Sociologists in Action: Sociology, Social Change, and Social Justice

This book provides vivid examples of how sociologists are using sociological tools to make a positive impact on our society. In each chapter, four or five public sociologists will describe, in vivid detail, how they have used sociology to understand and influence the world around them. The chapters will cover the key topics in sociology courses and the pieces will bring the subject matter of sociology to life for students, giving them clear examples of the power and usefulness of sociology as they learn the course content. The discussion questions and suggested additional readings and resources at the end of every chapter will provide students the opportunity to delve further into the topics covered and help create full and nuanced discussions, grounded in the "real world" work of public sociologists.

Table of Contents:
Chapter One: The Sociological Perspective Sociology: Promise and Potential Through Praxis - Cheryl Joseph Stand Up and Speak Out - Judith Wittner Organizational Consulting: A Passion for Meaningful Sociological Work - Kathryn Goldman Schuyler From Damaged Goods to Empowered Patients - Adina Nack Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Two: Theory Critical Mixed-Race Studies: The Intersections of Identity and Social Justice - Andrew Jolivette An Ideal Approach to Change? - John E. Glass Using Sociology for College Success - Laura Nichols Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Three: Research Methods The Michigan Alcohol and Other Drugs School Survey - Thomas L. Van Valey Assessing European Environmental Health Action Plans - Harry Perlstadt Positive Deviance Research as a Way to Help People - Samuel Friedman Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Four: Culture Academic as Social Entrepreneur: Creating Organizations for Social Change - Juliet Schor Excerpt From 'The Diary of a Mad Social Scientist' - Corey Dolgon Youth Culture, Identity, and Resistance: Participatory Action Research in a Puerto Rican Barrio - Nilda Flores-González and Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Five: Socialization Socialization, Stereotypes, and Homelessness - Michele Wakin Reengaging Activism in the Socialization of Undergraduate Students - Shelley White Dangerous Behaviors? Police Encounters With Juvenile Gang Offenders - Susan Guarino-Ghezzi Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Six: Deviant Behavior Reducing Hate and Prejudice on Campus: A Sociologist’s Contributions - Jack Levin Thinking Like a Researcher - David J. Hanson The Politics of Protest Policing - Alex S. Vitale Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Seven: Social Movements Change the World—Start at School - Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur Policy Service-Learning: Fulfilling the Promise of Sociology - Scott Myers-Lipton Using Sociological Skills for Movements to Confront Power: The Genesis of the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy (RISEP) - Bruce Nissen A Campus Gun-Free Zone Movement - Rob Benford Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Eight: Stratification and Social Class Housing and Homelessness in Maine: A Case of Public Sociology in Practice - Joe Bandy and Craig McEwen Relocating the Homeless—or Not! - James Wright Sociology Is Action: Using Sociology for Children’s Rights - Jonathan White Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Nine: Race and Ethnic Relations Adding Vitality to Sociology: Bringing the Community Into Research - Philip Nyden Bridging the Campus and the Community: Blogging About the Asian American Experience - C. N. Le Putting Sociology to Work in Winnersville, USA - Mark Patrick George Methods of Truth and Reconciliation - David Cunningham Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Ten: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality Sex in Some Cities: Explorations of AIDS/HIV Education and Hooking Up - Rebecca Plante A Public Sociology of Gender and Masculinity - Michael Kimmel The Southern West Virginia Photovoice Project: Community Action Through Sociological Research - Shannon Elizabeth Bell Getting the Message Out - Susan Stall Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Eleven: Globalization and Immigration Interracial Conflict and Attempts at Reconciliation in Auburn, Maine - Joe Bandy with Elspeth Benard (Dennison) How Culture Matters in Poverty Alleviation Efforts: Microcredit and Confucian Ideas in Rural China - Becky Hsu Informed Debate in a Political Minefield - Irene Bloemraad Community-Based Research and Immigrant Rights - Leah Schmalzbauer Jeffersonian Science, Public Sociology, and Academic Careers: Some Insights and Suggestions for Potential Future Social Scientists - Robert Courtney Smith Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Twelve: Environmental Justice Using a Sociological Tool Kit to Make Energy Efficiency Happen - Lou Jacobson The Sociology of Environmental Justice: Merging Research and Action - Daniel Faber Activist Scholarship for Environmental Justice - David Naguib Pellow Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Thirteen: Social Institutions (Family, Economy) Making an Interest in Adoption Matter - Kathy S. Stolley From Hollowing Out the Middle to Reimagining Small Towns - Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas Why Don’t We Do Something About It?’ A Response to Job Loss in Rural Communities - Leslie Hossfeld Discussion Questions & Resources Chapter Fourteen: Social Institutions, Continued (Education, Government, Religion A Sociologist as a Social Seismographer: Understanding the Earthquake in Class Inequality in US Higher Education - Sigal Alon Putting Theory Into Action! - John Asimakapolous Taking Sociology to Real World Religious Communities - Christian Smith Democracy Matters: Giving Students a Political Voice - Joan D. Mandle A Sociologist as a Social Seismographer: Understanding the Earthquake in Class Inequality in US Higher Education - Sigal Alon Putting Theory Into Action! - John Asimakapolous Taking Sociology to Real World Religious Communities - Christian Smith Democracy Matters: Giving Students a Political Voice - Joan D. Mandle A Sociologist as a Social Seismographer: Understanding the Earthquake in Class Inequality in US Higher Education - Sigal Alon Putting Theory Into Action! - John Asimakapolous Taking Sociology to Real World Religious Communities - Christian Smith Democracy Matters: Giving Students a Political Voice - Joan D. Mandle

About the Author :
Kathleen Odell Korgen is Professor of Sociology at William Paterson University, a comprehensive university in Wayne, New Jersey. Kathleen enjoys teaching her students that sociology is a remarkably useful discipline and highlights how “Sociologists in Action” make a positive impact on society. Her published works on race relations and racial identity include From Black to Biracial, Crossing the Racial Divide, Multiracial Americans and Social Class, Race Policy and Multiracial Americans. Her teaching texts, in addition to Sociology in Action, include Our Social World,  The Engaged Sociologist,  Sociologists in Action, , and Social Problems in Action. Kathleen is also the editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology.   Kathleen works as a consultant for other sociology departments as a member of the American Sociological Association Departmental Resources Group and received William Paterson University’s award for Excellence in Scholarship/Creative Expression in 2006 and the university’s award for Excellence in Teaching in 2014. Jonathan M. White, PhD, is director of the Bentley Service Learning Center and associate professor of sociology at Bentley University in Massachusetts. His primary areas of specialization are inequality, poverty, globalization, human rights, and public sociology. Dr. White has received numerous teaching and humanitarian awards. He is the founding director of Sports for Hunger, the Hunger Resource Center, and the Halloween for Hunger, We are Silent, and Pass-the-Fast campaigns. He serves on the board of directors for Free The Children, Peace Through Youth, Me to We, and the Graduation Pledge Alliance. Dr. White has authored several articles in the fields of inequality and globalization. His work on public sociology includes coediting (with Kathleen Korgen and Shelley White) Sociologists in Action: Sociology, Social Change, and Social Justice (2014) and Sociologists in Action on Inequalities: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality (2015). He is also currently writing a book titled Hungry to Be Heard: Voices From a Malnourished America. Dr. White lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, with his wife, Shelley, and is the very proud uncle of his 13 nieces and nephews, Jarred, Kyle, Tyler, Arielle, Cameron, Brianna, Mikayla, Joshua, Jack, Logan, Tyler, Joey, and Brookelyn. Shelley K. White, PhD, MPH, is a sociologist and Assistant Professor of Health Sciences and Public Health at Worcester State University. She recently taught in the Sociology Department at Simmons College, where she also coordinated the Simmons World Challenge - an interdisciplinary, student-led learning program which creates actionable solutions to global social justice problems. Shelley’s teaching and research focus on health and illness, globalization and development, inequalities, social movements and social justice. She previously worked in HIV/AIDS policy globally and domestically, and serves on the board of directors of Free the Children and SocMed. She is co-editor of Sociologists in Action: Sociology, Social Change, and Social Justice (with Kathleen Odell Korgen and Jonathan White), (2nd Edition, Sage 2013) and her recent publications appear in the Journal of Human Rights Practice; Education, Citizenship and Social Justice; Public Health Reports; and Critical Public Health.