"[A] most impressive achievement by an extraordinarily intelligent, courageous, and—that goes without saying—'well-read' mind. The scope of this work is enormous: it provides no less than a comprehensive, historically grounded theory of 'modern peoplehood,' which is Lie’s felicitous umbrella term for everything that goes under the names 'race,' 'ethnicity,' and nationality.'" Christian Joppke, American Journal of Sociology "Lie's objective is to treat a series of large topics that he sees as related but that are usually treated separately: the social construction of identities, the origins and nature of modern nationalism, the explanation of genocide, and racism. These multiple themes are for him aspects of something he calls 'modern peoplehood.' His mode of demonstration is to review all the alternative explanations for each phenomenon, and to show why each successively is inadequate. His own theses are controversial but he makes a strong case for them. This book should renew debate." Immanuel Wallerstein, Yale University and author of The Decline of American Power: The U.S. in a Chaotic World

K-Pop: Popular Music, Cultural Amnesia, and Economic Innovation in South Korea seeks at once to describe and explain the emergence of export-oriented South Korean popular music and to make sense of larger South Korean economic and cultural transformations. John Lie provides not only a history of South Korean popular music—the premodern background, Japanese colonial influence, post-Liberation American impact, and recent globalization—but also a description of K-pop as a system of economic innovation and cultural production. In doing so, he delves into the broader background of South Korea in this wonderfully informed history and analysis of a pop culture phenomenon sweeping the globe.

Multiethnic Japan challenges the received view of Japanese society as ethnically homogeneous. Employing a wide array of arguments and evidence--historical and comparative, interviews and observations, high literature and popular culture--John Lie recasts modern Japan as a thoroughly multiethnic society.

This book helps you understand how groups, networks, institutions, and classes influence social action by illustrating sociological concepts with examples from fashion, sports, social media, and other popular culture topics that you know and enjoy.

The situation of Los Angeles’s Korean Americans touches on some of American society’s most vexing issues: ethnic conflict, urban poverty, immigration, multiculturalism, and ideological polarization. Combining interviews and sociohistorical analysis, Abelmann gives these problems a human face and clarifies the factors that render them so complex.

This book traces the origins and transformations of a people-the Zainichi, or Koreans "residing in Japan." Using a wide range of arguments and evidence-historical and comparative, political and social, literary and pop-cultural-John Lie reveals the social and historical conditions that gave rise to Zainichi identity, while exploring its vicissitudes and complexity. In the process he sheds light on the vexing topics of diaspora, migration, identity, and group formation.

SOC+ is a completely different type of sociology book! Developed through a proven approach and with considerable input from focus groups, surveys, and conversations with reviewers and potential users, SOC+ features an engaging layout, high-interest and comprehensive content, current examples, and personal tone. This is a complete hybrid learning solution, with a number of assets found at icansocplus.com. Bring Sociology to life for your students with SOC+! "I love the resources and the variety of ways that the material is made understandable, practical, and meaningful." - Elizabeth Bishop, Sault College "SOC+ is the most engaging intro text I have come across in 22 years of teaching." - Marni Westerman, Douglas College

Because the author sees South Korean development as contingent on a variety of particular circumstances, he ranges widely to include not only the information typically gathered by sociologists and political economists, but also insights gained from examining popular tastes and values, poetry, fiction, and ethnography, showing how all of these aspects of South Korean life help elucidate his main themes.

From Japan as "number one" to the lost decades -- Growth reconsidered -- The regime as a concept -- Ordinary virtues -- The book of sushi -- The artisanal ethos in Japan: the larger context -- The book of bathing -- Ikigai : reasons for living.