These and many other questions are addressed in the book within the methodological framework of systems theory and evolutionary psychology."--BOOK JACKET.

This is a collection of articles dealing with the point of view of symbolic interactionism and with the topic of methodology in the discipline of sociology. It is written by the leading figure in the school of symbolic interactionism, and presents what might be regarded as the most authoritative statement of its point of view, outlining its fundamental premises and sketching their implications for sociological study. Blumer states that symbolic interactionism rests on three premises: that human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings of things have for them; that the meaning of such things derives from the social interaction one has with one's fellows; and that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process.

The educational use of television, film, and related media has increased significantly in recent years, but our fundamental understanding of how media communicate information and which instructional purposes they best serve has grown very little. In this book, the author advances an empirically based theory relating media's most basic mode of presentation -- their symbol systems -- to common thought processes and to learning. Drawing on research in semiotics, cognition and cognitive development, psycholinguistics, and mass communication, the author offers a number of propositions concerning the particular kinds of mental processes required by, and the specific mental skills enhanced by, different symbol systems. He then describes a series of controlled experiments and field and cross-cultural studies designed to test these propositions. Based primarily on the symbol system elements of television and film, these studies illustrate under what circumstances and with what types of learners certain kinds of learning and mental skill development occur. These findings are incorporated into a general scheme of reciprocal interactions among symbol systems, learners' cognitions, and their mental activities; and the implications of these relationships for the design and use of instructional materials are explored.

In this book, important works and approaches of policy-oriented emotion research are brought into a systematic context. For this purpose, three different types of emotions are elaborated, which in their totality constitute Homo Emotionalis: binary emotions, basic emotions, reflexive emotions. They correspond to individual-psychological stages of development, but are also relevant in the social and political handling of emotions. The interplay of emotion types and social constellations leads to different modes of political action, which shape different forms of emotional politics. In each case, individual logics emerge along which emotional politics is pursued. With its interdisciplinary focus, this volume is aimed at political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists and social psychologists.

Zusammenfassung: This is an open access book. ICOLLITE is an annual international conference organized by the Faculty of Language and Literature Education of Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia in the fields of Language, Literature, Culture, and Education. This conference embraces interdisciplinary studies representing advances and fresh studies in the fields of language, literature, culture and education. The aim is to bring together leading scientists, researchers and academic practitioners to exchange experiences and research results on all aspects of language, literature, culture and education. This year, 'Globalization and Its Impacts on Language, Literature, and Culture: Opportunities and Challenges' becomes its theme. Presenters and participants are welcomed to discuss and disseminate current issues and offer solutions to the challenges of our time

All sociology is implicitly critical because the sociological perspective questions and debunks what common sense takes for granted. Some sociology is explicitly critical of how the domination of states, corporations, the media, and other powerful institutions attenuate our potential for living autonomous lives in today's world. In Critical Sociology, Buechler explores sociology's double critique. The book opens with chapters on how to think sociologically; an overview of the scientific, humanistic, and critical schools of sociology; and a more detailed exposition of the critical tradition. He applies this critical tradition to economics, politics, and culture; to class, race, and gender; to individualism, self, and identity; and to globalization, social movements, and democracy.

Since its founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.