Sociology. Anthony Giddens

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СКАЧАТЬ data’ are also gathering pace, enabling the emerging ‘Internet of Things’: smart devices with multiple functions, made possible by superfast Wi-Fi. We are entering a world of entirely automated factories, driverless cars, deliveries by remoteoperated drone, domestic robots and automated systems in the home, AI-generated media content, and much more. What will be the impact on work when tasks and even whole jobs can be performed without human beings? The most basic question, ‘how can we make a living?’, is raised anew once factory workers, taxi drivers, journalists and doctors all see part, or all, of their role taken from them. We may still be at the foothills of the digital revolution, but the book covers its potentially profound consequences for every individual and all societies.

       The digital revolution in the ninth edition

      The digital revolution increasingly influences every aspect of our lives. As such, the presence of digital communications and devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, big data analysis, intensified surveillance and digital inequalities within the book is larger than ever before. The main discussions of these subjects are as follows:

      Chapter 2, ‘Asking and Answering Sociological Questions’ – the new field of digital sociology

      Chapter 4, ‘Globalization and Social Change’ – the development of digital infrastructure, digital technology’s role in globalization, social media use in Kuwait

      Chapter 10, ‘Health, Illness and Disability’ – new health technologies, pandemics and big data analysis

      Chapter 12, ‘Social Interaction and Daily Life’ – social media and online interactions, cyberbullying, integration of digital devices in everyday life, online interaction norms and ‘netiquette’

      Chapter 13, ‘Cities and Urban Life’ – digitally smart cities, digital technology in the shift to sustainable cities

      Chapter 16, ‘Education’ – the digitization of learning, digital classrooms, the digital divide in education

      Chapter 17, ‘Work and Employment’ – digitization and the knowledge economy, digital technology and the ‘end of work’, platform capitalism and the gig economy

      Chapter 19, ‘The Media’ – the digital revolution and its impact on television, music, newspapers and other media, social media and fake news, digital divides and inequality, digital media and censorship, participatory cultures

      Chapter 20, ‘Politics, Government and Social Movements’ – social movement organizations and social media, Castells on networked social movements

      Chapter 21, ‘Nations, War and Terrorism’ – digital technology and terrorism

      Chapter 22, ‘Crime and Deviance’ – AI and predictive policing, cybercrimes and cybersecurity

      Identity

      Our fourth theme is identity, a concept that connects the individual’s experience to their wider social context. To talk about identity means considering the questions ‘who am I?’, ‘who are you?’ and ‘does my view of you match your own view of your identity?’ Does our personal identity change over time, and, if so, how? For sociologists, our starting point is that individual or ‘personal’ identities are not biologically given but socially created in social interactions. The mundane, but thoroughly revolutionary conclusion is that, in spite of everything we may feel and no matter how strongly we feel it, our identity is, in highly significant ways, shaped by other people. All identities are social identities.

      There are many sources from which our identities are constructed: nationality, ethnicity, social class, gender, occupation, political affiliation, religion, sexuality, musical taste and lots more. We may find that, at different times, one of these seems to define our real, ‘authentic’ identity more than all others. Yet, if that perception shifts, has our identity then changed? Sociological studies show that questions of identity have become more significant today than in the past, and the book contains many discussions of the subject.

       Identity in the ninth edition

      Understanding the increasing significance of personal and social identity construction has become an important part of sociological analysis. As globalization and the digital revolution continue to progress and deepen, their impact on socialization processes and identities also increases. The main discussions of identity are as follows:

      Chapter 3, ‘Theories and Perspectives’ – the social self and identity, theories of identity formation

      Chapter 4, ‘Globalization and Social Change’ – globalization’s impact on national identity, glocalization, modernity and reflexive individualism

      Chapter 5, ‘The Environment’ – risk and identity, theories of the ecological self

      Chapter 7, ‘Gender and Sexuality’ – theories of gender identity, sexual identities, gender fluidity and transgender identities, masculinity/femininity and identity

      Chapter 8, ‘Race, Ethnicity and Migration’ – ethnicity and identity, black identity and ‘new’ ethnicities, intersectionality and ethnic identities, multiculturalism and multiple sources of identification, diaspora and identity

      Chapter 9, ‘Stratification and Social Class’ – intersecting inequalities and forms of identity, class-based identity, consumer lifestyles and identities, disidentifying with the working class

      Chapter 10, ‘Health, Illness and Disability’ – eating disorders and personal identity, illness and the changing perception of self-identity, disability and identities

      Chapter 12, ‘Social Interaction and Daily Life’ – sociological theories of identity, embodiment and personal identity, theories of gender identity, identities in online environments

      Chapter 14, ‘The Life Course’ – theories of self-formation and socialization, theories of gendered identities, social roles and identities, ageing and changing identities

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