Sociology: A Biographical Approach

by Peter L. Berger, Brigitte Berger

'What we have tried to do ... is to consistently relate the analysis of large institutional structures to the concrete, everyday experience of individuals as they live their lives in society.'

With this book, two very distinguished sociologists have given us a basic grounding in their subject. They take as their framework the life of a human being, from birth to death, within the context of modern society. The emphasis throughout is on the individual and his experience of the constraints and opportunities posed by society. And with this aim in view they examine language, old age, illness, work, leisure, bureaucratic controls and the many other factors that men and women encounter, and respond to, throughout their lives.

Primarily intended as a textbook for introductory sociology courses, Sociology will nevertheless be of great value to the interested layman, who will find in its pages an excellent and readable introduction to how sociology goes about its business.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

372 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Peter L. Berger was an internationally renowned sociologist, and the founder of Boston University's Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs. He was born in Vienna and came to the U.S. in his late teens. He had a master's degree and a doctorate from the New School for Social Research in New York. After two years in the United States Army, he taught at the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina before going to the Hartford Seminary Foundation as an Assistant Professor in Social Ethics.

In 1992, Peter Berger was awarded the Manes Sperber Prize, presented by the Austrian government for significant contributions to culture. He was the author of many books, among them The Social Construction of Reality, The Homeless Mind, and Questions of Faith.