SOCIOLOGY - INTRODUCTORY READINGS

The third edition of this best-selling introductory reader in sociology has been thoroughly restructured, and fully revised and updated to offer a stimulating and wide-ranging set of readings for students approaching sociology for the first time. A strong emphasis has been placed on creating a productive mixture of classic and contemporary readings which is highly readable and lively, yet remains challenging. Whilst particularly useful as a companion to the sixth edition of Giddens’s Sociology, the reader is designed for use independently or alongside other textbooks. The reader maintains the distinctive approach which Sociology pioneered: strongly comparative and historically informed, it stresses the influence of globalizing trends in social life. The carefully selected readings range from studies of face-to-face interaction through to the analysis of large-scale global systems, and cover sociological theories of society as well as research methods. Amongst the new selections in this volume are readings on the Internet and virtual communities, the impact of ecological thinking and climate change on social science, offshoring and the future of work, global cities, patriarchy and shifting gender relations, intersecting social inequalities, the idea and practice of restorative justice, new forms of cybercrime, war, terrorism and the prospects for a global cosmopolitan democracy. The readings are arranged in ten thematic sections and each section is preceded by a summary in order to facilitate students’ comprehension and critical reflection. The result is an exciting new text that encompasses the major themes and debates in both classical and contemporary sociology. Sociology: Introductory Readings will be an essential resource for anyone who wishes to engage with the scope of sociological thought today.

Anthony Giddens is former director of the London School of Economics and Political Science.





Philip W. Sutton is formerly of the University of Leeds and Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen.

Introduction - The Sociological Perspective1. C. Wright-Mills - Private Troubles, Public Issues2. Anthony Giddens - The Scope of Sociology3. Richard Jenkins - What is Sociology For?Further Reading


PART 1 Theories of Society4. Karl Marx - Human History as Class Conflict5. Emile Durkheim - From Mechanical to Organic Solidarity 6. Sylvia Walby - Structuring Patriarchal Societies7. Zygmunt Bauman - Intimations of Postmodernity8. Anthony Giddens - Riding the Juggernaut of ModernityFurther Reading


PART 2 Research Methods9. Alan Bryman - Quantitative versus Qualitative Methods? 10. Alan Buckingham & Peter Saunders - What is a Social Survey? 11. Barbara Merrill & Linden West - Researching Individual Lives 12. Philip Abrams - Sociology's Historical Imagination13. Loïc Wacquant - Participant Observation / Observant ParticipationFurther ReadingPART 3 Natural and Urban Environments14. Georg Simmel - Individuality in the Modern City15. Richard Sennett - Creating Humane Cities16. Saskia Sassen - The Global City 17. Riley E. Dunlap - A New Ecological Paradigm for Sociology18. Anthony Giddens - A Politics for Global Warming Further Reading


PART 4 Institutions and Organizations19. Max Weber - The Spirit of Capitalism20. Emile Durkheim - The Essence of Religion 21. Göran Therborn - Families in Global Perspective22. John Taylor Gatto - The Hidden Curriculum - A Teacher's View23. Alan S. Blinder - Work in the Next Industrial RevolutionFurther Reading


PART 5 Social Inequalities24. Wendy Bottero - What is Social Stratification?25. Simone De Beauvoir - Woman - The Second Sex?26. Patricia Hill Collins - Intersecting Inequalities27. Rosemary Crompton - The Rise, Fall and Rise of Social Class28. Colin Barnes, Geof Mercer & Tom Shakespeare - The Social Model of DisabilityFurther Reading


PART 6 Relationships and the Life-course29. Stephen Hunt - Life Cycle or Life Course?30. Jeffrey Weeks - Social Constructions of Sexuality31. Ulrich Beck & Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim - The Normal Chaos of Love32. Bill Bytheway - Ageing and Ageism33. Norbert Elias - The Loneliness of the DyingFurther Reading


PART 7 Interaction and Communication34. Erving Goffman - Presenting the Self in Social Life35. Iris Marion Young - Throwing Like a Girl 36. Jack G. Shaheen - Hollywood's Misrepresentation of Arabs37. James Slevin - The Internet Galaxy38. Howard Rheingold - Building Virtual CommunitiesFurther Reading


PART 8 Health and the Body39. Bryan S. Turner - Defending Parsons' Sick Role40. Lesley Doyal - What Makes Women Sick?41. Mike Bury - The Experience of Illness and Recovery42. Ivan Illich - The Problem with Medicine43. Chris Shilling - Sociology and the BodyFurther Reading


PART 9 Crime and Deviance44. Emile Durkheim - The Normality of Deviance45. Robert Merton - Crime as a Deviant Adaptation46. Michel Foucault - The Birth of the Prison 47. John Braithwaite - Principles of Restorative Justice48. David S. Wall - How Serious are 'Cybercrimes'?Further Reading


PART 10 Political Sociology49. Steven Lukes - Defining Power50. Mary Kaldor - New Wars in a Global Age51. David S. Meyer and Sidney Tarrow - The Social Movement Society?52. Walter Laqueur - The New Terrorism53. Daniele Archibugi - Cosmopolitan DemocracyFurther Reading