The forest and the trees : sociology as life, practice, and promise /

Johnson's prolegomenon to the study of sociology, written for beginning sociology students at all levels, presents a "core view" of sociology: individuals always participate in something larger than themselves, social systems; social life flows from this relationship between smaller and larger, between the forest and the trees. The sociological question becomes, then, in what are people participating and how do they participate? Culture shapes participation, providing symbol systems, norms that "map out paths of least resistance" for participation, and the "things" that permit environmental transformation. Social life has structure, too, that is at once relationships and distribution of wealth, power, and prestige. All of this affects people interacting in space and place, reinforcing the fundamental principle that people and systems are parts of larger entities. Chapter 5 considers individual participation and the role of the self as vehicle, which through interaction plugs the person into society and society into the person. Though this view may be obvious even to first-year students, some of Johnson's discussion is masterful. But when he talks about living the "practice" of sociology "in the world" (chapter 6), his disciplinary commitments overwhelm him. Advocating "practice" of sociology all the time is unrealistic. This introduction could well alienate the audience for which it was designed. L. Braude; SUNY College at Fredonia