Being Urban: A Sociology of City Life, 3rd Edition 3 Revised edition

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Biographical Note: David A. Karp, PhD, is professor emeritus at Boston College where he taught for 42 years. Gregory P. Stone, PhD, who died in 1981, was professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota. William C. Yoels, PhD, retired as professor emeritus at the University of Alabama-Birmingham. He received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Nicholas P. Dempsey, PhD, is assistant professor of sociology at Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL. Publisher Marketing: Symbolic interaction is among the most central theoretical paradigms in sociology and the theory that most thoroughly attends to how individuals give meaning to their world--in this case, how city dwellers interpret and respond to their daily experiences as urbanites. This thoroughly updated edition of "Being Urban: A Sociology of City Life" remains true to this particular theoretical angle of vision--the symbolic interactionist approach--focusing on specific topics that are relatively neglected in other urban sociology texts, and that lend themselves to the kind of social-psychological analyses that define the distinctive conceptual core of the authors' efforts. After the first two chapters supply readers with theoretical foundations of urban sociology, the next four chapters describe the various ways that individuals experience and make sense of key aspects of urban life. The final section--also composed of four chapters--addresses strategically chosen urban institutions and related processes of social change. Specific subject areas covered include sports, everyday public life, tolerance for diversity, women in cities, urban politics, and the arts. Readers will learn about how order is maintained in public urban places, understand why cities naturally breed a tolerance for diversity that may not be so easily achieved in less urban settings, and appreciate the delicate political and economic tensions between cities and their surrounding suburbs.

Contributor Bio:  March, G Patrick G. PATRICK MARCH pursued a 30-year career in cryptology with the U. S. Navy which involved duty in Asia, Europe and Africa. Contributor Bio:  Karp, David David Karp, Ph. D., is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he teaches courses in criminology and criminal justice. He conducts research on community-based responses to crime and has given workshops on restorative justice and community justice nationally. Currently, he is engaged in a qualitative research study examining Vermont's community reparative probation boards and is a member of the New York State Community Justice Forum. He is the author of more that 30 academic articles and technical reports and two previous books--Community Justice: An Emerging Field and The Community Justice Ideal: Preventing Crime and Achieving Justice (with Todd Clear). Contributor Bio:  Yoels, William C WILLIAM C. YOELS is Professor of Sociology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and co-authored the first edition of Being Urban. Contributor Bio:  Stone, Gregory P The late GREGORY P. STONE was Professor of Sociology at the University of Minnesota and co-authored the first edition of Being Urban.