This thirty-fourth edition of Annual Editions: Sociology is a compilation of articles selected from the best of the public press including magazines, newspapers, and journals. This title is supported by Dushkin Online (dushkin.com/online/), a student website that provides study support tools and links to related websites.

UNIT 1. CulturePart A. Modern, Traditional, and Unusual Cultures1. The Kindness of Strangers, Robert V. Levine, American Scientist, May/June 2003Robert Levine examines one aspect of culture, the willingness to help strangers. From the perspective of many different places, he examines place characteristics that influence helping behavior. Density is a big factor as is area of the country.2. The Mountain People, Colin M. Turnbull, Intellectual Digest, April 1973Colin Turnbull tells the amazing story of the Ik tribe that had to move to a new environment and then disintegrated as a culture and society. This story reveals the degradation that can happen to societies and to humans.Part B. American Culture and Cultural Change 3. The Atrophy of Social Life, D. Stanley Eitzen, Society, September/October 2004Social interaction is the basic building block of intimate relationships, small groups, formal organizations, communities and societies. Therefore, Stanley Eitzen is concerned about numerous social trends that he reports ¿hinder or even eliminate social interaction, and that indicate a growing isolation as individuals become increasingly separated from their neighbors, their co-workers, and even their family members.¿ 4. Self-Reliance: Those Rugged Individuals, Joannie Fischer, U.S. News & World Report, June 28/July 5, 2004Joannie Fischer traces some of the religious and intellectual roots for the famous characteristics of Americans of self-reliance and rugged individualism.5. What¿s So Great About America?, Dinesh D¿Souza, The American Enterprise, April/May 2002As an immigrant Dinesh D¿Souza can see America both as an outsider and an insider so he is able to identify many wonderful aspects of America that amaze and attract foreigners. He emphasizes the sense of equality and the freedom of choice in addition to the wealth that even the poor have.UNIT 2. Socialization and Social ControlPart A. Influences on Personality and Behavior6. What Makes You Who You Are, Matt Ridley, Time, June 2, 2003Matt Ridley reviews the latest science on the nature versus nurture debate. Both are important and we are slowly coming to understand how they interact.7. The New Sex Scorecard, Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today, July/August 2003As everyone knows, men and women are different. Recent research has greatly increased our understanding of the differences and Hara Estroff Marano reviews these differences including mental, sexual, health, emotional, and psychological.Part B. Crime, Law Enforcement, and Social Control8. The Criminal Menace: Shifting Global Trends, Gene Stephens, The Futurist, May/June 2003Gene Stephens describes crime trends throughout the world. Overall crime rates in the United States were the highest in the Western world in 1980 but have fallen in the United States and increased in many other nations so that several Western countries now have higher rates. Nevertheless, the U.S. murder rate is still the highest. The author also reviews the competing explanations for the crime decline in the U.S.9. Parents or Prisons, Jennifer Roback Morse, Policy Review, August/September 2003A key role of parents is to help a child develop a conscience and self control. Two loving married parents do this job the best. Single parenthood increases the probability that a child will end up in the criminal justice system at some point in his/her life. This article shows that society pays serious social costs for the failure of many marriages. 10. The Aggregate Burden of Crime, David Anderson, Journal of Law and Economics, October 1999David Anderson makes a valiant effort to compute the annual costs of major types of crime and the net annual total costs of all crime that he claims exceeds $1 trillion or over $4000 per capita. Fraud and cheating on taxes costs Americans over 20 times the costs of theft, burglary, and robbery.UNIT 3. Groups and Roles in TransitionPart A. Family, Marriage, and Divorce11. The American Family, Stephanie Coontz, Life, November 1999Stephanie Coontz explains that modern families are better than the way the media portray them and that the families of the past were probably worse. She corrects many myths about the modern family with many underreported facts. 12. Living Better: Get Wed, Amy Braverman, Current, January 2004Amy Braverman reports relating to the latest research relating to the many benefits of marriage that include better physical and mental health, sex life, financial stability for parents, and many benefits for kids. 13. Great Expectations, Polly Shulman, Psychology Today, March/April 2004Polly Shulman provides sage advice on how to have a good marriage. She explains how unrealistic expectations and erroneous beliefs can lower the chances for success in marriage.Part B. Sex, Gender, and Gender Roles 14. The Battle Over Gay Marriage, John Cloud, Time, February 16, 2004The legal definition of marriage is one of the hot topics of today since Massachusetts has legalized gay marriages. John Cloud reviews the history of contested viewpoints on this issue. 15. The Case for Staying Home, Claudia Wallis, Time, March 22, 2004Many women are torn between their desire and/or need for work and their desire to stay home and raise their children. Claudia Wallis presents the case for staying home through interviews with women and summarizing the research.Part C. City and Community 16. An Inner-City Renaissance, Aaron Bernstein, Christopher Palmeri, and Roger O. Crockett, BusinessWeek, October 27, 2003Aaron Bernstein reports that generally inner-cities are growing economically at rates that exceed national averages. He explains what is happening and why. These areas are turning around but do have a long way to go.17. Community Building: Steps Toward a Good Society, Amitai Etzioni, Current, January 2001As America becomes more diverse and more unequal, can we build community? Identity politics has partly corrected past injustices but has also divided the nation along group lines. According to Amitai Etzioni, a new thrust is needed. He reviews the threats to community and recommends communitarian solutions including ways to curb inequality, ways to increase bonding, and ways to increase value commitments.UNIT 4. Stratification and Social InequalitiesPart A. Income Inequalities18. For Richer: How the Permissive Capitalism of the Boom Destroyed American Equality, Paul Krugman, The New York Times Magazine, October 20, 2002The American economy has made the rich very rich in the past three decades but has not been nearly as generous to the poor. As a result the income gap has widened considerably. Paul Krugman details the facts about the growing inequality and explains how it happened. 19. Working and Poor in the USA, Beth Shulman, The Nation, February 9, 2004The promise of America was that the poor could rise up into the middle class and a decent life. According to Beth Shulman, however, ¿one quarter of American workers are stuck in low-wage jobs that do not provide the basics for a decent life.¿ Once the world leader in mobility from the lower class to the middle class, America now trails most western European countries on mobility measures. Many of the stories captured in these facts are painful.Part B. Welfare and Welfare Reform20. Corporate Welfare, Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, Time, November 9, 1998In this essay, the authors explain how hundreds of companies get on the dole to the tune of two weeks¿ pay for every working American. The federal government has issues over $125 billion to corporate America, which tilts the playing field toward the already powerful in society.21. Requiem for Welfare, Evelyn Brodkin, Dissent, Winter 2003The old welfare system has been buried. What is the new welfare system and what has happened to the people who were on the old welfare system? Evelyn Brodkin tackles these issues and criticizes some aspects of the transformed welfare system.Part C. Racial and Ethnic Issues and Inequalities22. What¿s At Stake, Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert, Newsweek, January 27, 2003The issue of affirmative action is in confusion today. It was definitely a badly needed policy in the beginning, and it has accomplished much and made our society much more just. But is it needed now and is it unfair now? This article clarifies what affirmative action is, where it stands legally today, and how universities should handle the issue.23. Why We Hate, Margo Monteith and Jeffrey Winters, Psychology Today, May/June 2002The authors demonstrate the prevalence of prejudice and hatred in America and explain this in terms of social identity theory. Whenever people are divided into groups, negative attitudes develop toward the ¿out¿ group. 24. The Melting Pot, Part I: Are We There Yet?, Anne Wortham, The World & I, September 2001Anne Wortham explores the subject of assimilation in its many dimensions. America may have an enviable record of assimilation, but its limitations are great. Rising intermarriage statistics demonstrate increasing assimiliation, but continuing housing segregation is one indicator of impediments to assimilation.Part D. Sex Inequalities and Issues 25. Reversing the ¿Gender Gap¿, Joel Wendland, Political Affairs, March 2004Joel Wendland counters the recent magazine articles announcing a gender gap that favors women. Yes girls do better in school than boys and graduate from high school and college in greater number, but on many other dimensions of inequality women still substantially trail men.26. Human Rights, Sex Trafficking, and Prostitution, Alice Leuchtag, The Humanist, January/February 2003One of the evil plagues haunting the world today is sex slavery and it is getting worse. It is the product of extreme poverty and considerable profits. The exploitation involved is horrendous and human rights groups are trying to stop the practice. Alice Leuchtag covers many aspects of this issue.27. The New Gender Gap, Michelle Conlin, BusinessWeek, May 26, 2003Women may not yet be equal to men in the economy but girls are ahead of boys in school. According to Michelle Conlin, this is the new gender gap. From kindergarten to grad school, girls outperform boys and have higher graduation rates. Conlin details the differences, what is behind them, and what may need to be done to address problems that this issue has surfaced.UNIT 5. Social Institutions: Issues, Crises, and ChangesPart A. The Political Sphere: Power, Politics, and Administration 28. Who Rules America?, G. William Domhoff, Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000, McGraw-Hill Companies/Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997G. William Domhoff is the leading proponent of the power elite view of American politics, which is explained in this article as it applies to political influence in America today. 29. Where the Public Good Prevailed, Stephen L. Isaacs and Steven A. Schroeder, The American Prospect, June 4, 2001We are well acquainted with many stories about the influence of money on public policies that benefit the few at the expense of the many, but we also need to learn the stories about when the public good prevails. The authors provide such stories.Part B. The Economic Sphere: Changing Consumption, Workplaces, Workforce30. Off the Books, W. Michael Cox and Richard Alm, Reason, August 2002The authors identify many benefits of free enterprise besides the economic growth that it encourages, including more leisure, better type of work, greater safety, more convenience, a cleaner environment, and more variety. 31. Surveying the Global Marketplace, Murray Weidenbaum, USA Today, January 2004According to Murray Weidenbaum the global economy is very mixed up and that is a good thing. The Honda has more parts made in America than the Pontiac. Half of Xerox¿s employees work abroad. More than half of the revenues of many multinational American companies originate overseas. Globalization lowers the prices that we pay in the stores but also creates problems and calls for new institutions to manage it.32. Where the Good Jobs Are Going, Jyoti Thottam, Time, August 4, 2003The old story is that manufacturing companies have moved production and blue collar jobs to Third World countries. The new story is that service companies are moving white collar jobs to Third World countries. At this point the numbers are small but they are increasing at a very rapid rate. Jyoti Thottam documents this trend and discusses how it is affecting the American labor force.Part C. The Social Sphere: Education, Health, & Religion 33. How I Joined Teach for Americäand Got Sued for $20 Million, Joshua Kaplowitz, City Journal, Winter 2003Most parents think favorably of the schools that their children attend, although some inner-city schools are bad. Joshua Kaplowitz¿ personal story sheds much light on some of the problems. 34. Whose Hospital Is It?, Arthur Allen, Mother Jones, May/June 2004One aspect of the current health care crisis in the U.S. is the closing of many hospitals because they are not making enough profit for the corporations that own them. Arthur Allen reports on this trend along with other health care problems. 35. Are We a Nation ¿Under God?¿, Samuel Huntington, The American Enterprise, July/August 2004After reviewing American history and current data, Samuel Huntington concludes that America is a Christian nation that is tolerant and respectful toward other religions and non-believers. America is unique among developed nations in the strength of its citizens¿ religious beliefs and extent of their religious practices.UNIT 6. Social Change and The FuturePart A. Population, Environment, and Society 36. Coping with Methuselah, Henry J. Aaron and William B. Schwartz, Brookings Review, Fall 2003Today a critical demographic issue is the aging of the U.S. and world populations. Medicine has lengthened life and declining birth rates have reduced the working age population that must support the elderly and help pay for their rapidly growing medical bills. The authors document the problem and explore some potential solutions. 37. Rescuing a Planet Under Stress, Lester Brown, The Humanist, November/December 2003Lester Brown summarizes the state of the planet¿s environment that he portrays as under significant stress, and therefore, requires that significant changes occur throughout the world in how humans use the environment. He proposes solutions that involve ¿rapid systemic change.¿ 38. The Pentagon and Climate Change, Monthly Review, May 2004The climate change problem has been raised to a higher level of concern because of a Pentagon study of the possible social impacts¿including economic and political instability and even war¿of an abrupt climate change. In addition to this story, this article assesses the seriousness of the negative impacts of global warming, the possibility of abrupt climate change, and some of the hindrances to addressing the problems.Part B. Technology for Better or for Worse39. The Secret Nuclear War, Eduardo Goncalves, The Ecologist, April 2001An extremely consequential technology is nuclear. The energy it produces has greatly benefitted mankind, but at what price? Eduardo Goncalves reports on all the nuclear accidents, testings, experiments, leaks, production, cover-ups, and storage and reuse of nuclear materials that he can find out about. The death toll could be as high as 175 million, and the shameful behavior of countless agencies that he reports is shocking. 40. Food and Agriculture in the 21st Century: Rethinking Our Paradigms, Graham T.T. Molitor, The Futurist, September/October 2003The green revolution has largely run its course but further substantial increases in agricultural production will be needed in the near future to feed growing populations and enrich diets. Genetically modified food must be part of the answer but they do entail risks.Part C. The New Crisis: Terrorism41. The New Terrorism: Securing the Nation against a Messianic Foe, Steven Simon, Brookings Review, Winter 2003Terrorism is not new but America is facing a new type of terrorism according to Steven Simon. It is religiously motivated and devoted to mass destruction. It is especially hard to combat, because it is not land based or open to bargaining, and defense is nearly impossible with so many potential targets to protect. 42. The Religious Sources of Islamic Terrorism, Shmuel Bar, Policy Review, June/July 2004There is no politically correct way to discuss terrorism because the terrorism that America fears the most today is Islamic terrorism. Students of terrorism, therefore, need to understand the religious sources of Islamic terrorism and Shmuel Bar provides such an analysis.Part D. The Reshaping of the World43. Between Two Ages, William Van Dusen Wishard, Vital Speeches of the Day, January 15, 2002William Van Dusen Wishard is president of a firm that does research on trends. Armed with many interesting statistics on trends, he argues that the world is undergoing a great transition that is based on globalization, rapid technological development, and ¿a long-term spiritual and psychological reorientation that is increasingly generating uncertainty and instability.¿ As a result ¿the soul of Americä indeed, of the world, is in a giant search for some deeper and greater expression of life."44. Across the Great Divide, Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, Special Issue 2000The story of the twentieth century is the victorious march of capitalism and democracy. These processes can also be destructive and challenging to old orders. What will they bring in the twenty-first century?