These four old (pre-internet) books might be helpful for collecting
models with a sociological slant & ideas;
Impassioned and eloquent, jazz historian Collier ....turns a critical
eye to the history of self-interest among Americans and its phenomenal
growth in recent times. Tracing patterns of socialization back to the
18th century, Collier notes the transition from a rough-and-ready way
of life to one in which gentility and morality came into play during
the Victorian period. As a distinct, home-grown middle class emerged,
it adopted the work ethic and views on temperance and sexual behavior
that were among the hallmarks of Victorianism, using them as a shield
against the flood of European immigrants with more relaxed attitudes.
Propriety was the order of the day in spirit if not always in
practice, but the winds of change swept away Victorian controls early
in the 20th century as increases in leisure time and urbanization gave
rise to a burgeoning entertainment industry. The invention of radio
was a decisive moment in the transformation of America from a family
and community-based society to a self-centered one, with TV, the
Beats, hippies, drug and alcohol abuse, the rise of single parenting
and dissolution of the traditional family, and a relaxation of sexual
mores with media exploitation of the subject also perceived by Collier
as instrumental in the relentless advance of selfishness. Using his
jazz knowledge sparingly, the author draws on a wealth of other
sources for his social history, marshalling reams of statistics and
colorful examples with equal ease. A vibrant, sweeping analysis of the
roots of American self- indulgence, even if largely familiar, and a
valuable overview of the changes in social attitudes from the Puritans
to the ``Me Generation.'' --
The Rise of Selfishness in America
by James Lincoln Collier
http://www.amazon.com/Selfishness-America-James-Lincoln-Collier/dp/059535159X/
How has television affected our everyday experience? This question has
generated endless arguments and speculations, but no thinker has
addressed the issue with such force and originality as Joshua
Meyrowitz in No Sense of Place. Advancing a daring and sophisticated
theory, Meyrowitz shows how television and other electronic media
create new social situations that are no longer shaped by where we are
or who is "with" us. While other media experts have limited the debate
to program content, Meyrowitz focuses on the ways in which television
has rearranged "who knows what about whom," making it impossible for
us to behave with each other in traditional ways. He shows how
television has lifted many of the veils of secrecy between children
and adults, men and women, and politicians and average citizens. The
result is a series of revolutionary changes, including the blurring of
age, gender, and authority distinctions.
No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior
by Joshua Meyrowitz
http://www.amazon.com/No-Sense-Place-Electronic-Behavior/dp/019504231X/
As Kumar notes, neither histories of utopian thought nor close
discussions of utopian fictions are particularly rare. This book seeks
to be different by combining sociohistorical intellectual analysis of
utopian and dystopian ideas with interrelated discussions of five
texts ( Looking Backward, A Modern Utopia, Brave New World, 1984,
Walden Two ). The total effect is curious, the whole exceeding the sum
of the parts. There is not a lot of "new" information here (and
whether more ever needs to be written about Huxley's book or Orwell's
is open to debate), but the kind of immersion into concept it affords
does yield a new "understanding."
Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Modern Times
by Krishan Kumar
http://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Anti-Utopia-Modern-Times-Krishan/dp/0631167145/
The first half deals with how and why the myths of science fiction
have changed their focus over the last few centuries. The second half
gives a vivid portrait of the editor John W. Campbell working with his
stable of writers--Asimov, DeCamp, Heinlein, and Van Vogt--to create
the Golden Age of modern science fiction from 1939 to 1946. The
writing is verbose and not well integrated, but the book is always
interesting.
The World Beyond the Hill: Science Fiction and the Quest for
Transcendence
by Alexei Panshin, Cory Panshin
http://www.amazon.com/World-Beyond-Hill-Science-Transcendence/dp/0874775736/
