Introduction to Sociology and Readings for Sociology

by Anthony Giddens, Deborah Carr, Mitchell Duneier

The textbook that helps students see the big picture of sociology. Introduction to Sociology focuses only on what students need to know in order to master the sociological concepts taught in the introductory course. Each chapter in the Tenth Edition follows the same consistent four-part First, the authors introduce the basic concepts before discussing sociological theory. They then turn their attention to current research and finally wrap up by exploring unanswered questions that face sociologists today. This consistent, thoughtful organization―coupled with learning objectives, Concept Checks, and Big Picture concept maps―keeps students focused on the core concepts. Now supported by InQuizitive, the Tenth Edition builds on the book’s long-standing emphasis on linking micro and macro sociology, coverage of the best recent research, and an exceptionally affordable price relative to other comprehensive texts.

Readings for Sociology provides students with engaging selections that reveal the complexities of our social world and offer insights into sociological analysis. Garth Massey includes selections from popular and academic journals as well as lively book excerpts that will help students reach a new level of sociological understanding. While comprehensive in scope, offering a wide range of selections on the standard topics taught in introductory courses, this book particularly focuses on social inequality and race, class, and gender.  

555 pages, Paperback

Published June 21, 2016

About the author

Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born 18 January 1938) is a British sociologist who is renowned for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern contributors in the field of sociology, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year. In 2007, Giddens was listed as the fifth most-referenced author of books in the humanities.

Three notable stages can be identified in his academic life. The first one involved outlining a new vision of what sociology is, presenting a theoretical and methodological understanding of that field, based on a critical reinterpretation of the classics. His major publications of that era include Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (1971) and New Rules of Sociological Method (1976). In the second stage Giddens developed the theory of structuration, an analysis of agency and structure, in which primacy is granted to neither. His works of that period, such as Central Problems in Social Theory (1979) and The Constitution of Society (1984), brought him international fame on the sociological arena.

The most recent stage concerns modernity, globalization and politics, especially the impact of modernity on social and personal life. This stage is reflected by his critique of postmodernity, and discussions of a new "utopian-realist"[3] third way in politics, visible in the Consequence of Modernity (1990), Modernity and Self-Identity (1991), The Transformation of Intimacy (1992), Beyond Left and Right (1994) and The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998). Giddens' ambition is both to recast social theory and to re-examine our understanding of the development and trajectory of modernity.

Currently Giddens serves as Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics.