The Eighth Edition of Essentials of Sociology is based on the Twelfth Seagull Edition of our best-selling full text Introduction to Sociology.
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9780393428193 |
| Year | 2021 |
| Pages | 563 |
All of the chapters in the book have been updated and revised to reflect the most recent available research and data. Each chapter opens with a contemporary news event or social trend—ranging from the most local (like a confrontation between a dog walker and bird-watcher in New York’s Central Park) to the most global (such as the rapid spread of COVID-19). These events are used to introduce and explain the key sociological concepts, themes, and studies that are elaborated throughout the text. New to this edition, racial and ethnic categorizations are considered proper nouns and thus are capitalized.
As Temple University journalism professor Lori Tharps notes, “Black with a capital B refers to people of the African diaspora. Lowercase black is simply a color” (Tharps, 2014). In the same way, “White” as a racial category acknowledges the functions of this label in society. Racial designations are not neutral markers of skin tone but socially constructed categories whose meanings and boundaries shift over time and place. Treating these categories as proper nouns recognizes them as such (Appiah, 2020).
Available on Amazon
View on AmazonSociology is the scientific study of human social life, groups, and societies. A dazzling and compelling enterprise, it focuses on our own behavior as social beings. The scope of sociological study is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of how people establish social connections with one another on the local level to the investigation of social processes on a global scale.
Sociology teaches us that what we regard as natural, inevitable, good, or true may not be such, and that the “givens” of our lives—including things we assume to be genetic or biological— are strongly influenced by historical, cultural, social, and even technological forces. Understanding the subtle yet complex and profound ways in which our individual lives reflect the contexts of our unique social experiences is central to its outlook. A brief example, drawn from a brilliantly reported article in the New York Times, provides a taste of the objectives of sociology (Casey, 2020).
Anthony Giddens is one of the most influential contemporary sociologists, renowned for his contributions to social theory, the study of modernity, and political sociology. Born in London in 1938, Giddens studied at the University of Hull and the London School of Economics, later earning his doctorate at the University of Cambridge. He went on to have a distinguished academic career, teaching at several leading institutions and serving as Director of the London School of Economics from 1997 to 2003.
Giddens is best known for developing structuration theory, a theoretical framework that seeks to overcome the traditional division between structure and agency by emphasizing their mutual dependence. This approach has had a lasting impact on sociological theory and the social sciences more broadly. His major theoretical works include New Rules of Sociological Method (1976), Central Problems in Social Theory (1979), and The Constitution of Society (1984).
In addition, Giddens has written extensively on modernity, globalization, and risk. Influential books such as The Consequences of Modernity (1990), Modernity and Self-Identity (1991), and The Transformation of Intimacy (1992) analyze the social and cultural dynamics of late modern societies. Beyond academia, Giddens has played a significant role in political debate through his formulation of the “Third Way,” notably expressed in The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998).
| Title | Essentials of Sociology |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | Eighth Edition |
| Autor | Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum and Deborah Carr |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
| Year | 2021 |
| Pages | 563 |
| Country | Canada |
| ISBN | 9780393428193 |
| Availability | View on Amazon |
