Black Hawk Hancock

Change and Disruption: Sociology of the Future draws on classical and modern sociological theory to identify recent and emerging trends in the global system. The book probes the rise of authoritarian states, rifts in the relationship between humans and the rest of nature, the coming impact of artificial intelligence, and changes in work, cities, science, and the quality of life. These dynamics are explored through the animating question: will the positive potential of the modern world be realized or will the human condition spiral downward?Garner and Hancock employ sociological theory to tackle big questions about the societies of the present and the societies of the future. They use three powerful tools for exploration. The first tool is historical analysis to reveal how our contemporary world was shaped during the early modern era, the rise of capitalism, colonialism, and industrialization, and the tumultuous 20th century. The second tool is quantitative analyses of our current global conditions that show contradictory pictures of both persistent inequalities and great advances in well-being. The third tool is contending sociological theories that conceptualize a plurality of social forces that shape five “matters of concern”: the state, the human-nature relationship; work, economy, and technology; population change, migration, and urbanization; and the emerging self.Change and Disruption offers a spirited conversation among theorists and different sociological traditions. The authors take stock of the present moment, one where facts are fluid and contentious in a changing historical context. Garner and Hancock take up the project of Sociology as a quest for understanding our world and grappling with major new trajectories of change within and to that world. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in the social sciences.

Change and Disruption: Sociology of the Future draws on classical and modern sociological theory to identify recent and emerging trends in the global system. The book probes the rise of authoritarian states, rifts in the relationship between humans and the rest of nature, the coming impact of artificial intelligence, and changes in work, cities, science, and the quality of life. These dynamics are explored through the animating question: will the positive potential of the modern world be realized or will the human condition spiral downward?Garner and Hancock employ sociological theory to tackle big questions about the societies of the present and the societies of the future. They use three powerful tools for exploration. The first tool is historical analysis to reveal how our contemporary world was shaped during the early modern era, the rise of capitalism, colonialism, and industrialization, and the tumultuous 20th century. The second tool is quantitative analyses of our current global conditions that show contradictory pictures of both persistent inequalities and great advances in well-being. The third tool is contending sociological theories that conceptualize a plurality of social forces that shape five “matters of concern”: the state, the human-nature relationship; work, economy, and technology; population change, migration, and urbanization; and the emerging self.Change and Disruption offers a spirited conversation among theorists and different sociological traditions. The authors take stock of the present moment, one where facts are fluid and contentious in a changing historical context. Garner and Hancock take up the project of Sociology as a quest for understanding our world and grappling with major new trajectories of change within and to that world. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in the social sciences.

Now, more than 20 years since its initial release, John Fiske’s classic text Media Matters remains both timely and insightful as an empirically rich examination of how the fierce battle over cultural meaning is negotiated in American popular culture. Media Matters takes us to the heart of social inequality and the call for social justice by interrogating some of the most important issues of its time. Fiske offers a practical guide to learning how to interpret the ways that media events shape the social landscape, to contest official and taken-for-granted accounts of how events are presented/conveyed through media, and to affect social change by putting intellectual labor to public use. A new introductory essay by former Fiske student Black Hawk Hancock entitled ‘Learning How to Fiske: Theorizing Cultural Literacy, Counter-History, and the Politics of Media Events in the 21st Century’ explains the theoretical and methodological tools with which Fiske approaches cultural analysis, highlighting the lessons today’s students can continue to draw upon in order to understand society today.

Now, more than 20 years since its initial release, John Fiske’s classic text Power Plays Power Works remains both timely and insightful as a theoretically driven examination of the terrain where the politics of culture and the culture of politics collide.Drawing on a diverse set of cultural sites - from alternative talk radio forums, museums, celebrity fandom, to social problems such as homelessness - Fiske traverses the topography of the American cultural landscape to highlight the ways that ordinary people creatively construct their social identities and relationships through the use of the resources available to them, while constrained by social conditions not of their own choosing. This important analysis provides a set of critical methodological and analytical tools to grapple with the complexities and struggles of contemporary social life.A new introductory essay by former Fiske student Black Hawk Hancock entitled ‘Learning How to Fiske: Theorizing Power, Knowledge, and Bodies in the 21st Century’ elucidates Fiske’s methods for today’s students, providing them with the ultimate guide to thinking and analyzing like John Fiske; the art of ‘Learning How to Fiske’.

Now, more than 20 years since its initial release, John Fiske’s classic text Media Matters remains both timely and insightful as an empirically rich examination of how the fierce battle over cultural meaning is negotiated in American popular culture. Media Matters takes us to the heart of social inequality and the call for social justice by interrogating some of the most important issues of its time. Fiske offers a practical guide to learning how to interpret the ways that media events shape the social landscape, to contest official and taken-for-granted accounts of how events are presented/conveyed through media, and to affect social change by putting intellectual labor to public use. A new introductory essay by former Fiske student Black Hawk Hancock entitled ‘Learning How to Fiske: Theorizing Cultural Literacy, Counter-History, and the Politics of Media Events in the 21st Century’ explains the theoretical and methodological tools with which Fiske approaches cultural analysis, highlighting the lessons today’s students can continue to draw upon in order to understand society today.

Now, more than 20 years since its initial release, John Fiske’s classic text Power Plays Power Works remains both timely and insightful as a theoretically driven examination of the terrain where the politics of culture and the culture of politics collide.Drawing on a diverse set of cultural sites - from alternative talk radio forums, museums, celebrity fandom, to social problems such as homelessness - Fiske traverses the topography of the American cultural landscape to highlight the ways that ordinary people creatively construct their social identities and relationships through the use of the resources available to them, while constrained by social conditions not of their own choosing. This important analysis provides a set of critical methodological and analytical tools to grapple with the complexities and struggles of contemporary social life.A new introductory essay by former Fiske student Black Hawk Hancock entitled ‘Learning How to Fiske: Theorizing Power, Knowledge, and Bodies in the 21st Century’ elucidates Fiske’s methods for today’s students, providing them with the ultimate guide to thinking and analyzing like John Fiske; the art of ‘Learning How to Fiske’.

The authors recontextualize contemporary sociological theory to argue that in recent decades sociology has been deeply permeated by a new paradigm, conflict constructionism. Their analysis integrates and sheds new light on eight prominent domains of recent social thought: the micro-level; discourses, framing, and renewed interest in signs and language; the construction of difference and dominance; regulation and punishment; cultural complexity and transculturation; the body; new approaches to the role of the state; and a consistent conflict perspective. The paradigm combines elements of both social construction theory and conflict theory. It has deep roots in critical theory and more recent links to postmodernism. It is associated with postmodern social thought, although it is less radical and more adaptable to empirical inquiry than postmodernism. The authors tie their new conceptualization of social theory to contemporary applications of social theory in everyday life. Features of this text:

Rethinking Contemporary Social Theory outlines a new theoretical paradigm emerging from out of social construction theory, conflict theory, Marxism and critical theory and argues that these insights are redefining social theory as a whole. The authors select ten fields within sociology and in each one trace the reception and impact of the new paradigm. The fields include gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, media and the sociology of family life. Drawing on Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the authors identify causes for this paradigm shift, which include the contributions of specific individuals, the general intellectual climate and various social changes such as globalisation and neoliberalism.

"Perhaps," wrote Ralph Ellison more than seventy years ago, "the zoot suit contains profound political meaning; perhaps the symmetrical frenzy of the Lindy-hop conceals clues to great potential power." As Ellison noted then, many of our most mundane cultural forms are larger and more important than they appear, taking on great significance and an unexpected depth of meaning. What he saw in the power of the lindy hop - the dance that Life magazine once billed as "America's True National Folk Dance" - would spread from black America to make a lasting impression on white America and offer us a truly compelling means of understanding our culture. But with what hidden implications? In "American Allegory", Black Hawk Hancock offers an embedded and embodied ethnography that situates dance within a larger Chicago landscape of segregated social practices. Delving into two Chicago dance worlds, lindy hop and steppin', Hancock uses a combination of participant observation and interviews to bring to the surface the racial tension that surrounds white use of black cultural forms. Focusing on new forms of appropriation in an era of multiculturalism, Hancock underscores the institutionalization of racial disparities and offers wonderful insights into the intersection of race and culture in America.

"Perhaps," wrote Ralph Ellison more than seventy years ago, "the zoot suit contains profound political meaning; perhaps the symmetrical frenzy of the Lindy-hop conceals clues to great potential power." As Ellison noted then, many of our most mundane cultural forms are larger and more important than they appear, taking on great significance and an unexpected depth of meaning. What he saw in the power of the lindy hop - the dance that Life magazine once billed as "America's True National Folk Dance" - would spread from black America to make a lasting impression on white America and of fer us a truly compelling means of understanding our culture. But with what hidden implications? In "American Allegory", Black Hawk Hancock offers an embedded and embodied ethnography that situates dance within a larger Chicago landscape of segregated social practices. Delving into two Chicago dance worlds, lindy hop and steppin', Hancock uses a combination of participant observation and interviews to bring to the surface the racial tension that surrounds white use of black cultural forms. Focusing on new forms of appropriation in an era of multiculturalism, Hancock underscores the institutionalization of racial disparities and offers wonderful insights into the intersection of race and culture in America.

Influenced by Thomas Kuhn's work on paradigm shifts in the social sciences, this overview of contemporary theory identifies major themes, charts the impact of social change on theories, acquaints readers with a sample of individual theorists (the "transitional giants" who shaped contemporary theories), explores the impact of contemporary theories on various areas of sociology, and traces how the great social theories of the past are being reinterpreted and incorporated into new theories. The result is an original interpretation of the important role that theory plays both in the real world and in the shaping of an academic discipline.