Sociology
-
Mapping Geographies of Violence
Mapping Geographies of Violence presents readers with a larger understanding and analysis of how violence, far from just an expression of individuals or groups, is rooted in social constructs like class, patriarchy and racism.
Understanding Societies
Readings for Introductory Sociology
This book is a collection of critical readings that animate contemporary sociological theory and research. Students will learn how sociology can be relevant in their everyday lives as they are introduced to scholars who challenge conventional thinking about how the world works. Designed as a companion reader for introductory sociology students, each reading is set in context with clear linkages to Joanne Naiman’s How Societies Work. Students will read about racial profiling, wrongful convictions, homophobia, human trafficking, professional sports, sweatshop labour, and residential schools. Each chapter illustrates how sociologists think about social inequality, power, and social transformation.
-
How Societies Work, 5th Edition
Class, Power, and Change
In 2011, protesters around the world – including Canada – called for changes to the societies in which they live. Many observers were asking: “What do they want?” Some answers to this question can be found in How Societies Work, a unique and accessible introductory sociology textbook that introduces students to the structure of contemporary societies and the power relationships within them. In contrast to most introductory textbooks, How Societies Work explores a broad range of sociological concepts and theories while simultaneously creating a coherent picture of modern societies. Drawing on fields as diverse as anthropology, genetics, economics, social psychology, history and politics, this innovative and popular text looks at both the roots of modern societies and the current structures within them. This approach helps undergraduate students make sense of our complex social world and encourages them to connect the social world to their own lived experiences.
-
Gendered Intersections
An Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies, 2nd Edition
Following the structure of the successful first edition of Gendered Intersections, this second edition examines the intersections across and between gender, race, culture, class, ability, sexuality, age and geographical location from the diverse perspectives of academics, artists and activists. Using a variety of mediums – academic research, poetry, statistics, visual essays, fiction, emails and music – this collection offers a unique exploration of gender through issues such as Aboriginal self-governance, poverty, work, spirituality, globalization and community activism. This new edition brings a greater focus on politics, and gender and the law. It also includes access to a Gendered Intersections website, which contains several performances by poets and a Gendered Intersections Quiz, which highlights the historical and contemporary contributions of women and non-hegemonic men to Canadian society.
-
Out of Left Field
Social Inequality and Sport
High-performance sport, like other social and cultural formations, is a site of social, economic and racial inequalities emerging from larger histories of colonialism and capitalism. In this introductory text, the authors explore the nature of historical and contemporary social inequality in high-performance sport, both globally and locally – understanding high-performance sport as a model that is emulated on other sports fields. In addition, the authors examine the enduring appeal of high-performance sport and its role in the making of identity as well as high-performance sport as a site for resisting the forces of colonialism and capitalism.
-
Social Perspectives on Death and Dying (2nd edition)
While death is an inevitable happening in all our lives, the perspectives that we hold about death and dying are socially constructed. This text takes us through the maze of issues, both social and personal, which surround death and dying in our country. The author invites us not to just peek at issues of death and dying but to open our eyes wide and examine how Canadian cultures deal with those concepts. In this new updated edition, Auger challenges us to examine our own thoughts, feelings and fears–our own experience–of the death and dying phenomena.
-
Sociology for Changing the World
Social Movements/Social Research
This book for activists and researchers on building connections between social movements and social research sets out practical ways activists can map the social relations of struggle they are engaged in and produce knowledge for more effective forms of activism for changing the world. Grounded in political activist ethnography, this work does not see social movements as “objects” to be studied from the outside. Rather they are to be analyzed from the standpoint of insiders’ knowledge and based on the daily struggles the social movements are engaged in. Sociology for Changing the World allows people to learn how to do sociology for social transformation.
-
Ruling Canada
Corporate Cohesion and Democracy
Ruling Canada critically examines Canada’s “economic elite”–a collection of the country’s richest and most powerful individuals, many of whom preside over Canada’s largest corporations. Brownlee argues that this corporate elite is increasingly unified and class conscious. As a direct result, a broad array of state policies and programs have been cut and/or implemented which serve the interests of this elite minority at the expense of most Canadian citizens. Business elite solidarity is possible because of a several unifying mechanisms: interlocking directorates, the structure of corporate ownership/control networks, the mass media, intersectoral policy organizations, business-oriented think-tanks and foundations, and corporate ties to the state and political system. In the face of formidable corporate domination and a growing threat to democracy in Canada, Brownlee emphasizes that existing relations are not inevitable and could be modified through networks of concerned citizens coming together to challenge the political and economic status quo.
-
Identity, Place, Knowledge
Social Movements, Contesting Globalization
Grassroots organizations have long been involved in the education and mobilization of local populations. Through the development of coalition formation, broad-based campaign-organizing and popular and activist education, information and experiences are shared amongst activists and interested individuals. Janet M. Conway looks at how social justice organizations struggle to build momentum when many of the groups are disparate and the development of ideas are often articulated through actions. Conway examines the experiences within a particular organization, the Metro Network for Social Justice, in Toronto. This small, place-based group contributed, with thousands of others like it, to the demonstrations in Seatle in 1999. These groups have become sophisticated forums to explore the structures of representation, decision-making, democratic governance and problems of inequality and power/knowledge in activist politics. By focusing on MNSJ, Conway is able to explore topics that affect any number of groups involved in social justice and to offer some hard hitting analysis on how it is that small groups scattered around the world are able to affect change.
-
Star Wars in Canadian Sociology
Exploring the Social Construction of Knowledge
“David Nock looks at the theories of prominant sociologists and presents a thoroughly grounded discussion of how this unique brand of sociology has been socially constructed. It is a pleasant, interesting, and informative reader which makes all these topics look just a little bit different than they did before.”-Rich Ogmundson, University of Victoria
