An effective supplement to any standard sociology text, this broad and comprehensive sociological description of five diverse contemporary societies with wide geographic distribution - Japan, Mexico, Egypt, Germany and the San peoples of Namibia - is organized around basic sociological topics: culture, social structure, group life, socialization, deviance, social institutions, social stratification, and social change. Fictional vignettes of individuals in each country help students experience first-person viewpoints on life in five very different societies. By comparing other societies with their own, students read about the range of social variation, learn what makes their own society distinctive, and gain a unique and fascinating vantage point on what sociology offers in a world of rapid social change.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Japan: The Importance of Belonging
Introduction
Japan's History
Japanese Culture
Group Life
Socialization
Deviance in a Demanding Society
Social Inequality in Japan: Class, Status, and Power
Demographic Change
Japan�s Future: Crisis And Continuity
Chapter 2. Mexico: Conflict and Cooperation
Introduction
Mexican Culture
Social Structure and Group Life
Social Institutions
Conflict and Deviance
Social Inequality and Conflict
Chapter 3. The San Peoples of Namibia: Between Subsistence and Globalization
Introduction
History ofthe San?
Part I: Reports On Field Research: The Hunting-Gathering Life
Social Structure and Group Life
Social Inequality
Deviance and Social Control
Socialization
Part II: The San in Modern Namibia
Chapter 4. Egypt: Youth, Inequality, and Social Change
Introduction
Egypt's History
Egyptian Culture
Gender Roles in Egyptian Culture
Youth Rises Up
Social Expectations and Inequality in Egypt
Egypt�s Authoritarian Government
After The Revolution
Chapter 5. Germany: Diversity in a Modern Nation-State
Introduction
German History: Borders and Peoples
Changing Borders: What is Germany
German Culture
Minority Groups in Germany
Deviance and Diversity
Inequality and Diversity
Demographic Change
Germany in An Age of Globalization
