HELP - Contemporary Contributions in Sociology

[carl winslow]

I have to write a paper on the following:

"Cite what you consider to be two important contemporary contributions in the general field of sociology?"

Pretty simple, but in academia world what would you guys say constitutes a "contemporary" contribution? Do they want studies recently done in the past 5-10 years or so? Or you think a contemporary issue is anything that is still relevant and discussed?

I'd like to do something simple like Merton's theory of deviance and Domhoff's studies on the power elite, but this is stuff from like the 40's and 60's I think. Not sure if that's contemporary enough

So what do you guys think they mean by "contemporary"?

And this isn't for a class, but for a school. It's one of 5 essays I have to submit for potential admission


ps - If you guys know of any other message boards that could be more helpful, let me know. I tried searching for some but didn't really find anything. I know theres some academic cats in here, but I wouldn't say this board is flooded with them

 

[carl winslow]

you guys suck

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

Carl you trying to become a Sgt or what?

 

[carl winslow]

something like that..lol. harriet and momma winlsow dont do shit all day, so ive got to step my game up

 

[The Duke of Earl]

can you put your paper up so we can read it when your done ?

 

[carl winslow]

sure. though nobody seems too interested in my question, don't see why anyone would want to read an entire paper on the topic

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

In 1979, Prechter postulated that social mood drives financial, macroeconomic and political behavior, in contrast to the conventional notion that such events drive social mood.[20] His description of social mood as the driver of cultural trends reached a national audience in a 1985 cover article in Barron's.[21] Prechter coined the term "socionomics" and in 1999 published an exposition of socionomic theory, The Wave Principle of Human Social Behavior.[4]

Since then, the counter-intuitive premise of the socionomic hypothesis—that in contexts of uncertainty, endogenous processes (not exogenous causes) create patterns of social behavior—has gained attention in academic journals,[22][23][24] books,[25][26] the popular press,[27][28] at academic conferences[29] and in research funded by the National Science Foundation.[30]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socionomics#Socionomics


Modern Applications of Pareto's Law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto's_law


Recent Decline of Social Engagement in America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone


Fuck I am tired I will post up more tomorrow

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

Hey he really is a nice guy...

 

[JoMoDo]

Check out some of Malcolm Gladwell's works. What about 'The Broken Glass Theory' ?

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Here are a couple more contemporary contributions to sociology;

McDonaldization (or McDonaldisation) is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993). He describes it as the process by which a society takes on the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. Where Max Weber used the model of the bureaucracy to represent the direction of this changing society, Ritzer sees the fast-food restaurant as having become a more representative contemporary paradigm (Ritzer, 2004:553).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonaldization


Organizational ecology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_Ecology


There is also a lot of new theory emerging related to the internet