Sociology Theory

In this engaging, fun, and astute investigation of a thoroughly contemporary condition, philosopher and former pro skater Nick Riggle argues that our collective interest in being awesome (and not sucking) marks a new era in American culture, one that is shaped by relatively recent social, political, and technological shifts.

A woman of contradictions, "a gun-toting, lesbian, feminist, voted-for-Reagan activist", Tammy Bruce is standing in line to become the next Ann Coulter. The "left wing" is engaged in an enormous conspiracy to make moral values relative, to undercut pride and patriotism in our country, to destroy Christian ideology at any cost, to pollute the minds of our youth by means of leftist professors who rewrite history, and to hijack the justice system through morally bankrupt trial lawyers.

Since 2010, Toronto's headlines have been consumed by the outrageous personal foibles and government-slashing, anti-urbanist policies of Mayor Rob Ford. But the heated debate at City Hall has obscured a bigger, decade-long narrative of Toronto's ascendance as a mature global city. Some Great Idea traces how post-amalgamation, and under three very different mayors, Toronto managed to so quickly oscillate from one extreme to another, and how the city might proceed from here.

As a cognitive scientist, the ultimate subject of Steven Pinker’s fascination is how we think about each other’s thoughts about each other’s thoughts, ad infinitum. It sounds impossible, but Steven Pinker shows that we do it all the time. This awareness, which we experience as something that is public or “out there,” is called common knowledge, and it has a momentous impact on our social, political, and economic lives.

The American electoral system is clearly falling apart - as evidenced by the 2016 presidential election. In It's Time to Fight Dirty, David Faris offers accessible, actionable strategies for American institutional reform which don't require a constitutional amendment, and would have a lasting impact on our future. With equal amounts of playful irreverence and persuasive reasoning, Faris describes how the Constitution's deep democratic flaws constantly put progressives at a disadvantage, and lays out strategies for "fighting dirty" though obstructionism and procedural warfare.

Everything we know about solving the world’s problems is wrong. Out: Plans, experts and above all, leaders. In: Adapting - improvise rather than plan; fail, learn, and try again. In this groundbreaking new book, Tim Harford shows how the world’s most complex and important problems - including terrorism, climate change, poverty, innovation, and the financial crisis - can only be solved from the bottom up by rapid experimenting and adapting.

A democracia em tempo real sonhada nos inícios da digitalização como democracia do futuro se mostra como uma ilusão completa. Enxames digitais não formam um coletivo responsável, que age politicamente. Os followers, na condição de novos súditos das mídias sociais, deixam-se adestrar em gado de consumo por smart influencers, influenciadores inteligentes. Ficam despolitizados. A comunicação dirigida pelos algoritmos nas mídias sociais não é nem livre, nem democrática.

In The Forgotten, Ben Bradlee, Jr., reports on how voters in Luzerne County, a pivotal county in a crucial swing state, came to feel like strangers in their own land - marginalized by flat or falling wages, rapid demographic change, and a liberal culture that mocks their faith and patriotism.

In this rousing and deeply empathetic book, Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Antiracism Research and Policy Center, shows that when it comes to racism, neutrality is not an option: until we become part of the solution, we can only be part of the problem. Using his extraordinary gifts as a teacher and storyteller, Kendi helps us recognise that everyone is, at times, complicit in racism whether they realise it or not, and by describing with moving humility his own journey from racism to antiracism, he shows us how instead to be a force for good.

En este audiolibro la periodista, filológa y escritora Joana Bonet, nos ofrece una radiografía de los primeros años del siglo XXI, analizando el impacto del momento que vivimos en nuestra forma de pensar y de actuar, cuáles son los motores vitales por los que vale la pena luchar y qué tendencias sociales acabarán por imponerse mientras buscamos el equilibrio entre el mundo de fuera, el mundo de dentro y el mundo que sentimos.

A quick, brief, and to the point look at what social exchange theory is.

Did the Covid-19 lockdowns and mandates serve society’s best interests? Science alone can’t answer the question. Philosophers have important things to say about it. So do psychologists, economists, novelists, and lawyers.

In Faking It, Lux Alptraum tackles the topic of seemingly dishonest women; investigating whether women actually lie, and what social situations might encourage deceptions both great and small. Using her experience as a sex educator and former CEO of Fleshbot (the foremost blog on sexuality), first-hand interviews with sexuality experts and everyday women, Alptraum raises important questions: Are lying women all that common - or is the idea of the dishonest woman a symptom of male paranoia? Are women trying to please men, or just avoid their anger?

De esos y otros tópicos nos habla en sus libros este polémico pero muy vigente filósofo y sociólogo francés, uno de los intelectuales más relevantes de la Francia contemporánea. Para acercarnos de a poco a su pensamiento, hemos resumido lo esencial de los siguientes textos: La Felicidad Paradójica (Ensayo Sobre la Sociedad de Hiperconsumo), Capítulo 4; El Imperio de Lo Efímero, Capítulos 4 y 5; Espacio Privado y Espacio Público en la Era Posmoderna; Espacio Privado y la Revolución de la Autonomía.

Over the centuries, two important beliefs arose in Europe: a faith that man could order his own destiny and that progress was normal. By 1900, doubts arose concerning traditional Western values. The continuing problems of the world's poor, environmental deterioration, the inequality of women, and continued warfare pose real questions about the advancement of the human race.

In four decades, bookended by the Pope’s visits to Ireland in September 1979 and August 2018, Ireland has become one of the wealthiest and most progressive nations in the world. Characteristically brilliant and timely, Renaissance Nation is a thrilling account of Ireland’s vertiginous rise and a timely exploration of its conflicted present, where stark decisions await the next generation of would-be revolutionaries.

El concepto de ignorancia necesita ser reevaluado, porque estamos atravesando un cambio revolucionario en la naturaleza del conocimiento. El desarrollo de la genética, la neurociencia y el big data ha cambiado la manera en que entendemos lo que puede conocerse sobre una persona. Los nuevos tipos de información traen aparejadas nuevas angustias, agravadas por lo difícil que resulta determinar con exactitud qué significará dicha información, quiénes tendrán acceso a ella y quiénes podrán usarla o manipularla.

Like a lot of Americans, Steve Almond spent the weeks after the 2016 election lying awake, in a state of dread and bewilderment. The problem wasn’t just the election, but the fact that nobody could explain, in any sort of coherent way, why America had elected a cruel, corrupt, and incompetent man to the Presidency. Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country is Almond’s effort to make sense of our historical moment, to connect certain dots that go unconnected amid the deluge of hot takes and think pieces.

A thrilling and vivid work of history, Class War weaves together literature and politics to chart the making and unmaking of social class through revolutionary combat. In a narrative that spans the globe and more than two centuries of history, Mark Steven traces the history of class war from the Haitian Revolution to Black Lives Matter.

Few things feel better than early love. We feel like we are flying. At that time, Nature adds its endorsement and accelerant to make sure survival concerns do not preempt going through the actions that have a high likelihood of making children. This force—the Medulla Obligation—is a compilation of hormones and romantic notions meant to enslave us to loves duties.