The best-selling Introduction to Sociology is now available in an abridged edition. Featuring a striking design, helpful pedagogy, and a global perspective, Essentials of Sociology packages the best facets of the Fifth Edition of Introduction to Sociology in a shorter, more flexible edition. With fewer topics covered in only sixteen chapters, students can focus on the essentials while learning about the connections between American and world societies. An in-text study guide and extensive student Web site help students study and review, while online instructor's resources assist with teaching and grading.

Essentials of Sociology

Politics & Social Sciences

Giddens, Anthony

Appelbaum, Richard

Duneier, Michael

Sociology

W.W.Norton

In a study crucial to our understanding of American social inequality, Edna Bonacich and Richard Appelbaum investigate the return of sweatshops to the apparel industry, especially in Los Angeles. The "new" sweatshops, they say, need to be understood in terms of the decline in the American welfare state and its strong unions and the rise in global and flexible production. Apparel manufacturers now have the incentive to move production to wherever low-wage labor can be found, while maintaining arm's-length contractual relations that protect them from responsibility. The flight of the industry has led to a huge rise in apparel imports to the United States and to a decline in employment.Los Angeles, however, remains a puzzling exception in that its industry employment has continued to grow, to the point where L.A. is the largest center of apparel production in the nation. Not only the availability of low-wage immigrant (often undocumented) workers but also the focus on moderately priced, fashion-sensitive women's wear makes this possible. Behind the Label examines the players in the L.A. apparel industry, including manufacturers, retailers, contractors, and workers, evaluating the maldistribution of wealth and power. The authors explore government and union efforts to eradicate sweatshops while limiting the flight to Mexico and elsewhere, and they conclude with a description of the growing antisweatshop movement.Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of 2000

Behind the Label : Inequality in the Los Angeles Apparel Industry

Business & Money

Bonacich, Edna

Economics

University of California Press

In a study crucial to our understanding of American social inequality, Edna Bonacich and Richard Appelbaum investigate the return of sweatshops to the apparel industry, especially in Los Angeles. The "new" sweatshops, they say, need to be understood in terms of the decline in the American welfare state and its strong unions and the rise in global and flexible production. Apparel manufacturers now have the incentive to move production to wherever low-wage labor can be found, while maintaining arm's-length contractual relations that protect them from responsibility. The flight of the industry has led to a huge rise in apparel imports to the United States and to a decline in employment. Los Angeles, however, remains a puzzling exception in that its industry employment has continued to grow, to the point where L.A. is the largest center of apparel production in the nation. Not only the availability of low-wage immigrant (often undocumented) workers but also the focus on moderately priced, fashion-sensitive women's wear makes this possible. Behind the Label examines the players in the L.A. apparel industry, including manufacturers, retailers, contractors, and workers, evaluating the maldistribution of wealth and power. The authors explore government and union efforts to eradicate sweatshops while limiting the flight to Mexico and elsewhere, and they conclude with a description of the growing antisweatshop movement. Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of 2000

Behind the Label: Inequality in the Los Angeles Apparel Industry

Karl Marx (Masters of Social Theory)

This incisive overview of Marx′s sociological theories begins by considering the interplay of historical events and intellectual currents which shaped his thinking and examines the development of key isues in Marxist theory - determinism, voluntarism and reconciliation of the two.  The second section begins with a specific discussion of Marx′s thought - in particular the philosophical aspects of his writings which present ways in which humans are capable of shaping their historical destiny. The author then considers Marx′s view of capitalism as a constraint on determinism, and demonstrates the ambivalence evident in his writings. The final section offers Marx′s reconciliation of the issues raised in the preceding chapters, f

Karl Marx (MASTERS OF SOCIAL THEORY)

Politics & Government

Sage Publications, Inc.

This incisive overview of Marx′s sociological theories begins by considering the interplay of historical events and intellectual currents which shaped his thinking and examines the development of key isues in Marxist theory - determinism, voluntarism and reconciliation of the two. The second section begins with a specific discussion of Marx′s thought - in particular the philosophical aspects of his writings which present ways in which humans are capable of shaping their historical destiny. The author then considers Marx′s view of capitalism as a constraint on determinism, and demonstrates the ambivalence evident in his writings. The final section offers Marx′s reconciliation of the issues raised in the preceding chapters, f