Social Science : Sociology

In this era of eroding commitment to government sponsored welfare programs, voluntarism and private charity have become the popular, optimistic solutions to poverty and hunger. The resurgence of charity has to be a good thing, doesn't it? No, says sociologist Janet Poppendieck, not when stopgap charitable efforts replace consistent public policy, and poverty continues to grow. In Sweet Charity?, Poppendieck travels the country to work in soup kitchens and "gleaning" centers, reporting from the frontlines of America's hunger relief programs to assess the effectiveness of these homegrown efforts. We hear from the "clients" who receive meals too small to feed their families; from the enthusiastic volunteers; and from the directors, who wonder if their "successful" programs are in some way perpetuating the problem they are struggling to solve. Hailed as the most significant book on hunger to appear in decades, Sweet Charity? shows how the drive to end poverty has taken a wrong turn with thousands of well-meaning volunteers on board. more...

Price: $16.00

We often hear about the growing divide between rich and poor in America. This compelling exposé, backed by up-to-date research, locates the source of this trend where we might least expect to find it--in our schools. Written for a wide audience, Tearing Down the Gates is a powerful indictment of American education that shows how schools, colleges, and universities exacerbate inequality by providing ample opportunities for advantaged students while shutting the gates on the poor--and even the middle class. Peter Sacks tells the stories of young people and families as they struggle to negotiate the educational system. He introduces students like Ashlea, who grew up in a trailer park and who would like to attend college, though she faces constant obstacles that many of her more privileged classmates can't imagine. Woven throughout with voices of Americans both rich and poor, Tearing Down the Gates describes a disturbing situation that has the potential to undermine the American dream, not just for some, but for all of us. At the heart of this book is a question of justice, and Sacks demands that we take a hard look at what equal opportunity really means in the United States today. more...

Price: $24.95

A handbook for supervisors working with undergraduate and postgraduate non-native speaker students writing a thesis or dissertation in English. more...

Price: $41.95

Vietnam is faced with pressing political social and economic problems but is full of promise and potential ''pulsating with energy and steeped in dreams.'' Research included interviews and surveys of Vietnamese professionals who have extensive experience with foreigners, and expatriates from numerous Western nations living and working in Vietnam. more...

Price: $22.95

This is a groundbreaking study of our culture's obsession with weddings. By examining popular films, commercials, magazines, advertising, television sitcoms and even children's toys, this book shows the pervasive influence of weddings in our culture and the important role they play in maintaining the romance of heterosexuality, the myth of white supremacy and the insatiable appetite of consumer capitalism.  It examines how the economics and marketing of weddings have replaced the religious and moral view of marriage. This second edition includes many new and updated features including: full coverage of the wedding industrial complex; gay marriage and its relationship to white weddings and heterosexuality and demographics shifts as to who is marrying whom and why, nationally and internationally.   more...

Price: $34.95