Introduction to Sociology
This Introduction to Sociology is both extremely comprehensive and well designed. The initial chapters locate sociology as a necessary area of study in an increasingly complex global landscape. The topics cover all aspects of social life and society, drawing on real world issues to realise the theoretical approaches. As a sport sociologist I would have liked a separate section on sport but sport as an agent of socialisation is embedded throughout the book.
I did not find any issues with accuracy although some statistics were from 2010 so perhaps more recent Pew surveys would reveal changes in trends.
As a textbook, Introduction to Sociology is extremely relevant for students within all areas of the humanities. It introduces a variety of themes and topics which can be applied to different degree pathways. Students of communication and media would benefit from a number of these chapters and instructors in current courses in policing and crime would find a number of sections useful to inform particular modules. Whilst this is the Canadian edition and many of the statistics are based on Canadian data sources the book also draws on wider examples from North America and Europe which makes it useful for an international audience. The sections that underline Sociology in the Real World that draw on contemporary examples are self contained in a way that makes them easily modifiable.
The prose is accessible and when more esoteric language and terms are introduced these are explained well. The Key Terms boxes at the end of each chapter are excellent for reinforcing learning outcomes and checking knowledge. Useful contexts are included and even the selection of images shows the careful consideration. The choice of the TV show Dexter to open the chapter on Deviance not only situates the topic within a cultural framework students can relate to but by itself, invites them to consider the subjectivity of crime before the chapter has even started. This makes the rationale clear. I did find the History section rather elongated and wonder whether this might lose the students focus.
There was a consistent formula in that each chapter signposted the learning outcomes, provided a summary and allowed testing of knowledge through quizzes. Chapters used the same structure with multiple sections and examples. Key terms are highlighted in bold.
The book covers a wide range of themes and sub themes and manages to do this coherently due to the structure. The modules are in essence autonomous learning blocks and many sociology courses would benefit from an inbuilt ability to select certain chapters as standalone teaching material. The thorough nature of each section also means they incorporate a number of sub-topics allowing them to be taught as mini modules, something which would be useful for short-course teaching.
The organisation was clear and appropriate. The first three chapters were by necessity placed at the start to provide an explanation of a sociologist’s remit and where the study of the social began. As readers tend to infer importance from the order of chapters, I think the structure replicated this well as the first six chapters could provide a very robust understanding of sociology in the modern world. I would have liked though to see the chapter on Social Interaction feature far earlier as I feel this fits really well with the introductory section.
The only issue I found was using the search facility. A search for a word takes you to the beginning of the chapter only. As this book is so comprehensive and each chapter is very long this renders the search facility inadequate.
No issues at all.
The textbook is relevant to Western cultures, more so than just North America and Canada. It tackles a wide variety of cultural issues including sexuality, ethnicity and technological interactions. As a modern/post-modern text it focuses throughout on issues of social mobility through a solid deconstruction of inequality and an endemic problem. As a Canadian text it may well be skewed towards a more liberal and tolerant audience and as such, for less enlightened readers, I would have liked a more thorough analysis of the Creationist movement and the impact of the Flat Earth believers on the idea of knowledge.
I will definitely use this in teaching undergraduate modules.