Sociology

Self, Social Structure, and Beliefs: Explorations in Sociology

Jeffrey Alexander (ed.)

Teacher, scholar, and leader, Neil Smelser stands as an iconic figure in sociology in the second half of the twentieth century. The chapters in this volume, written by prominent scholars ... More

Teacher, scholar, and leader, Neil Smelser stands as an iconic figure in sociology in the second half of the twentieth century. The chapters in this volume, written by prominent scholars from all walks of the social sciences, reveal the range and depth of Smelser's influence and his substantial contributions to diverse fields such as British history, social change, collective behavior, higher education, the economy, and psychoanalysis. Less

Shadow Mothers: Nannies, Au Pairs, and the Micropolitics of Mothering

Cameron Lynne Macdonald

This book shines new light on an aspect of contemporary motherhood often hidden from view: the need for paid childcare by women returning to the workforce, and the complex bonds mothers ... More

This book shines new light on an aspect of contemporary motherhood often hidden from view: the need for paid childcare by women returning to the workforce, and the complex bonds mothers forge with the “shadow mothers” they hire. This book illuminates both sides of an unequal and complicated relationship. Based on in-depth interviews with professional women and childcare providers—immigrant and American-born nannies as well as European au pairs—this book locates the roots of individual skirmishes between mothers and their childcare providers in broader cultural and social tensions. The book argues that these conflicts arise from unrealistic ideals about mothering and inflexible career paths and work schedules, as well as from the devaluation of paid care work. Less

The Silk Weavers of Kyoto: Family and Work in a Changing Traditional Industry

Tamara Hareven

The makers of obi, the elegant and costly sash worn over kimono in Japan, belong to an endangered species. These families of manufacturers, weavers, and other craftspeople centered in ... More

The makers of obi, the elegant and costly sash worn over kimono in Japan, belong to an endangered species. These families of manufacturers, weavers, and other craftspeople centered in the Nishijin weaving district of Kyoto have practiced their demanding craft for generations. In recent decades, however, as a result of declining markets for kimono, they find their livelihood and pride harder to sustain. This book is a poignant exploration of a vanishing world. It integrates historical research with intensive life history interviews to reveal the relationships among family, work, and community in this highly specialized occupation. The book uses knowledge of textile workers' lives in the United States and Western Europe to show how striking similarities in weavers' experiences transcend cultural differences. These very rich personal testimonies, taken over a decade and a half, provide insight into how these men and women have juggled family and work roles and coped with insecurities. Readers can learn firsthand how weavers perceive their craft and how they interpret their lives and view the world around them. Less

Sites of Violence: Gender and Conflict Zones

Wenona Giles (ed.)

In conflict zones from Iraq and Afghanistan to Guatemala and Somalia, the rules of war are changing dramatically. Distinctions between battlefield and home, soldier and civilian, state ... More

In conflict zones from Iraq and Afghanistan to Guatemala and Somalia, the rules of war are changing dramatically. Distinctions between battlefield and home, soldier and civilian, state security and domestic security are breaking down. In this especially timely book, a powerful group of international authors doing feminist research brings the highly gendered and racialized dimensions of these changes into sharp relief. In essays on nationalism, the political economy of conflict, and the politics of asylum, they investigate what happens when the body, household, nation, state, and economy become sites at which violence is invoked against people. In particular, these hard-hitting essays move us forward in our understanding of violence against women — how it is perpetrated, survived, and resisted. They explore the gendered politics of ethno-nationalism in Sri Lanka, the post-Yugoslav states, and Israel and Palestine. They consider “honor killings” in Iraqi Kurdistan, armed conflict in the Sudan, and geographies of violence in Ghana. This volume augments feminist analysis on conflict zones and contributes to transnational coalition-building and feminist organizing. Less

Strangers at the Gates: New Immigrants in Urban America

Roger Waldinger (ed.)

Immigration is remaking the United States. In New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago, the multiethnic society of tomorrow is already in place. Yet today's urban centers ... More

Immigration is remaking the United States. In New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago, the multiethnic society of tomorrow is already in place. Yet today's urban centers appear unlikely to provide newcomers with the same opportunities their predecessors found at the turn of the last century. Using the latest sources of information, this book looks at the nexus between urban realities and immigrant destinies in these American cities. It tells the real story of immigrants' prospects for success today and delineates the conditions that will hinder or aid the newest Americans in their quest to get ahead. The book stresses the crucial importance of understanding that immigration today is fundamentally urban and the equally important fact that immigrants are now flocking to places where low-skilled workers—regardless of ethnic background—are in particular trouble. These two themes are at the heart of the book, which also covers a range of provocative topics, often with surprising findings. Among the chapters, one enters the controversy over whether and how immigrants affect the employment prospects for African Americans; another investigates whether low immigrant wages depress other workers' salaries; another contends that immigrants seem to be experiencing downward mobility; and another asserts that trends among second-generation immigrants are decidedly more optimistic. Less

Surrogate Motherhood and the Politics of Reproduction

Susan Markens

This book takes on one of the hottest issues on the fertility front—surrogate motherhood—and illuminates the culture wars that have erupted over new reproductive technologies in the ... More

This book takes on one of the hottest issues on the fertility front—surrogate motherhood—and illuminates the culture wars that have erupted over new reproductive technologies in the United States. In an innovative analysis of legislative responses to surrogacy in the bellwether states of New York and California, it explores how discourses about gender, family, race, genetics, rights, and choice have shaped policies aimed at this issue. The author examines the views of key players, including legislators, women's organizations, religious groups, the media, and others. In a study that finds surprising ideological agreement among those with opposing views of surrogate motherhood, the author challenges common assumptions about our responses to reproductive technologies and at the same time offers a picture of how reproductive politics shape social policy. Less

Transforming Terror: Remembering the Soul of the World

Karin LofthusCarrington (ed.)

This book offers a new paradigm for moving the world beyond violence as the first, and often only, response to violence. Through essays and poetry, prayers and meditations, it ... More

This book offers a new paradigm for moving the world beyond violence as the first, and often only, response to violence. Through essays and poetry, prayers and meditations, it demonstrates that terrorist violence—defined here as any attack on unarmed civilians—can never be stopped by a return to the thinking that created it. A diverse array of contributors—writers, healers, spiritual and political leaders, scientists, and activists, including Desmond Tutu, Huston Smith, Riane Eisler, Daniel Ellsberg, Amos Oz, Fatema Mernissi, Fritjof Capra, George Lakoff, Mahmoud Darwish, Terry Tempest Williams, and Jack Kornfield—consider how we might transform the conditions that produce terrorist acts and bring true healing to the victims of these acts. Broadly encompassing both the Islamic and Western worlds, the book explores the nature of consciousness and offers a blueprint for change that makes peace possible. From firsthand accounts of terrorism, it draws us into awareness of our ecological and economic interdependence, the need for connectedness, and the innate human capacity for compassion. Less

Understanding Global Slavery: A Reader

Kevin Bales

Although slavery is illegal throughout the world, it has previously been noted by the author of this book that more than twenty-seven million people—in countries from Pakistan to ... More

Although slavery is illegal throughout the world, it has previously been noted by the author of this book that more than twenty-seven million people—in countries from Pakistan to Thailand to the United States—are still trapped in bondage. The book looks beyond the specific instances of slavery described previously to explore broader themes about slavery's causes, its continuation, and how it might be ended. Written to raise awareness and deepen understanding, and touching again on individual lives around the world, it tackles head-on one of the most urgent and difficult problems facing us today. Each of the chapters explores a different facet of global slavery. The book investigates slavery's historical roots to illuminate today's puzzles, and explores our basic ideas about what slavery is and how the phenomenon fits into our moral, political, and economic worlds. It seeks to explain how human trafficking brings people into our cities; how the demand for trafficked workers, servants, and prostitutes shapes modern slavery; and asks how we can study and measure this mostly hidden crime. Throughout, the book emphasizes that to end global slavery, we must first understand it. Less

Uneasy Warriors: Gender, Memory, and Popular Culture in the Japanese Army

Sabine Fruhstuck

Katharine Rodger (ed.)

Following World War II, Japan's postwar constitution forbade the country to wage war or create an army. However, with the emergence of the Cold War in the 1950s, Japan was urged to ... More

Following World War II, Japan's postwar constitution forbade the country to wage war or create an army. However, with the emergence of the Cold War in the 1950s, Japan was urged to establish the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) as a way to bolster Western defenses against the tide of Asian communism. Although the SDF's role is supposedly limited to self-defense, Japan's armed forces are equipped with advanced weapons technology and the world's third-largest military budget. This book draws on interviews, historical research, and analysis to describe the unusual case of a non-war-making military. Written by the first scholar permitted to participate in basic SDF training, the book offers a firsthand look at an army trained for combat that nevertheless serves nontraditional military needs. Less

When Government Fails: The Orange County Bankruptcy

Mark Baldassare

When Orange County, California, filed for Chapter 9 protection on December 6, 1994, it became the largest municipality in United States history to declare bankruptcy. Providing a ... More

When Orange County, California, filed for Chapter 9 protection on December 6, 1994, it became the largest municipality in United States history to declare bankruptcy. Providing a comprehensive analysis of this momentous fiscal crisis, the book uncovers the many twists and turns from the dark days in December 1994 to the financial recovery of June 1996. Utilizing a wealth of primary materials from the county government and Merrill Lynch, as well as interviews with key officials and players in this drama, it untangles the causes of this $1.64 billion fiasco. It identifies three factors critical to understanding the bankruptcy: one, the political fragmentation of the numerous local governments in the area; two, the fiscal conservatism underlying voters' feelings about their tax dollars; and three, the financial austerity in state government and in meeting rising state expenditures. The book finds that these forces help to explain how a county known for its affluence and conservative politics could have allowed its cities' school, water, transportation, and sanitation agencies to be held hostage to this failed investment pool. Meticulously examining the events that led up to the bankruptcy, the local officials' response to the fiscal emergency, and the road to fiscal recovery—as well as the local government reforms engendered by the crisis—this book is a dramatic and instructive economic morality tale. It underlines the dangers inherent in a freewheeling bull economy and the imperatives of local and state governments to protect fiscal assets. As this book shows, Orange County need not—and should not—happen again. Less