Cultures and Societies in a Changing World

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SAGE, Jan 10, 2012 - Science - 208 pages
In today's world, both cultures and societies are changing more quickly than ever before. The Fourth Edition of “Cultures and Societies in a Changing World” sheds light on the role culture plays in shaping our social world. A vital and personal aspect of individual identity, culture shapes a person's norms, values, beliefs and practices. This Fourth Edition introduces the sociology of culture and explores cultural phenomena including stories, beliefs, media, ideas, art, religious practices, fashions and rituals from a global-sociological perspective. The author takes a global approach by considering cultural examples from various countries and time periods, by delving into the ways globalization processes are affecting cultures and by offering an explanation of the post-Cold War era culture-related conflicts. Readers will develop a deeper appreciation of culture and society from this text, gleaning useful insights that will help them overcome cultural misunderstandings, conflicts, and ignorance and will help equip them to live their professional and personal lives as effective, wise citizens of the world.
 

Contents

Foreword
Preface
About the Author
1 Culture and the Cultural Diamond
2 Cultural Meaning
3 Culture as a Social Creation
4 The Production Distribution and Reception of Culture
5 Identities Problemsand Movements
6 Organizations in a Multicultural World
7 Culture and Connection
8 Culture and Power
References
Index
Copyright

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About the author (2012)

Wendy Griswold, Professor of Sociology and Comparative Literary Studies, and affiliated with English Professor Griswold holds a Ph.D. from Harvard (1980) and has previously taught there and at the University of Chicago. Her research and teaching interests center on cultural sociology; sociological approaches to literature, art and religion; time and place; and comparative studies in Europe and Africa. Recent books include Bearing Witness: Readers, Writers, and The Novel in Nigeria (Princeton UP, 2000) and Cultures and Societies in a Changing World (Pine Forge 1994), which has been translated into Japanese and Italian. She is currently writing a book on cultural regionalism entitled Regionalism and the Reading Class. Professor Griswold directs the Culture and Society Workshop at Northwestern.

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