This insightful volume collects essays from some of the most renowned sociologists working today. They examine the ways that sociological understanding helps them with their daily experiences. These essays reflect the desire to understand experiences in a broader context rather than as random and isolated events - and how the qualitative approach can achieve that end.Organized around the notion of place - public places, family spaces, interior spaces, and workplaces, the essays touch on the major sub-disciplines within sociology.

PART ONE: PUBLIC PLACESNot Even a Day in the Life - Candace WestThe Nursing Home - Lillian B RubinEssaying the Personal - Sherryl Kleinman Making Sociological Stories StickEnough Already! The Pervasiveness of Warnings in Everyday Life - Shulamit ReinharzEarn as You Learn - Clinton R Sanders Connections between Doing Qualitative Work and Living Daily LifeReal Life Sexual Harassment - Christine L WilliamsPART TWO: FAMILY SPACESA Conversation about Parenting - Naomi Gerstel and Robert ZussmanOn the (Re)Production of Social Class - Susan E Bell Living In, With, and Beyond Elementary SchoolThe Personal, the Sociological, and the Intersection of the Two - Lynne Davidman"Are We Alone?" - Marjorie L DeVaultFive Minutes - Peter K ManningPART THREE: INTERIOR SPACESThe Pleasure of Slowness - David SilvermanIt¿s Boring - Peter Conrad Notes on the Meaning of Boredom in Everyday LifeMemory and the Practices of Commitment - Barry SchwartzPerforming Montana - Norman K DenzinA Personal Passage - Pepper Schwartz Identity Aquisition and Affinity GroupsStanding on the Threshold and Tripping - Arlene Kaplan Daniels Awkwardness in Becoming a Field-WorkerMy Life with Xena and Billy - Joshua GamsonPART FOUR: WORKPLACESAffirmative Action and Me - Sharon M CollinsMaking Sense and Making a Difference - Derral Cheatwood Murder and College AdministrationFeeling at Home at Work - Barrie Thorne and Arlie Russell Hochschild Life in Academic DepartmentsOn the Nonnegotiable in Sociological Life - Robert DingwallIs There a Philosopher in the House? - Jonathan D MorenoThe Two Faces of Professional Discretion - Allan Schnaiberg A Vision from the Client¿s BedQualitative Sociology and Good Journalism as Demystifiers - Paul M HirschTalks between Teachers - Shirah W Hecht and Howard S Becker