of the American social “quilt.” 10. When Work Disappears , William Wilson. Although U.S. unemployment rates have been low in recent years, Wilson shows that certain groups are more susceptible than others to losing their jobs, and he discusses what impact unemployment has on these people as well as on the neighborhoods in which they live. 11. The Big Tilt: Participatory Inequality in America , Sidney Verba, et al. In Chapter 14 of Living Sociology, we discuss the low rates of political participation in the U.S. Verba, and his colleagues continue this discussion by examining some of the factors that influence people's willingness to participate in the political process. 12. Mate Selection and Marriage Around the World , Bron B. Ingoldsby. Chapter 15 of Living Sociology should peak your interest in the diverse family forms that populate the U.S. as well as the rest of the world. Ingoldsby shows how choosing someone with whom to start a family varies cross-culturally, too. 13. Access to and Opportunities in Post-Secondary Education in the United States: A Review , Therese L. Baker and William Velez. A college education used to be reserved primarily for the economically advantaged. Although more people are attending college now than in the past, Baker and Velez demonstrate that whether they go and where they go still depends to a large extent not only on social class, but also on race and gender. 14. Race or Class or Race and Class: Growing Mortality Differentials in the United States , Vincente Navarro. A central theme of Living Sociology is intersecting inequalities. Like the reading that precedes it, this one by Navarro underlines the theme by showing how one's race and class can become a matter of life or death. 15. Toxic Cash: How Lobbyists Poisoned the EPA , Robert Dreyfuss. Chapter 19 of Living Sociology may make you wonder whom we should trust to preserve and defend our natural environment. This reading by Dreyfuss shows why federal agencies may not be a good choice. 16. When Activists Win: The Renaissance of Dudley Street , Jay Walljasper. Chapter 20 of Living Sociology discusses some of the factors that contribute to the success of social movements. Wallsjasper offers an illustration of one such successful movement.