The New Introducing Sociology

by Peter Worsley, Frank Bechhofer, Richard Brown

This edition draws upon recent findings of sociological research about a rapidly changing society, upon both classical and contemporary theoretical debates and upon public controversies over social policy in fields ranging from the health service to the future of industry. The book begins with an assessment of sociology as a discipline, which is then set against the background of the history of global development and of contemporary divisions in the world, especially the Third World. Successive chapters introduce the reader to the special problems involved in researching the issues of sex, gender and the family, especially those raised by the women's movement; changing patterns of health and illness and of medical therapy; the explosive growth of the world's cities and changes in community life; the transformations of industry and of the nature of work in an epoch of mass unemployment; ethnic and racial conflicts both at world level and within our own society; the persistence of social order despite deep inequalities; and the many ways in which people deviate from respectable models of behaviour. The book ends with an overview of the main varieties of sociological theory.

Genres: Sociology

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Peter Maurice Worsley is a noted sociologist and social anthropologist from Birkenhead, UK.
He is a major figure in both anthropology and sociology, and is noted for introducing the term "Third World" into English. He not only made theoretical and ethnographic contributions, but also was regarded as a key founding member of the New Left.

Worsley started reading English at Cambridge but his studies were interrupted by World War II. He served in the British Army as an officer in Africa and India. During this time he developed his interest in anthropology. After the war he worked on mass education in Tanganyika and then went to study under Max Gluckman at the University of Manchester.

He lectured in sociology at the University of Hull and then went on c.1963 to become the first Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester.

Reviews

[Priyanshi Bansal]

It's a good book.

[Hans D]

Outdated by 2025 standards but still very helpful as a former student of sociology to go over the basics, sophisticated language and learned a few things