DISCOVER SOCIOLOGY THROUGH THE THEME OF POWER

Inequality Matters boxes give students a critical perspective on how

power is distributed, reproduced, and exercised in society.

“I really liked the Inequality Matters feature. I think it brings to the

surface a lot of issues that get swept under the rug.”

—Brian Brutlag, Rio Hondo College

Technology & Society boxes provide a valuable

sociological perspective on the ever-evolving and

transformational nature of technology, considering both

the positive and negative effects on our increasingly

connected global society.

“The section on Technology and Society stands out as

exemplary and engaging.”

—Jeffrey Debies-Carl, University of New Haven

286 Chapter 11: Families and Society

INEQUALITY MATTERSDOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HOMELESSNESSHow are women’s experiences of

poverty and homelessness linked to the societal phenomenon of domestic violence? In addition to consequences such as physical and psychological injury, violence is both a cause and a consequence of homelessness among women.According to the National Law

Center on Homelessness and Poverty (n.d.), “Domestic and sexual violence are leading causes of homelessness nationally, especially for women” (p. 1). By one 2008 estimate, 28% of homeless families were homeless as a result of domestic violence

(National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009a). A 2011 study conducted by a Los Angeles women’s center noted that nearly half of the homeless women surveyed had experienced domestic violence in their lifetimes, and a third of the women had experienced domestic violence in the past year. Nearly a third of the women surveyed had

gone to the women’s shelter directly after experiencing domestic violence and/or assault (Downtown Women’s Action Coalition, 2011).Other violence-linked causes

of homelessness include a failure to secure alternative housing, which may be the result of unemployment or denial of resources by a controlling abuser. In a 2003 study, 44% of homeless women in Fargo, North Dakota, reported they had previously stayed in abusive

relationships for lack of alternative

places to live; in Minnesota, the figure was 46% (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2007). In 2012, the city of Chicago reported that 33% of its homeless residents were victims of domestic violence (Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, 2014). Notably, 39% of U.S. cities name domestic violence as the single largest cause of family homelessness (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2009a). While women may face violence upon returning

home to abusers, they are also at risk on the streets, since homelessness makes them vulnerable to assault, robbery, rape, and other threats.Domestic violence is a key

precipitator of homelessness, particularly among poor and minority women, who may already face

considerable obstacles to finding safe and adequate housing and solid employment opportunities. One societal response is to support safe housing for survivors of domestic violence. A more important one for the long term is to address the causes of abuse and to end both the acceptance and practice of domestic violence.

THINK IT THROUGH How might communities effectively address the problem of domestic violence, as well as associated troubles such as homelessness? Consider issues of both attitudes and policies in answering this question.

Domestic violence is an underreported crime, and many official reports fail to capture the extent of the problem. Why are many people reluctant to report incidents of domestic violence to the police?

V

ivia

ne M

oos/

Cor

bis

after experiencing domestic violence and/or assault (Downtown Women’s Action Coalition, 2011).

for the Homeless, 2014). Notably, 39% of U.S. cities name domestic violence for the long term is to address the causes of abuse and to end both the acceptance and practice of domestic

THINK IT THROUGHHow might communities effectively address the problem of domestic violence, as well as associated troubles such as homelessness? Consider issues of both attitudes and policies in answering this question.

69Culture and Mass Media

look at how these media shape attitudes and practices—some-

times in negative ways. In the section that follows, we turn our

attention to another dimension of culture: the controversial

relationships among culture, mass media, and the negative but

pervasive phenomenon of sexual violence against women.

TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY

POWER, TECHNOLOGY, AND TELEVISION

Most conflict theorists, following

the lead of Karl Marx, maintain that

capitalism is a system characterized

by oppression and rife with inequality.

If this is so, why do working people,

victimized by an economic order that

enriches the upper socioeconomic

classes at their expense, not rise up in

protest? Sociologists Herbert Marcuse

and Douglas Kellner have offered a

few ideas.

Marcuse, writing in 1964, described

technology in modern capitalist

society as paving the road to a

“comfortable, smooth, reasonable,

democratic unfreedom” (p. 1). He

believed that modern technology,

employed in the service of capitalist

interests, would lead to ever more

effective—and even pleasant—

methods of exerting external control

over individuals. After all, spending

the evening immersed in a reality TV

program or an action film is much

easier than rising up in protest or

revolution. And we may not like the

conditions of our work, but we are

willing to work hard so we can get our

hands on the newest iPhone. From this

perspective, mass media (for instance,

television) serve to socialize and pacify

populations and are thus instruments

of domination. Marcuse (1964) argued

that the freedom

of individuals

had been

“invaded and

whittled down”

by modern

technology, and

that the result

was a “one-

dimensional”

society in which

the ability to

think negatively

and critically about the social order

was progressively crushed (p. 10).

Kellner (1990) expanded the

argument that modern technology and

media—and television in particular—

constitute a threat to human freedom

of thought and action in the realm of

social change. Kellner suggested that

the television industry “has the crucial

ideological functions of legitimating

the capitalist mode of production and

delegitimating its opponents” (p. 9).

That is, mainstream television appears

to offer a broad spectrum of opinions,

but in fact it systematically excludes

opinions that seem to question the

fundamental values of capitalism (for

example, the right to accumulate

unlimited wealth and power) or to

critique not individual politicians,

parties, and policies but the system

within which they operate. Because

television is such a pervasive force

in our lives, the boundaries it draws

around debates on capitalism, social

change, and genuine democracy are

significant.

THINK IT THROUGH

Karl Marx wrote that the ruling

ideas of any society are those of the

ruling class. Arguably, many of those

ideas are conveyed through the

vehicle of TV. Does television, which

delivers images and messages to our

homes as we watch for an average

of 7 hours a day, foster passivity and

make us vulnerable to manipulation?

What about the Internet? How does it

expand human action, creativity, and

freedom? How does it limit them?

CULTURE, MEDIA, AND VIOLENCE

Recent statistics suggest that rape and sexual assault devas-

tate the lives of thousands of U.S. women every year. According

to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), in 2012

there were 346,830 rapes, attempted rapes, or sexual assaults

Why do men continue to outearn

women with the same amount of

education?

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DISCOVER SOCIOLOGY THROUGH THE THEME OF GLOBALIZATION

Global Issues boxes show that societal changes and challenges are

happening all over the world. Shining a light on how individual lives,

communities, and countries are inextricably linked to a multicultural and

interconnected international environment, this feature helps students

develop a more informed global perspective.

“Global Issues boxes make this text stand out in comparison to

many others on the market.”

—Keri Diggins, Scottsdale Community College

“I am very glad to see that this book covers many more global issues

than most introductory books. This may be the book’s strongest

advantage, or at least the piece that makes this text stand out

compared to the majority of introductory books that only give token

mentions to the world outside the U.S.”

—Paul D. Breitkreutz, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 67Culture and Mass Media

GLOBAL ISSUESLANGUAGE, RESISTANCE, AND POWER IN NORTHERN IRELANDThis chapter raises the problem of language loss—that is, the persistent and expanding extinction of small languages across our planet. In a

few places, however, little-used languages are being revived for reasons that range from cultural to economic to political. In some instances, as in the case of Northern Ireland, language revival fits into all three categories.

The dominant language in the country of Northern Ireland has long been English, but there is a growing campaign to revive the Irish language, a tongue with little in common with English (consider the Irish word for independence:

neamhspleáchas). The Irish language (also known as Irish Gaelic or Gaeilge) is a minority language in Northern Ireland. As of the country’s 2001 census, 167,487 people (10.4% of the population) had “some

knowledge of Irish” (Zenker, 2010). The use of Irish in Northern Ireland had nearly died out by the middle of the 20th century, but today efforts are under way to bring the language back to education, commerce, and political life (“In the Trenches,” 2013).Northern Ireland has a history of violent conflict with its British

neighbor. Early in the 20th century, Ireland was shaken by conflict between the Irish Catholic majority and the Protestant minority, who supported British rule and feared the rule of the Catholic majority. In 1920, the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act, which sought to pacify the parties with

the separation of Ireland into a free state of southern counties. In 1922, the larger part of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom to become the independent Irish Free State (after 1937, this became the current state of Ireland). The six northeastern counties, together known as Northern Ireland, remained within the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland has since been the site of sporadic conflict between (mainly Catholic) nationalists and (mainly Protestant) unionists (Kennedy-Pipe, 1997).

The area remained largely peaceful until the late 1960s, when violence broke out in Londonderry and Belfast, foreshadowing three decades of armed conflict between British troops stationed in Northern Ireland and the rebellious Irish

Republican Army (IRA), which represented primarily the interests of the Irish Catholic population. The violent conflicts over home versus British rule, which included terrorism committed by the IRA against British interests and populations, resulted in more than 3,000 deaths in this period (BBC, 2014b). A U.S.-brokered agreement helped to quell the violence in 1998, though sporadic problems

remained. Nearly a decade later, in 2007, key parties to the conflict, including leaders of the Catholic and Protestant factions, took the reins of the country in a power-sharing agreement.

The interest in revival of the language dates back to the period of conflict, known locally as “the Troubles.” In the 1960s, a small number of language enthusiasts set up a tiny Irish-speaking community in a Belfast neighborhood. By the 1970s, with the conflict in progress, Irish nationalist prisoners being held by the British in Maze Prison also began learning Irish, calling out words between cells and scrawling their words on the prison walls

(Feldman, 1991). The effort spread to neighborhoods where families of the prisoners resided and, according to author Feargal Mac Ionnrachtaigh (2013), it became part of an “anti-

colonial struggle.”Today, Irish nationalists, some of them veterans of the war against

British rule, have taken up the mantle of Irish language revival, and

275

U.S. Families Yesterday and Today

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

WHAT IS A FAMILY?

The U.S. Census Bureau uses the

household as a key unit in calculating

a spectrum of national statistics,

from income to poverty. A household

is composed of all the people who

occupy a given housing unit. The

Census Bureau further distinguishes

between family households—

consisting of immediate relatives

such as a husband, wife, and children

or a mother and her children—

and nonfamily households, which

include just about everyone else,

such as those who live alone and

those who live with “nonrelative”

household members. Implicit in

these bureaucratic categories is a

definition of what a family is from the

government’s perspective.

In 2011, of more than 114 million

households in the United States,

more than a third were nonfamily

households (Vespa, Lewis, &

Kreider, 2013). But aside from those

living alone, are these households

necessarily “nonfamilies” from a

sociological perspective? Sociologist

Brian Powell sought to answer this

question in a study that surveyed

more than 2,300 U.S. adults about

their definitions of family. Powell

and his team identified three

categories of respondents in the

study: “exclusionists,” who embrace

a narrow and largely traditional

definition of family; “moderates,”

who expand beyond the traditional

to include, for instance, same-

sex couples if there are children;

and “inclusionists,” who hold

an expansive view of what can

constitute a family, ranging from

opposite- or same-sex cohabiters to

people with pets. Children seemed

to be a decisive factor in whether

a household was seen as a family:

For instance, while only 33% of

respondents agreed that a gay male

couple was a family, the addition of

children to this unit raised the figure

to 64% (Powell, Bolzendahl, Geist, &

Steelman, 2010).

The public’s definition of what

constitutes a family is rapidly

changing. Powell noted a significant

change even in a short period of

time; for instance, the proportion

of respondents favoring a narrowly

traditional view of a family as

married parents and children

dropped by 11% between 2003 and

2010. More people are accepting

cohabiting and gay or lesbian

couples as families as well.

The definitions used by the

Census Bureau and other institutions,

including those that govern estates

and inheritance, adoption, and

hospitalization and medical consent,

lag behind those embraced by a

growing number of U.S. adults.

Perhaps within the third of the

population living in “nonfamily”

households, we would find quite a

few families too.

THINK IT THROUGH

How would you define the

term family? What experiences or

influences led you to that particular

definition?

%

For same-sex couples, the struggles and joys of family life do not differ significantly from

those of heterosexual couples.

Reu

ters

/Luc

as J

acks

on

DISCOVER SOCIOLOGY BY BECOMING CRITICAL CONSUMERS OF RESEARCH

Behind the Numbers boxes ask students to consider the myriad

data bombarding us at all times. This feature helps students become

stronger critical thinkers and savvy consumers of information by

encouraging them to consider the source of information, how

questions are framed, and what might be obscured by data.

Is technology the great global

equalizer?

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DISCOVER WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH A SOCIOLOGY DEGREEBy linking sociology and career success, Discover Sociology helps students

chart a career path by highlighting the knowledge and skills they can

acquire by majoring in sociology, as well as learn how to parlay these skills

into a wide array of occupations and sectors.

“I like the very direct and clear focus on relating sociological

concepts to students’ career paths.”

—Barb LaPilusa, Montgomery College

“Thinking about one’s future career is what most students

are doing.”

—Brian Thomas, Saginaw Valley State University

“Students are eager for this kind of guidance.”

—Wesley Jennings, University of South Florida

DISCOVER WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH A SOCIOLOGY DEGREEBy linking sociology and career success,

75

What Can I Do With a Sociology Degree?

Explore and Target Careers and Job Options

When you have completed an initial career identity

assessment, reflect on your career options. Enlist the

support of friends, family, and career professionals as

you review career options. You can start by using online

tools and library resources. Review general information

about occupational fields and industries to identify a wide

spectrum of career options. Examine specific aspects of

careers and occupations, including types of employers,

job skills and titles, responsibilities, entry-level educational

requirements, advancement potential, work environments,

salaries and benefits, and employment trends.

Use your research results to identify potential

employers and link to their websites. Compare results

for a variety of employers. Your career and occupational

exploration and your employer research are the best ways to

support and validate your career aspirations. Online career

exploration and employer resources include the following:

• www.careerinfonet.org/Occupations/select_

occupation.aspx (CareerOneStop)

• www.vault.com (Vault Career Intelligence)

• www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm (U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook)

• www.onetonline.org (O*Net OnLine)

In addition to researching career trends and data,

learn about career options firsthand through informational

interviews. An informational interview is similar to any

interview, except that you interview the individual working

in your career field of interest to learn about his or her

profession, career skills, education, current position, and/

or employer. To request informational interviews, make

contact through family members, friends, or school faculty

and alumni and their networks.

Other options for exploring careers include internships,

field studies, and part-time jobs. Internships offer

opportunities for you to learn about career options in real-

world settings, to test your career skills and interests, and

to meet professionals in your field.

Make Career Decisions and Set Career Goals

Making career decisions is a key aspect of the career

development process. Evaluate your alternatives and

identify the advantages and disadvantages of each career.

From here, you can begin to make a career choice, which

will influence your career goals.

Career goals are important milestones that provide a

structure enabling you to evaluate progress on your career

path. Goals are not absolute, and you may update and

change them as you continue to move ahead. Long-term

goals are generally accomplished in 1, 5, or 10 years and

incorporate your dreams and aspirations. Short-term goals

(or objectives) are completed on a daily, weekly, monthly,

or annual basis and identify specific tasks associated with

your career plan.

THINK ABOUT CAREERS

Explore some sample employer websites to gather

information. What are the career and employment options

in each organization? What information is highlighted and

what do you learn about the employer? What can you

conclude about the industry?

Create three goals that you hope to accomplish in the

next 5 years, then add short-term goals that support the

completion of the long-term goal.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH A

SOCIOLOGY DEGREE?

CAREER DEVELOPMENT: EXPLORING

CAREERS AND SETTING GOALS

Explore and Target Careers and Job Options

When you have completed an initial career identity

assessment, reflect on your career options. Enlist the

support of friends, family, and career professionals as

you review career options. You can start by using online

tools and library resources. Review general information

about occupational fields and industries to identify a wide

spectrum of career options. Examine specific aspects of

careers and occupations, including types of employers,

job skills and titles, responsibilities, entry-level educational

requirements, advancement potential, work environments,

salaries and benefits, and employment trends.

Use your research results to identify potential

employers and link to their websites. Compare results

for a variety of employers. Your career and occupational

exploration and your employer research are the best ways to

support and validate your career aspirations. Online career

exploration and employer resources include the following:

• www.careerinfonet.org/Occupations/select_

occupation.aspx (CareerOneStop)

• www.vault.com (Vault Career Intelligence)

• www.bls.gov/ooh/home.htm (U.S. Bureau of Labor

Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook)

• www.onetonline.org (O*Net OnLine)

In addition to researching career trends and data,

learn about career options firsthand through informational

interviews. An informational interview is similar to any

interview, except that you interview the individual working

in your career field of interest to learn about his or her

profession, career skills, education, current position, and/

or employer. To request informational interviews, make

contact through family members, friends, or school faculty

and alumni and their networks.

Other options for exploring careers include internships,

field studies, and part-time jobs. Internships offer

opportunities for you to learn about career options in real-

world settings, to test your career skills and interests, and

to meet professionals in your field.

Make Career Decisions and Set Career Goals

Making career decisions is a key aspect of the career

development process. Evaluate your alternatives and

identify the advantages and disadvantages of each career.

From here, you can begin to make a career choice, which

will influence your career goals.

Career goals are important milestones that provide a

structure enabling you to evaluate progress on your career

path. Goals are not absolute, and you may update and

change them as you continue to move ahead. Long-term

goals are generally accomplished in 1, 5, or 10 years and

incorporate your dreams and aspirations. Short-term goals

(or objectives) are completed on a daily, weekly, monthly,

or annual basis and identify specific tasks associated with

your career plan.

THINK ABOUT CAREERS

Explore some sample employer websites to gather

information. What are the career and employment options

in each organization? What information is highlighted and

what do you learn about the employer? What can you

conclude about the industry?

Create three goals that you hope to accomplish in the

next 5 years, then add short-term goals that support the

completion of the long-term goal.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH A

SOCIOLOGY DEGREE?SOCIOLOGY DEGREE?

CAREER DEVELOPMENT: EXPLORING

CAREERS AND SETTING GOALS

Ass

ess

Car

eer

Pref

eren

ces

Target Job Options

Set Career Goals

Implem

ent

a Job Search

Pursue Li

felong

Career

Development

Consider Graduateand ProfessionalEducation

Explore Career

Resources

How can the study of sociology

help me in my professional

career?

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134 Chapter #: Chapter Title134 Chapter #: Chapter Title

DISCOVER THE ANCILLARIESSAGE edge offers a robust online environment featuring an impressive

array of tools and resources for review, study, and further exploration,

keeping both instructors and students on the cutting edge of teaching

and learning. SAGE edge content is open access and available on

demand. Learning and teaching has never been easier!

SAGE EDGE FOR STUDENTS provides a personalized approach to help

students accomplish their coursework goals in an easy-to-use learning

environment.

• An online Action Plan includes tips and feedback on progress

through the course and materials, which allows students to

individualize their learning experience.

• Mobile-friendly practice Quizzes allow for independent

assessment by students of their mastery of course material.

• Mobile-friendly eFlashcards strengthen understanding of key

terms and concepts.

• Carefully selected chapter-by-chapter Video and Multimedia

content enhances classroom-based explorations of key topics.

• SAGE Journal Articles and Readings combine cutting-edge academic

journal scholarship with the topics in your course for a robust classroom

experience. Full-text CQ Researcher, Pacifi c Standard magazine, and

SAGE journal articles have been carefully selected to support and expand

on the concepts.

• Web Resources are included for further research and insights.

• Chapter-specifi c Discussion Questions help launch classroom

interaction by prompting students to engage with the material and by

reinforcing important content.

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135Current H1 Header 135Current H1 Header

SAGE EDGE FOR INSTRUCTORS supports teaching by

making it easy to integrate quality content and create a

rich learning environment for students.

• A course cartridge provides easy LMS integration.

• Test banks provide a diverse range of pre-written

options as well as the opportunity to edit any question

and/or insert personalized questions to effectively

assess students’ progress and understanding.

• Lecture notes summarize key concepts by chapter to

ease preparation for lectures and class discussions.

• Editable, chapter-specifi c PowerPoint® slides offer complete

fl exibility for creating a multimedia presentation for the course.

• Tables and Figures are available in an easily downloadable format for use in

papers, hand-outs, and presentations.

• Sample course syllabi for semester and quarter courses provide suggested

models for structuring one’s course.

• Chapter-specifi c discussion questions help launch classroom interaction by

prompting students to engage with the material and by reinforcing important

content.

• EXCLUSIVE! Access to full-text SAGE journal articles that have been carefully

selected to support and expand on the concepts presented in each chapter to

encourage students to think critically.

• Chapter activities for individual or group projects provide lively and stimulating

ideas for use in and out of class to reinforce active learning.

• Video and Multimedia, including carefully selected chapter-by-chapter video

and multimedia content, enhance classroom-based explorations of key topics.

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