Roberta Garner

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.

The Joy of Stats offers a reader-friendly introduction to applied statistics and quantitative analysis in the social sciences and public policy. Perfect as an undergraduate text or self-study manual, it emphasizes how to understand concepts, interpret algorithms and formulas, analyze data, and answer research questions. This brand new edition offers examples and visualizations using real-life data, a revised discussion of statistical inference, and introductory examples in R and SPSS. The third edition has been extensively reorganized with shorter chapters and closer links between concepts and formulas, while retaining useful pedagogical features including key terms, practice exercises, a math refresher, and playful inserts on "the mathematical imagination." The Joy of Stats also places a strong emphasis on learning how to write and speak clearly about data results. Supported by a companion website with data sets and additional resources, The Joy of Stats is a superb choice for introducing students to applied statistics and for refreshing and reviewing stats as a social scientist, public policy professional, or community activist.

The Joy of Stats offers a reader-friendly introduction to applied statistics and quantitative analysis in the social sciences and public policy. Perfect as an undergraduate text or self-study manual, it emphasizes how to understand concepts, interpret algorithms and formulas, analyze data, and answer research questions. This brand new edition offers examples and visualizations using real-life data, a revised discussion of statistical inference, and introductory examples in R and SPSS. The third edition has been extensively reorganized with shorter chapters and closer links between concepts and formulas, while retaining useful pedagogical features including key terms, practice exercises, a math refresher, and playful inserts on "the mathematical imagination." The Joy of Stats also places a strong emphasis on learning how to write and speak clearly about data results. Supported by a companion website with data sets and additional resources, The Joy of Stats is a superb choice for introducing students to applied statistics and for refreshing and reviewing stats as a social scientist, public policy professional, or community activist.

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.

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.

This work provides a review essay of social movement theory from the end of World War II to the mid-1990's, focusing primarily on the United States, with some attention to European scholarship as well. The authors identify three distinct paradigm shifts in the field of social movements. The first period, occurring in the 1940's and 1950's, was characterized by negativity toward social movements, and a tendency to explain them in terms of social psychology. During the second period of the 1960's, social movement theories tended to stress movements as positive, rational undertakings to change structural conditions. During the final period of study, from the 1970s to the 1990s, a fragmentation of movement structure appeared, and thus, the authors theorize, this period could be labeled one of deconstruction. A more detailed look at the individual social and political movements involved in each of these periods is also provided, including: pro-democracy, human rights, and civil rights; environmentalism; religious movements (especially Christian and Islamic); feminism and women's movements; gay and lesbian movements; conservatives and the New Right; the Left, Nazis, Fascists, neo-Nazis, and ethno-racism; and nationalism and ethno-nationalism.