The sociology of education, the contributors show, largely works with themes, concepts, and theories that were generated decades ago, even as both the actual world of education and the discipline of sociology have changed considerably. The moment has come, they argue, to break free of the past and begin asking new questions and developing new programs of empirical study. Both rallying cry and road map, Education in a New Society will galvanize the field.

1 Education in a New Society: Renewing the Sociology of Education / Jal Mehta and Scott Davies

PART ONE Theoretical Perspectives

2 Social Theory and the Coming Schooled Society / David P. Baker

3 The Deepening Interpenetration of Education in Modern Life / Scott Davies and Jal Mehta

4 An Institutional Geography of Knowledge Exchange: Producers, Exports, Imports, Trade Routes, and Metacognitive Metropoles / Steven Brint

5 Professional Education in the University Context: Toward an Inhabited Institutional View of Socialization / Tim Hallett and Matt Gougherty

PART TWO / Substantive Contributions

6 Talking Pigs? Lessons from Elite Schooling / Shamus Khan

7 What’s Up with Assessment? / Richard Arum and Amanda Cook

8 College and University Campuses as Sites for Political Formation: A Cultural-Organizational Approach / Amy Binder

9 Digital Badges and Higher Education in a New Society: A Bersteinian Analysis / Michael Olneck

10 Research Universities and the Global Battle for the Brains / John D. Skrentny and Natalie M. Novick

PART THREE Old Themes, New Perspectives

11 The Expansion of the “School Form” and Deepening Inequality / David Karen

12 Reopening the Black Box of Educational Disadvantage: Why We Need New Answers to Old Questions / Janice Aurini and Cathlene Hillier

13 Schools as Great Distractors: Why Socioeconomic-Based Achievement Gaps Persist / Douglas B. Downey

14 Race and White Supremacy in the Sociology of Education: Shifting the Intellectual Gaze / John B. Diamond

15 Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Processes in Education: New Approaches for New Times / Natasha Kumar Warikoo

16 Claim No Easy Victories: Some Notes toward a Fearless Sociology of Education / Charles M. Payne

Epilogue / What Next for the Sociology of Education? / Mitchell Stevens