Peter Kivisto

"Featuring eighty-two seminal writings, Social Theory helps students draw connections across different schools of thought. Each reading is enhanced by a concise, thought-provoking introduction that highlights its key points and frames it in a larger context. These introductions serve as a useful 'road map' for students as they travel through the diverse views and continuing debates that make the study of social theory an exciting adventure. The introductions also explain core issues and relationships among the topics covered.

Roots and Branches

Social Theory

This concise book provides readers with a comprehensive overview and critical assessment of the key issues and varied strands of research relating to immigration and religion that have been produced during the past two decades. Religion, once a neglected topic in migration studies, is today seen as a crucially important aspect of the immigrant experience. For some - particularly those focusing on religion in North America - religion has been portrayed as a vital resource for many immigrants engaged in the essential identity work required in adjusting to the receiving society. For others - particularly those who have focused on Muslim immigrants in Western Europe - religion tends to be depicted as a source of conflict rather than one of comfort and consolation. In a judicious, engaging, and highly readable account, this book sorts through these contrasting viewpoints, pointing to an approach that will assist upper-level students and scholars alike in putting these competing analyses into perspective.

Migrant Faiths in North America and Western Europe

Religion and Immigration

William H. Swatos (Jr.)

Max Weber is surpassed only by Karl Marx in the breadth of his influence as a social scientist. This bio-bibliography presents a complete listing of printed translations of Weber's works into English and a comprehensive, annotated bibliography of the secondary literature in English about Weber and his work. The first part contains chapter-length biographies of Weber, an overview of Weber's reception in Anglo-America, and a brief discussion of archival holdings for those interested in primary sources. Kivisto and Swatos offer an assessment of existing studies of Weber's life and thought in lieu of a conventional biography. The bulk of the volume is devoted to providing a bibliographic guide to the secondary literature on Weber in English. Annotated entries are arranged in five topical chapters that focus on biography and intellectual history, social science methodology, religion, politics and social class, and modernity, rationality, and bureaucracy. Additional access to information is provided by two indexes: the author index lists the authors of all entries and the number(s) of their respective citations; the name and subject index identifies names that appear in titles or bibliographic entries and guides the researcher to subjects that may be treated in more than one chapter. This first annotated bibliography of works by and about one of modern sociology's founding fathers is a reference book for both scholars and students of social theory, historical sociology, the sociology of religion, and organizational sociology.

Max Weber, a Bio-bibliography

Samir Dasgupta

During the past three decades, two terms, “postmodernism” and “globalization” have entered not only academic discourse, but everyday discussions outside the groves of academia. This book contains essays assembled with a conviction that both postmodernism and globalization have the potential to be valuable tools for social analysts, this despite the uncertainties and ambiguities that persist. The editors and the contributors make no claim to have found a solution that would overcome the uncertainties and ambiguities. Rather, it is assumed that at some level both the concepts will remain contested. All the essays are expressions of efforts to employ one or both of the concepts in terms of empirically grounded topics. They also add further precision or clarity to the concepts themselves in order to enhance their utility in making sense of the dynamics of social change.

Postmodernism in a Global Perspective

This collection seeks to advance understanding of the shifting character and salience of ethnicity by abandoning the debate between the assimilationist and the cultural pluralist. The case studies presented define culture as a flexible tool, ethnicity as a complex and variable phenomenon, and social actors as knowledgeable agents who make their own history

The Salience of Ethnicity for European-origin Groups

The Ethnic Enigma

The sixth edition of Peter Kivisto's popular anthology, Illuminating Social Life, continues to demonstrate to students how social theories can help them make sense of the swirling events and perplexing phenomena that they encounter in their daily lives. A perfect complement for sociological theory courses, this updated edition includes 13 original essays by leading scholars in the field that help students better understand and appreciate the relevance of social theory. Once again, Peter Kivisto's collection illuminates the connection between sociological theory and the realities that students are faced with every day —from the Internet, alcohol use, and body building to shopping malls, the working world, and fast-food restaurants

Classical and Contemporary Theory Revisited

Illuminating Social Life

The Anthem Companion to Robert Park comes to terms with Robert Park’s legacy. This companion focuses largely on the work rather than the man, a major figure in American sociology during the first half of the past century, and encourages readers to consider the virtue of rethinking—and rereading—the much maligned and frequently misunderstood Park. Despite the fact that he wrote with exemplary clarity, Park’s work has often been ignored by contemporary sociologists. The contributions in this companion embrace no singular response to Park, but rather present a broad range of responses, generally appreciative but also critical.

The Anthem Companion to Robert Park

Georganne Rundblad

This reader focuses on the extremely current, important topic of racial and ethnic experiences in the United States today. Most of the essays were commissioned especially for this reader and have been prepared by some of the brightest voices in this cutting edge field. Instructors in search of a current, comprehensive multicultural reader will find this a valuable student resource whether it is the sole focus of their course or to be integrated into another content area.

Current Issues, Contemporary Voices

Multiculturalism in the United States

Illuminating Social Life has enjoyed increasing popularity with each edition. It is the only book designed for undergraduate teaching that shows today's students how classical and contemporary social theories can be used to shed new light on such topics as the internet, the world of work, fast food restaurants, shopping malls, alcohol use, body building, sales and service, and new religious movements.A perfect complement for the sociological theory course, it offers 13 original essays by leading scholars in the field who are also experienced undergraduate theory teachers. Substantial introductions by the editor link the applied essays to a complete review of the classical and modern social theories used in the book.

Jana Sverdljuk

Terje Mikael Hasle Joranger

Erika K. Jackson

This volume explores the complex and contradictory ways in which the cultural, scientific and political myth of whiteness has influenced identities, self-perceptions and the process of integration of Nordic immigrants into multicultural and racially segregated American society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In deploying central insights from whiteness studies, postcolonial feminist and intersectionality theories, it shows that Nordic immigrants - Danes, Swedes, Finns, Norwegians and Sámi - contributed to and challenged American racism and white identity. A diverse group of immigrants, they could proclaim themselves ‘hyper-white’ and ‘better citizens than anybody else’, including Anglo-Saxons, thus taking for granted the racial bias of American citizenship and ownership rights, yet there were also various, unexpected intersections of whiteness with ethnicity, regional belonging, gender, sexuality, and political views. ‘Nordic whiteness’, then, was not a monolithic notion in the USA and could be challenged by other identities, which could even turn white Nordic immigrants into marginalised figures. A fascinating study of whiteness and identity among white migrants in the USA, Nordic Whiteness will appeal to scholars of sociology, history and anthropology with interests in Scandinavian studies, migration and diaspora studies and American studies.

A Historical Exploration of Identity

Nordic Whiteness and Migration to the USA

Key Ideas in Sociology, Third Edition, is the only undergraduate text to link today's issues to the ideas and individuals of the era of classical sociological thought. Compact and affordable, this book provides an overview of how sociological theories have helped sociologists understand modern societies and human relations. It also describes the continual evolution of these theories in response to social change. Providing students with the opportunity to read from primary texts, this valuable supplement presents theories as interpretive tools, useful for understanding a multifaceted, ever-shifting social world. Emphasis is given to the working world, to the roles and responsibilities of citizenship, and to social relationships. A concluding chapter addresses globalization and its challenges.

Key Ideas in Sociology

Thomas Faist

The most up-to-date analysis of today's immigration issues. As the authors state in Chapter 1, "the movement of people across national borders represents one of the most vivid dramas of social reality in the contemporary world." This comparative text examines contemporary immigration across the globe, focusing on 20 major nations. Key features include: * comprehensive coverage of topics not covered in other texts * a global portrait of contemporary immigration, including a demographic overview of today's cross-border movers * critical assessments of the achievements of the field to date * encourages students to rethink traditional views about the distinction between citizen and alien

The Causes and Consequences of Contemporary Immigration

Beyond a Border

A significant addition to the growing body of literature on citizenship, this wide-ranging overview focuses on the importance, and changing nature, of citizenship. It introduces the varied discourses and theories that have arisen in recent years, and looks toward future scholarship in the field. Offers an analytical assessment of the various thematic discourses and provides guidance in pulling together those discrete themes into a larger, more comprehensive framework Identifies the four broadly conceived themes that shape the many discourses on contemporary citizenship – inclusion, erosion, withdrawal, and expansion Includes a thorough introduction to the subject

Discourse, Theory, and Transnational Prospects

Citizenship

William Outhwaite

J. Michael Ryan

Chang Kyung-Sup

Cynthia F. Epstein

The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary compendium of original entries focusing on the origins, evolution, and global development of contemporary social theory. Presents a comprehensive, interdisciplinary overview and analysis of all aspects of social theory Features more than 850 in-depth, original entries contributed by international experts Includes all major theories, theorists, schools of thought, disciplines, debates, doctrines, developments, epistemologies, and methodologies relating to the development of modern social theory Brings in concepts from contemporary cultural studies, feminism, post-secularism, and postmodernism Explores controversial contemporary debates relating to the clash of civilization, environmentalism, post-colonialism, post-humanism, cyborgs, and the life-extension project

The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, 5 Volume Set

On November 8, 2016, American voters elected Donald J. Trump to become the 45th President of the United States. Peter Kivisto analyses how this happened, focusing on who Trump is, who his supporters are, and the role of the media, right-wing Christians, and the Republican Party in making Trump's victory possible.

How the Politics of Populism Won in 2016

The Trump Phenomenon

Jeffrey C. Alexander

Giuseppe Sciortino

Even as the specter of populism haunts contemporary societies, scholars have not been able to agree about what it is. Except for one thing: a deviation from democracy, the source, it seems, of the precarious position in which so many societies find themselves today. This volume aims to break the Gordian knot of “populism” by bringing a new social theory to bear and, in so doing so, suggesting that normative judgments about this misunderstood phenomenon need to be reconsidered as well. Populism is not a democratic deviation but a naturally occurring dimension of civil sphere dynamics, fatal to democracy only at the extremes. Because populism is highly polarizing, it has the effect of inducing anxiety that civil solidarity is breaking apart. Left populists feel as if civil solidarity is an illusion, that democratic discourse is a fig leaf for private interests, and that the social and cultural differentiation that vouchsafes the independence of the civil sphere merely reflects the hegemony of narrow professional interests or those of a ruling class. Right populists share the same distrust, even repulsion, for the civil sphere. What seems civil to the center and left, like affirmative action or open immigration, they call out as particularistic; honored civil icons, such as Holocaust memorials, they trash. How can the sense of a vital civil center survive such censure from populism on the left and the right? Populism in the Civil Sphere provides compelling answers to these fundamental questions. Its contributions are both sophisticated theoretical interventions and deeply researched empirical studies, and it will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the most important political developments of our time.

Populism in the Civil Sphere

Multiculturalism in Global Society explores the concepts and debates surrounding the complex modern phenomenon of multiculturalism, and its varied effects on the advanced industrial nations of the world. With remarkable clarity and concision, it focuses on the interrelated ties of ethnicity, race, and nationalism in a world where globalizing processes have made such ties increasingly important in economic, political, and cultural terms. Students and scholars looking for the most up-to-date approach to understanding multiculturalism in a global perspective will find this to be an engaging, penetrating, and illuminating text.

Multiculturalism in a Global Society

Margit Fauser

This book examines current policy discussions around the migration-development nexus and subjects them to rigorous conceptual and empirical criticism through a transnational lens, placing the current re-discovery of migrants as agents of development nexus into theoretical and historical perspective.

Peter Kivisto

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