The practical skeptic : core concepts in sociology / Lisa J. McIntyre.

Contents;

Introduction

Part 1: Getting started in sociology
Chapter 1: Responding to chaos: A brief history of sociology
Inquiries into the physical world
Technology, urbanization, and social upheaval
etc.

Chapter 2: The sociological eye
The focus on the social
Skepticism
etc.

Chapter 3: Science and fuzzy objects: Specialization in sociology
Dividing up the task
Topic area or subject matter
etc.

Chapter 4: Who's afraid of sociology?
The empirical world and inconvenient facts
Ethnocentrism
etc.

Part 2: Tools of sociological research
Chapter 5: The vocabulary of science
Variables
Hypotheses
etc.

Chapter 6: Doing social research
Two traditions: Qualitative and quantitative research
First things first: The lit review
etc.

Part 3: The social environment
Chapter 7: Culture
Material and nonmaterial culture
Box: The power of information sanctions
etc.

Chapter 8: Social structure
Statuses
Roles
etc.

Chapter 9: Society and social institutions
Social needs
The nature of social institutions
etc.

Part 4: People in society
Chapter 10: Socialization
Nature and nurture: Biological and social processes
How socialization works
etc.

Chapter 11: Deviance and social control
The relativity of deviance ( What we already know)
Nonsociological theories of deviance
etc.

Part 5: Inequality
Chapter 12: Stratification and inequality
Caste systems
Estate systems
etc.

Chapter 13: Inequality and achievement: Social class
BOX: The Matthew effect
Explaining social stratification
etc.

Chapter 14: Inequality and ascription: Race, ethnicity, and gender
Why a dollar is not always a dollar
Prejudice
Discrimination
etc.

References : p. 239-245 . _ Glossary/Index : p. 247-257.