Symbolic Interaction in Society

Table of Contents:
Preface 1 The Social Construction of Reality This Book Isn’t Real! Basic Principles Everything Is Not Relative! A Situational Approach The Construction of Society The Individual in Society Cognitive Sociology Two Schools of Symbolic Interaction Chapter Conclusion 2 Studying Symbolic Interaction Quantitative versus Qualitative Methods Verstehen Power Exploration and Inspection Studying Situations Ethnography Types of Ethnography Narrative Analysis Ethnomethodology and Natural Experiments Unobtrusive Research Going into the Field Project Planning Sampling Ethical Issues Chapter Conclusion 3 Constructing Culture Elements of Culture Statuses, Roles, and Norms Values and Beliefs American Culture American Values and Beliefs American Ideal-Type Personalities Baudrillard’s America Creating Cultures Subcultures and Idiocultures Global Culture? Cultural Change Chapter Conclusion 4 Self and Society The I, the Me, and the Self Situational Selves Self-Narratives and Possible Selves Identity Theories Identity Theory Social Identity Theory Dramaturgy Front Stage/Backstage Impressions Given/Impressions Given Off Chapter Conclusion 5 Socialization Cognitive Socialization Symbols and Language Stages of Socialization Agents of Socialization Family Peers Schools Media and Self-Socialization The Sociology of Childhood Socialization over the Life Course Our Role in History Life Stages: Presocialization to Adult Socialization Chapter Conclusion 6 Emotions, Relationships, and Society Contextualizing Emotions Dramaturgy and Emotions Emotional Scripts Emotional Socialization Relationships, Community, and Society Attraction: Starting a Relationship The Socioemotional Economy Community Relations Chapter Conclusion 7 Deviance and Mental Health Defining Normal Levels of Deviance Creating Deviance Moral Entrepreneurs Labeling and De-Labeling Primary and Secondary Deviance Deviant Subcultures Deviance over the Life Course The Myth of Mental Illness Chapter Conclusion 8 Doing Inequality Status Everywhere! Doing Difference Doing Gender Intersectionality Pride and Prejudice Categorizing Self and Other Borderwork Chapter Conclusion 9 Institutional Life The Nature of Social Institutions Institutional Types All in the Family Work and Occupations: The Economy Education Religion and Politics Institutional Intersections and Innovations Chapter Conclusion 10 Collective Behavior The Maddening Crowd Mass Hysteria Circular Reaction New Social Movements Emergent Norm Theory Value-Added Theory The Anatomy of Collective Thoughts and Behavior Collective Memory, Identity, and Imagination Collective Behaviors Chapter Conclusion References Glossary Index

About the Author :
David Rohall is the Department Head and Professor of Sociology at Missouri State University. His research emphasizes the application of symbolic interactionist principles to any number of topics including self-esteem, identity, and mental health. His previous works include, Social Psychology: Sociological Perspectives, 3rd Edition (2014) and Inclusion in the American Military: A Force for Diversity (2017).

Review :
Over half a century ago, sociologist Herbert Blumer used the term “symbolic interaction” (SI) to describe a theoretical approach challenging behaviorism, functionalism, and other prevailing orthodoxies in the field. Rooted in the Chicago school of sociology and American pragmatism and bearing the distinctive imprint of George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park, this school took hold, particularly in the American Midwest. While Rohall (Missouri State Univ.) does not dwell on this history, he offers a far-ranging overview of the various currents of symbolic interaction that have arisen since Blumer. Following introductory chapters on social constructionism and methods, the remaining eight chapters take up substantive topics. As such, the book bears a resemblance to a brief, introductory sociology textbook, framed entirely in terms of one theoretical perspective. There are chapters devoted to culture, the self, socialization, emotions (less covered in introductory texts), deviance and mental health, inequality, institutions, and collective behavior. Rohall writes in an accessible manner and uses a variety of pedagogical tools, including personal notes, excerpts from “original works,” and chapter reviews of "SI online." The result is a book professors committed to symbolic interaction will find appealing. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates.