In an accessible and thoughtful manner, this anthology--an update of Social and Political Theory: Classical Readings (1998)--introduces students to the key classic texts in social thought. In the second edition, Michael Kimmel focuses more specifically on the discipline of sociology, rather than melding classical sociological and political theories in one volume. Taking a serious look at the canonical texts, he presents a diverse range of thinkers who were critical to the development of sociological theory and offers a more inclusive classical canon that is informed by both...

This volume presents one of Mitchell's touchstone texts of neurasthenia--cultural critique as medical diagnosis. Fat and Blood was a best seller in its time and went through multiple printings and numerous editions. It fused the cultural critique of modern society and the inversion of gender roles with the medical analysis of this strange new ailment. Today we are likely to read it angrily, as it serves to enforce the most pernicious stereotypes abut women (and not so incidentally, about men)--stereotypes that have proved resilient obstacles to women's advancement. But Fat and Blood supports...

In Women in the Modern World, noted feminist and sociologist Mirra Komarovsky begins with a consideration of biology. Reflecting on these now-familiar arguments that the natural biological differences between women and men dictate different social roles, Komarovsky demolishes these arguments by carefully reviewing studies that find sex differences in cognitive abilities, achievement, and psychological predispositions. In successive chapters, Komarovsky explores how differential socialization produces the differences that we think we observe between women and men, and how gender inequality...

In Women in the Modern World, noted feminist and sociologist Mirra Komarovsky begins with a consideration of biology. Reflecting on these now-familiar arguments that the natural biological differences between women and men dictate different social roles, Komarovsky demolishes these arguments by carefully reviewing studies that find sex differences in cognitive abilities, achievement, and psychological predispositions.

In The Unemployed Man and His Family, noted sociologist and feminist Mirra Komarovsky poses the question: what happens to the authority of the male head of the family when he fails as a provider? Between 1935 and 1936, Komarovsky interviewed 59 families in 1935-36 in which the male had been unemployed for at least a year. Interestingly, in many cases, the husband's struggle in the economic sphere did not offset the solidity and happiness of the marital relationship. But unemployment seems to have affected the men's sense of their own position as head of household and providers. For one thing,...

Noted sociologist and feminist Mirra Komarovsky interviewed 59 families between 1935-36 to study man's role as economic provider. The result is an unprecedented study of masculinity and depression and the effect of social institutions on the individual.

Human Work represents the first ground breaking analysis on the equal importance of work in the lives of men and women. Noted feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman maintains the notion that it was "sexuo-economic oppression of women" and not women's biology that kept women from achieving in all areas of work. Accusing men of appropriating certain work as "men's work" and masking the process as a biological locus rather than an exercise in power relations, Gilman asserts that men created an economic dependence that has prevented women from success in the workplace. Introduced by noted scholars...

Changing Men assembles some of the most innovative and exciting research on men and masculinity. As such, it contributes to the demarcation of the new field of men's studies and to the examination of masculinity within traditional academic disciplines. The contributors deal with broad topical and methodological issues such as reformulating the male role, men in domestic settings, male//female relationships, sexuality, race and gender, and future directions for men's studies.

Jessie Bernard was one of the foremost early feminist sociologists and public intellectuals in women's studies. In The Jessie Bernard Reader, Michael S. Kimmel and Yasemin Besen have compiled her most intriguing and influential work on marriage, the family, sexuality and changing women's roles in the United States. Bernard's pioneering works bridged the gap between academic social science and public advocacy for gender equality. Her books were landmarks in demarcating the effects of the "separation of spheres." Among her most celebrated arguments was that couples experienced two different...

The concept and reality of revolution has gripped the imagination of many writers over the centuries. This is a comprehensive historical examination of these key ideas and theories.