"Contesting the putative ""even-handedness"" of many introductory social science texts, this innovative book presents strong and provocative arguments on contemporary social issues that will stimulate readers to think critically. The principal theme of the book is that social science is at its best, and most exciting, when it confronts and refutes ""cultures of prejudice""-intricate systems of beliefs and attitudes that sustain many forms of social oppression and that are, themselves, sustained by ignorance and fear of the unknown and the unfamiliar. Such a critical social science, it is argued, can make an important contribution to promoting human freedom and extending human capacities.
Discussions range from the personal to the political, the national to the global, encompassing social policy analysis (law, health, and welfare), the status of women, and animal liberation, as well as nationalism, racism, political ideology, the global economy, and terrorism. This passionately argued book is an excellent supplementary text for undergraduate social science students, as well as a stimulating read for all those open to hard-hitting confrontations with conventional wisdom. Beginning each chapter with an aphorism, anecdote, or quotation that reflects, illustrates, or challenges particular prejudices, the authors offer concise critical discussions of the issues, informed by some of the best research and thought in the social scientific literature."
By:
Judith C. Blackwell,
Murray E.G. Smith,
John S. Sorenson
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781442600034
ISBN 10: 1442600039
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 09 September 2008
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Replaced By: 9781551114903
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
"Acknowledgments Part One: Introduction to the Book and its Authors Suggested Readings Part Two: Nationalism, Racism, Fundamentalism, and Terrorism 1. ""My country, right or wrong"" Notorious motto of nationalistic jingoism 2. ""Everybody is a racist; it’s part of human nature"" Fatalistic belief condoning the perpetuation of racial oppression 3. ""I’m not a racist, and nobody I know is either"" A worthy statement which invites discussion of ""colour-blindness"" 4. ""Immigrants are threatening our way of life"" Centuries-old fear expressed about every new wave of immigration, even by members of the last wave of immigration 5. ""God is on our side"" Common belief, usually held by ""both"" sides in armed conflict 6. ""Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists"" A mind-numbingly ridiculous Hobson's choice offered up by US President G.W. Bush, September 20, 2001 Suggested Readings Part Three: Colonialism and Globalization 7. ""Third World poverty is the result of traditional values"" First World conceits about ""backward"" societies 8. ""The USA promotes freedom throughout the world"" America as saviour of the global community 9. ""Free markets pave the way for social development"" The World Trade Organization as benign force for social good Suggested Readings Part Four: Poverty and Social Dispossession 10. ""The Welfare State Rewards Laziness"" The poor are different from ""the rest of us"" prejudice 11. ""Idle hands are the Devil's workshop"" More myths about poverty 12. ""Indians shouldn’t have any special rights"" Belief that aboriginal peoples are ""just another minority group"" 13. ""If unemployed people can’t find jobs, they should start their own businesses"" Anachronistic view concerning ""individual responsibility,"" work, and the sanctity of small business enterprise 14. ""Recent trends toward falling living standards show that there are 'natural limits' to the expansion of human prosperity"" Naturalistic explanation for why the rich get richer and the poor get poorer 15. ""The real culprit for the poverty gap (between rich and poor countries) is not uneven trade, but excessive population growth"" Neo-Malthusian prejudice Suggested Readings Part Five: Social Class 16. ""Class inequality is an inevitable feature of the human condition"" Misanthropic belief that ""There will always be a ruling class"" 17. ""As a rule, the rich deserve their wealth"" Corollary to the absurd notion that the poor deserve to be poor 18. ""A classless society in a complex and economically developed society is impossible; it is an unrealistic utopia"" Excuse for gross social inequality amidst tremendous wealth and productive capacity 19. ""Most people belong to the middle class"" Myth of the ""Middle Class Society"" Suggested Readings Part Six: Feminism and the Women's Movement 20. ""Feminists are just 'male bashers'"" Misogynist notion representing a step up from ""bra burners."" Better not to be thought of only for denouncing one's underwear 21. ""Feminism is no longer relevant"" Delusional statement by people who think women ""have it all"" Suggested Readings Part Seven: Health, Sexuality, and Reproduction 22. ""Doctor Knows Best"" Dubious homespun advice encouraged by medical professionals everywhere 23. ""Modesty and virtue are the essence of femininity"" Who needs genital mutilation, when ideology can cripple sexual fulfillment just as effectively? 24. ""Homosexuality is unnatural"" Or, why my orgasm is better than yours 25. ""Abortion is murder"" Anti-woman hysterical rhetoric of the anti-abortion movement 26. ""The family is a haven in a heartless world"" The ""family values"" myth Suggested Readings Part Eight: Policing the Culture of Prejudice 27. ""Lock 'em up and throw away the key!"" Expensive, inefficient, inhumane, and remarkably simple-minded solution to the modern ""crime problem"" 28. ""Just say 'no' to drugs"" Or, why my drugs are okay and yours aren't, as propounded by Nancy Reagan, Leading Lady to former actor and US President Ronald, c. 1980s 29. ""Support Your Local Police"" Popular propaganda of dubious value to protesters of the Culture of Prejudice 30. ""In America, Justice is Blind"" Myth of ""Equality Before the Law"" Suggested Readings Part Nine: Ecology and Animal Liberation 31. ""People come first"" Conceits of anthropocentrism 32. ""Eating meat is natural"" Preference defined as inevitability 33. ""Hunting is part of human nature"" ""Human nature"" as a rationalization for the inhumane Suggested Readings Part Ten: The Economy 34. ""When Corporations Win, Everyone Wins"" Or, why big business is our saviour, as explained in a letter to the editor, The St. Catharines Standard, August 9, 1997 35. ""Unions are too powerful; they are detrimental to the economy"" Anti-labour sentiment in a world dominated by big capital Suggested Readings Part Eleven: Politics and Ideology 36. ""He who says organization says oligarchy"" The anti-democratic prejudices of Robert Michels 37. ""Radicalism of the Left and Right are Equally Deplorable"" The ""golden mean"" prejudice 38. ""Vote for the candidate of your choice, but vote"" The ""democratic"" prejudice Suggested Readings Epilogue: ""Black September"" and the Culture of Prejudice Glossary Index"
Judith C. Blackwell is a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Brock University. She is the co-editor of Illicit Drugs in Canada: A Risky Business (Nelson). She has also served as an advisor on drug laws and drug policy in Canada and England. Murray E.G. Smith is a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Brock University. He is the author of Invisible Leviathan: The Marxist Critique of Market Despotism beyond Postmodernism (University of Toronto Press). John S. Sorenson is Associate Professor of Sociology at Brock University. He is the author of Ghosts and Shadows: Construction of Identity and Community in an African Diaspora (University of Toronto Press); Imagining Ethiopia: Struggles for History and Identity in the Horn of Africa (Rutgers); and editor of Disaster and Development in the Horn of Africa (Macmillan).
