Expressions of Ethnography embraces the idea that alternative genres may be used to express culture. Using examples of a wide variety of cultural phenomena, contemporary ways to practice ethnography, and novel forms of expressing the cultural experience, the book offers an eclectic mix of short stories, novels, and poetry, as well as traditional scholarly reports of poignant, provocative, and powerful cultural phenomena. Included are accounts of recovery following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, life as a prison guard, surviving child abuse and coping via an eating disorder, dealing with disabilities, living the gay life, birthing babies, as well as searching for birth mothers. Special attention is given to dialogue, from dialogue with families and friends to American ethnographers interviewing Thai managers.
This accessible, alternative approach to mainstream Research Methods titles is written for students who will need to interpret social research in their careers and, more than likely, have opportunities to do research. The book’s focus is on equipping students with the tools both to evaluate research done by others and to do their own research. Exercises in the text help students develop skills and strategies for research, including Internet assignments for finding and evaluating sources. The text provides students with a solid grounding in the relevant aspects of the philosophy of science and thoroughly explains the differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods.
A New York Times Bestseller "A rich portrait of the urban poor, drawn not from statistics but from vivid tales of their lives and his, and how they intertwined." —The Economist "A sensitive, sympathetic, unpatronizing portrayal of lives that are ususally ignored or lumped into ill-defined stereotype." —Finanical Times Foreword by Stephen J. Dubner, coauthor of Freakonomics When first-year graduate student Sudhir Venkatesh walked into an abandoned building in one of Chicago’s most notorious housing projects, he hoped to find a few people willing to take a multiple-choice survey on urban poverty--and impress his professors with his boldness. He never imagined that as a result of this assignment he would befriend a gang leader named JT and spend the better part of a decade embedded inside the projects under JT’s protection. From a privileged position of unprecedented access, Venkatesh observed JT and the rest of his gang as they operated their crack-selling business, made peace with their neighbors, evaded the law, and rose up or fell within the ranks of the gang’s complex hierarchical structure. Examining the morally ambiguous, highly intricate, and often corrupt struggle to survive in an urban war zone, Gang Leader for a Day also tells the story of the complicated friendship that develops between Venkatesh and JT--two young and ambitious men a universe apart. Sudhir Venkatesh’s latest book Floating City: A Rogue Sociologist Lost and Found in New York’s Underground Economy—a memoir of sociological investigation revealing the true face of America’s most diverse city—is also published by Penguin Press.
This comprehensive textbook provides a clear nontechnical introduction to the philosophy of science. Through asking whether science can provide us with objective knowledge of the world, the book provides a thorough and accessible guide to the key thinkers and debates that define the field. George Couvalis surveys traditional themes around theory and observation, induction, probability, falsification and rationality as well as more recent challenges to objectivity including relativistic, feminist and sociological readings. This provides a helpful framework in which to locate the key intellectual contributions to these debates, ranging from those of Mill and Hume, through Popper and Kuhn to Laudan, Bloor and Garfinkel among others.
The Urban Ethnography Reader assembles the very best of American ethnographic writing, from classic works to contemporary research, and aims to present ethnography as social science, social history, and literature, rather than purely as a methodology.
It has been argued that religious studies is a polymethodic discipline, and that the student of religion should be familiar with the approaches of the major disciplines concerned with understanding the nature of religion, not least because the approach adopted has profound influence on the phenomena chose for investigation and the conclusions reached.This book is the first textbook, specifically designed for undergraduate students, that provides the essential background on methods of the major relevant disciplines.Presenting each of the significant approaches to religion in an informed manner, the book brings together experienced researchers from feminism, anthropology, sociology, phenomenology, psychology, philosophy, and theology. It presents a consistent approach throughout, with each chapter dealing with the same themes: the historical development of the approach, the characteristics of the approach, and the surrounding issues and debates.
“What would it take to create a world in which fantasy is not confused for fact and public policy is based on objective reality?" asks Neil deGrasse Tyson, science popularizer and author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. "I don't know for sure. But a good place to start would be for everyone on earth to read this book." Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you're trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. Or you met someone at a party who insisted the Holocaust never happened or that no one ever walked on the moon. How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like? This down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims will help you set the record straight. The author, a veteran journalist, has not only surveyed a vast body of literature, but has also interviewed leading scientists, explored "the most haunted house in America," frolicked in the inviting waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and even talked to a "contrite Roswell alien." He is not out simply to debunk unfounded beliefs. Wherever possible, he presents alternative scientific explanations, which in most cases are even more fascinating than the wildest speculation. For example, stories about UFOs and alien abductions lack good evidence, but science gives us plenty of reasons to keep exploring outer space for evidence that life exists elsewhere in the vast universe. The proof for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may be nonexistent, but scientists are regularly discovering new species, some of which are truly stranger than fiction. Stressing the excitement of scientific discovery and the legitimate mysteries and wonder inherent in reality, this book invites readers to share the joys of rational thinking and the skeptical approach to evaluating our extraordinary world.
Using engaging stories and a diverse cast of characters, Lisa Wade memorably delivers what C. Wright Mills described as both the terrible and the magnificent lessons of sociology. With chapters that build upon one another, Terrible Magnificent Sociology represents a new kind of introduction to sociology. Recognizing the many statuses students carry, Wade goes beyond race, class, and gender, considering inequalities of all kindsÑand their intersections. She also highlights the remarkable diversity of sociology, not only of its methods and approaches but also of the scholars themselves, emphasizing the contributions of women, immigrants, and people of color. The book ends with an inspiring call to action, urging students to use their sociological imaginations to improve the world in which they live.
