Customer Reviews

Seinology: The Sociology of Seinfeld

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Publishers Weekly review is spot on. Half-baked quasi-thoughts from the discipline's yeasteryear, combined with troublingly absurd prognostications, won't do much to satisfy sociologists or introduce you to the discipline. The mediocre plot summaries are buttressed by more detail about the show's 186 episodes than PW admits, and about which Delaney clearly knows a great deal, but there's not enough new or interpretative to do much for Seinfeld fans. The combined weaknesses will simply frustrate anyone who is BOTH a sociologist AND a Seinfeld fan.

If you want to be the master of your domain, either disciplinarily or zeitgeistian, you'd do as well (nay, better) to find plot summaries online, open to a random page in any Sociology textbook, and discover or invent connections on your own. It'd be cheaper, more fun, more social, and (since Delaney's Sociology is somewhat shallow, and his Seinology sometimes overbearing) more educational.

I suspect that the book will sell well as a function of its title, despite the arguable poverty of its content. Maybe Delaney's snickering like Neuman, or maybe he's as incomplete as Kramer. But if you fancy yourself as having a fraction of Jerry's clarity, perception, and/or frugality, keep on shopping - IMHO, this isn't it.

OTOH, if you crave for more of a show eight years passed its cancellation (and the outtakes on DVD releases simply aren't enough) and/of if you don't know anything Sociology and want to pretend that you do without actually learning much about it, there are clearly those (see other reviews, here and elsewhere) who've found value in this volume - not that there's anything wrong with that, just that there's not clearly something right about it, either.

Seinology is an entertaining book for Seinfeld fans, but it's long on plot summaries and short on analysis. The organization of the book is thematic, exploring such topics as religion, sexual relationships, family, and sports. For a book with academic pretensions, Seinology lacks a strong central thesis and sufficient analysis. Delaney too often simply strings together scenes from shows that deal with various topics without analyzing what Seinfeld had to say about them. For example, when Seinfeld had an episode about a circumcision (The Bris), what was it saying about this religious practice or religion in general? That such rites are ridiculous? That religious people are crazy? Many other shows addressed the subjects Seinfeld made fun of. But how did these views differ from, say, the view of "Friends" or "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on relationships or religion? In short, Delaney doesn't get under the surface of what made Seinfeld unique (and brilliant). He shows that Seinfeld, as with sociology, explores many aspects of human behavior. Okay. But I think he could go further than that. I will venture that Seinfeld's take on human nature was that most people are functionally insane. Critical readers, not to mention critical Seinfeld fans, will come away from this book very hungry. Furthermore, from a literary point of view, some statements Delaney makes would get flagged in your average senior thesis. For example, do I really need to know that he fantasizes about Christina Applegate? Not really. The book also has some sloppy proofreading errors. This book makes for fun reading, but the great book about Seinfeld has yet to be written.

I thought Seinology was a great book. If you do not know alot about sociology it helps you learn several different topics covered by sociologists and puts it into an example from which you can understand the topic. Giving the descriptions from Seinfeld helps the reader put everything together, and lets you think of examples in our own everyday lives where you can relate. It is funny to read the examples that Delaney gives in his book from Seinfeld. Not being a big veiwer of the show, after reading the book, I wanted to go rent every season.

"Seinology" was a major disappointment and was perhaps one of the worst books I've read in years. Unless you're Mary Roach, using humor to explain science usually doesn't work. "Seinology" is no exception. Referencing "Seinfeld" episodes as examples, Delaney attempts to explain sociology's basic principles. The result is a flat, colorless review of most of the show's nine-year history. In addition to sucking the comedic relief out of one the best sitcoms ever written, Delaney does not serve his field of sociology well either. Given the vast diversity of global societies, it seems like academic negligence to approach such a broad topic through the lens of one popular American sitcom. If you love "Seinfeld" and/or the study of sociology, avoid this book.

I love Seinfeld and came across this title while watching the "Notes about Nothing" on the DVD. I started reading it and it was alright, basic sociology going on. Then the author was comparing it to Seinfeld episodes, this is where I got upset. For Delaney being such a "huge fan" of Seinfeld, he couldn't keep facts about episodes correct. I found many mistakes in describing Seinfeld episodes. When describing the Van Buren Boys episode, Delaney says that Kramer escaped violence because they thought he was an OG, original gangster. Why use this term? The episode didn't, they just thought he was a former member. Or when talking about George's family, they say he mentions a brother once to the psychic and probably did it to make himself believe the psychic. When in fact he mentioned a brother in The Parking Spot when telling Elaine that every one in his family are good parkers, his mother, his brother, his father. When describing The Package episode, he confuses events and writes them in the wrong order. Or when describing The Hot Tub, he says Jean-Paul, Jean-Paul won the race, when in fact, he got hot tea from Kramer and drank it and screamed, why does Delaney think he won and it was a happy ending like he wrote? There are quite a few mistakes like this and it was very frustrating reading this book with so many of them; most of them trivial, but for a huge fan it seems like Delaney really didn't do his research.

In a more scientific way, a very good analysis of the social relations among the characters. What's best: it leaves you with a smile in your face at every page, as you think 'that's right, they did it!'.
I recommend!

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David's syndicated show SEINFELD succeeds in large part because it's packed with social observations blended with comedy. The effect is hard-hitting and fun, and here in SEINOLOGY: THE SOCIOLOGY OF SEINFELD, sociology professor Tim Delaney examines how these social observations work. Chapters consider key facets of sociology and how they relate to Seinfeld shows, using chapters titled after some of the show's famous incidents to illustrate. A top pick for college-level sociology courses which wish to connect to student interests and experiences to teach or introduce the field of sociology.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

For anyone interested in knowing what sociology is all about, this book serves as an excellent introduction. Using episodes of "Seinfeld" to illustrate the main areas of sociology, it demonstates that this was a show about everything, rather than nothing. Just how many seats at a movie theater should one be able to save? Only "Seinology" knows for sure.

In new condition. I was very pleased with it since I was giving it away as a Christmas gift.

To be fair, I didn't actually read the entire book. I just skimmed through a couple of pages in the bookstore. However, there didn't seem to be much sociological or scientific content at all. The author would write 2 sentences stating something obvious (such as that people frequently break the law) then spend the next 2 pages recounting episode summaries of Seinfeld (there was the one where Newman has traffic tickets, and the one where...).

Save your money and buy an actual book about sociology, or an actual Seinfeld DVD. Either would be more entertaining and enlightening than this book.