THIRD EDITION
This third edition first published 2020
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Edition History
John Wiley & Sons Ltd (2e, 2014); Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2010)
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Name: Dillon, Michele, 1960– author.
Title: Introduction to sociological theory : theorists, concepts, and their applicability to the twenty‐first century / Michele Dillon.
Description: Third edition. | Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019016119 (print) | LCCN 2019018838 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119410928 (Adobe PDF) | ISBN 9781119410898 (ePub) | ISBN 9781119410911 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Sociology. | Sociology–History.
Classification: LCC HM585 (ebook) | LCC HM585 .D55 2019 (print) | DDC 301–dc23
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © A. Astes/Alamy Stock Photo
| I.1 | Major pre‐Enlightenment influences and events from the Enlightenment to the establishment of sociology |
| 1.1 | Major events spanning Marx’s lifetime (1818–1883) |
| 2.1 | Major events spanning Durkheim’s lifetime (1858–1917) |
| 3.1 | Major events spanning Weber’s lifetime (1864–1920) |
| 3.2 | The emergence of Protestantism and the expansion of capitalism |
| 5.1 | Major events from the end of World War I to the present |
| 10.1 | Major events in the achievement of women’s equality (1865–present) |
| 12.1 | Major events in the historical evolution of racial equality (1791–present) |
| 14.1 | Major globalizing economic and political events (1450–present) |
| 1.1 | Georg Simmel: The coldness of money |
| 1.2 | Alienation inheres in capitalism |
| 2.1 | Georg Simmel: Urbanism as a way of acting, thinking, and feeling |
| 2.2 | Analytical contrasts between traditional and modern society |
| 3.1 | Types of meaningful social action |
| 4.1 | The functional requirements (A, G, I, L) of society as an action system composed of four subsystems of action |
| 4.2 | Parsons’s five sets of patterned value‐orientations (pattern variables) |
| 4.3 | Robert Merton: The sociology of science amid social disorder |
| 4.4 | Modes of individual adaptation to societal conditions |
| 5.1 | Antonio Gramsci and the concept of hegemony |
| 6.1 | Donald Black: Conflict in social space |
| 9.1 | Pardon the interruption: Conversation differences between women and men |
| 10.1 | Woman as the Other |
| 11.1 | Keeping a tab on bodies: Census categories |
| 12.1 | Slavery as social death |
| 12.2 | Facts of blackness |
| 13.1 | Erotic capital |
| 13.2 | Norbert Elias: The civilizing process |
| I.1 | Hotel rooms get plusher, adding to maids’ injuries |
| I.2 | “Post‐truth” society, and what to call untruths |
| 1.1 | Contemporary China: Consumer capitalism in a state‐controlled society |
| 1.2 | The sharing, on‐demand economy |
| 1.3 | Scouting new football recruits |
| 1.4 | Occupational injuries in the meat‐packing industry |
| 1.5 | “If I had a perfect place to die, I would die on the field.” |
| 1.6 | Laboring in the poultry factory |
| 1.7 | The uberization of corporate political influence |
| 2.1 | Born on the Bayou and barely feeling any urge to roam |
| 2.2 | Opioid addiction |
| 2.3 | Resilience and change |
| 2.4 | The anomie of economic globalization |
| 2.5 | When tragedy brings strangers together |
| 2.6 | Flags and anthems |
| 3.1 | Explaining Brexit with Weber: Rational and Nonrational Action |
| 3.2 | Muslim women and virginity: Two worlds collide |
| 3.3 | Egg donors wanted |
| 3.4 | “Why is she wearing that?” Ski‐masks as beach fashion in China |
| 3.5 | Bureaucratic rationality: Bringing order to chaos at the White House |
| 4.1 | Contemporary China in systemic action |
| 4.2 | Blurring the lines between medical diagnoses and economic profit |
| 4.3 | Creating an inclusive workplace: Achievement versus ascription at Google |
| 4.4 | Apple orchards and immigration restrictions: A case of anticipated and dysfunctional consequences |
| 5.1 | Social media: Political empowerment and government control |
| 5.2 | Technology and the changing contours of control in everyday life |
| 5.3 | Advertising, advertising everywhere |
| 5.4 | Walmart shoppers |
| 5.5 | Social media in populist politics |
| 6.1 | Ethnic conflict in India … amplified by social media |
| 6.2 | Women in the economic power elite |
| 7.1 | Depleted trust: Drunken abuse of the police in South Korea |
| 7.2 | Steroid report depicts a two‐player domino effect |
| 7.3 | Birds of a feather flock together |
| 7.4 | Heterosexual romance and the marriage market in China |
| 8.1 | Talking mirrors and style assistant robotic cameras |
| 8.2 | Directions for performing the role of the (considerate) airline passenger |
| 8.3 | Body appearance and body surgery |
| 8.4 | Disruptive team performances at the White House and Downing Street |
| 9.1 | Homecoming strangers: “After war, love can be a battlefield” |
| 9.2 | “I am Cait”: Naming reality |
| 10.1 | Gender gaps |
| 10.2 | Intersectionality, activist knowledge, and social justice |
| 11.1 | The birth of obesity |
| 11.2 | The normalization of sexual equality |
| 11.3 | Gay sexual freedom in China |
| 11.4 | The muxe as a separate gender category |
| 12.1 | Muslims as Others |
| 12.2 | Affirmative action in Brazil |
| 12.3 | The postracial vision and racial awareness of Barack Obama |
| 13.1 | College education, economic mobility, and social well‐being |
| 13.2 | “I’m First‐Gen” |
| 14.1 | Global flows |
| 14.2 | Global openness |
| 14.3 | Class polarization in India |
| 14.4 | Curbing excess in the financial sector |
| 15.1 | Is China changing the world? |
| 15.2 | Risk and resentment in the digital economy |
| 15.3 | Empathy walls and opportunity barriers in Europe |
| 15.4 | One Love: Bob Marley, a cosmopolitan figure |
| 15.5 | Smart water: Liquid gold |
| 15.6 | Dubai: The aesthetic commodification of culture and place |
| I.1 | With social progress comes a preoccupation with social order. |
| I.2 | Sociology is and for science |
| 1.1 | Walmart is a fast‐growing global retail corporation with over 10,000 stores in 27 countries (with Asda its store title in the UK). Its employee policies epitomize the low‐wage, cost‐reduction strategies required by contemporary capitalism. |
| 1.2 | Financial crises and evidence of economic inequality motivated the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City in 2011. Similar Occupy protests occurred in over 200 cities across the world. |
| 1.3 | The freedom to shop is at the heart of everyday life in capitalist society. |
| 2.1 | Small towns and rural communities have different characteristics, different constraints, and different types of social relations than those found in urban or metropolitan areas. |
| 2.2 | The specialized division of labor makes individuals dependent on one another; interdependence creates social ties or solidarity. |
| 2.3 | Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters create social anomie; they unexpectedly rupture the normalcy of everyday routines for individuals, families, and whole communities. |
| 2.4 | Sports arenas can function as sacred space. |
| 3.1 | Traditions and symbols of tradition still matter and exert authority in modern society. |
| 3.2 | In modern society, even those not working in bureaucratic organizations are subject to rational legal authority; mobile food vendors must be licensed to sell food. |
| 3.3 | In many societies, success in sports is rewarded with social prestige and economic rewards, including for the Norwegian women’s soccer team (pictured here) who since 2018 have pay parity with their male counterparts. |
| 4.1 | Institutional differentiation and specialization characterize modern society. The tasks of economic productivity (e.g., corporate offices) and values transmission (e.g., church) have their own particular spaces, amicably coexisting side by side. |
| 5.1 | Technology companies are among the world’s most recognizable and successful brands today. |
| 5.2 | Smartphones allow us to keep a track on our own and others’ movements. |
| 5.3 | Customers wait patiently in line to buy the latest iPhone, even though the differences between it and earlier iPhone models and other smartphone brands are relatively small. |
| 5.4 | According to critical theorists, the sameness or homogenization that characterizes mass media content also extends to a sameness in individual appearance and personality. |
| 6.1 | Conflict and protest are a normal part of democratic society. |
| 6.2 | Although changes have occurred in recent years in the gender composition of the power elite, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church remains a bastion of male power. |
| 7.1 | In giving we expect to receive … something in return … sometime in the future. |
| 8.1 | Prince William and the Duchess of York juggle ritualized work and family roles |
| 8.2 | World leaders dress down, appearing in informal attire, in the more relaxed backstage setting of Camp David, the US president’s mountain retreat. This orchestrated self‐presentation, however, is still audience(s)‐driven and expected role‐playing behavior: the performance of the relaxed politician (notwithstanding the serious economic and geopolitical issues that dominate the G8 leaders’ meetings). |
| 9.1 | Coming home means negotiating the transition from one here‐and‐now reality to a different here‐and‐now reality, realities that are made different both by our presence and our absence |
| 10.1 | Despite advances in women’s equality with men, women and men are reminded to see women as objects for men. |
| 10.2 | Theresa May and Nicole Sturgeon: Despite their achievements, women leaders still must contend with sexist expectations. |
| 11.1 | The disciplined body. Church, state, mass media, social media, and everyday conversation regulate bodies, body talk, and body desire. |
| 11.2 | The legalization of same‐sex marriage in many countries reflects a transformation in the understanding of sexual orientation and in society’s acceptance of the normalcy of gay and lesbian relationships. |
| 12.1 | Nadiya Hussein, winner of the Great British Baking Contest, featured here with Queen Elizabeth, conveys the symbolic power (and reality) of being black and British. |
| 12.2 | African American sports stars such as LeBron James play a prominent role in highlighting racial injustice. |
| 12.3 | Drawing on the lived experience of economic and racial inequality, many popular rappers with cross‐racial appeal like Fabolous celebrate their rise “From Nothin’ to Somethin’.” |
| 13.1 | What looks good, smells good, and tastes good is conditioned by our everyday social class and family habits and practices. |
| 14.1 | Coca‐Cola – a quintessentially American brand – is among the world’s largest and most recognizable transnational corporations, with business operations, staff, and sales in more than 200 countries. |
| 14.2 | The expansion of financial capitalism is reflected in the prominent visibility of new financial offices in global cities. |
| 14.3 | Despite the success of the European Union in building a more integrated political, economic, and cultural community of nations, it is frayed by tensions between national and transnational interests. |
| 15.1 | Although the manifestations of modernity vary across the world, the sites and symbols of consumer choice are increasingly universal. |
| 15.2 | The cosmopolitan imperative requires us to think of ourselves and of local and distant Others as all part of the one shared humanity. |
| 15.3 | Cultural globalization often means cultural homogenization. The ideal for many Asian women is a Caucasian face, a standard of beauty promoted by the cosmetics industry globally, as advertised by Chanel in Seoul, South Korea. |
| 15.4 | In Las Vegas, newly built, lavish replicas of unique world‐famous sites dazzle us. They prompt us to wonder which one is true, more real, more impressive – the original or its recreated spectacle? |
| 15.5 | Simulated trees in the mall enhance the naturalness of the mall as an aesthetic and cultural experience, as well as conveying the illusion that shopping is as natural as nature itself. |
I am very grateful to Justin Vaughan at Wiley‐Blackwell for persuading me to write this book and to embark on subsequent revised editions. I appreciate his support throughout the process. I also appreciate the editorial production assistance of Annie Rose and Ben Thatcher and Sandra Kerka’s attentive copyediting. I am very grateful to James Tucker, Jennifer Esala, Jared del Rosso, Erin Anderson, Inger Furseth, Erin Steuter, and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments; and to Jordan Burke for his editorial assistance and suggestions. I also benefited greatly from Andrew Wink’s photography skills.
The information in the timelines is derived from various sources including: Colin McEvedy (1985), The Macmillan World History Factfinder, New York: Macmillan; H. E. L. Mellersh (1999), Chronology of World History, volumes 1–4, Santa Barbara, CA: BC‐CLIO; Derrick Mercer, ed. (1996), Chronicle of the World, London: Dorling Kindersley; Hans‐Albrecht Schraepler (1997), Directory of International Economic Organizations, Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press; and Caroline Zilborg and Susan Gall, eds. (1997), Women’s Firsts, Detroit, MI: Gale.
As you read through the individual chapters in this book, you will find the following features designed to help you to develop a clear understanding of sociological theory and to apply it to everyday life.
Key Concepts Each chapter opens with a list of its key concepts, presented in the order in which they appear in the chapter. They are printed in blue when they first appear in the text, and are defined in the glossaries at the end of each chapter and at the end of the book.
Chapter Menu A menu gives you the main headings of the chapter that follows.
Biographical Note These provide background information on the main theorists discussed in the chapter. Their names are given in bold when they first appear in the chapter.
Theorists’ Writings Each of the first three chapters has a chronological list of the major writings of the theorists discussed: Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.
Timelines Where a historical framework will aid your understanding of the chapter, timelines list major events with their dates.
Conceptual Boxes These introduce additional theoretical ideas or summarize points relevant to the chapter.
Contemporary Topical Applications These features draw on information reported in the news about an event or issue that has particular salience for the concepts being discussed in the chapter. The stories highlight how particular everyday events can be used to illustrate or probe larger social processes.
Summary The text of the chapter is summarized in a final paragraph or two.
Points to Remember These list in bullet note form the main learning points of the chapter.
Glossary At the end of each chapter its key concepts are listed again, this time in alphabetical order, and defined. The glossary at the end of the book combines the end‐of‐chapter glossaries to define all the key concepts covered in the book.
Questions for Review At the end of each chapter, questions are listed that prompt you to discuss some of the overarching points of the chapter.
The Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty‐First Century companion website contains a range of resources created by the author for instructors teaching this book in university courses. Features include:
Instructors can access these resources at www.wiley.com/go/dillon