Sociology: A Global Introduction (Paperback)

Sociology: A Global Introduction, with its international outlook and cultural diversity, represents a unique and complete learning resource for sociology students worldwide. Each chapter addresses a new change in society, and reveals how progress in society often comes at a price. This text has been fully updated to include the latest key debates, topics and data, and also highlights the importance of technology in contemporary social life.

Sociology

A Global Introduction

Sociology: a global introduction represents a unique and complete learning resource for sociology students worldwide. International in outlook and culturally wide-ranging, it also reminds us that sociology is not entirely value free.

Unlike most textbooks, a narrative – of social change and its attendant problems – drives the text throughout. Each chapter addresses new forms that society is taking, showing progress but often at a price, and the long journey still to travel for a better world. Technology is also now embedded firmly in contemporary social life, and rapidly changing us. Thus new information technologies – their uses and their problems as tools – are discussed: Google searches, Wikipedia, YouTube.

New to this edition:

• Fully updated to include latest key debates, topics and data – ‘conflicts throughout the world’, the Muslim world, African poverty, and the role of China in the twenty first century.
• New chapter on Disabilities, Care and the Humanitarian Society
• New ‘Interlude’ sections integrate the chapter themes in each part through a specific focus: sport, food, global youth and biography
• Re-organised coverage of theory with new material on major modern theorists – Mary Douglas, Martha Nussbaum, Stan Cohen, Manuel Castells, Ulrich Beck and Donna Haraway  
• New boxes look at ‘Living in the Twenty-First Century’ and ‘Public Sociology’

But this edition is also about helping you do sociology – seeing, hearing, investigating and interacting as a sociologist. To that end, this edition includes other key new features:

1. The Sociological E-Lab, for each chapter – guidance on websites to investigate, DVDs to watch, reading to do, the big debates in sociology and questions to ask.
2. New Part 6 Resources for Critical Thinking brings together key words, video lists, a major webliography, reading lists, YouTube and key organisations. It provides a key resource in itself for further investigation.
3. Art and Sociology: Major works of art open each chapter and questions for discussion are in Part 6. A new visual sociology is suggested throughout
4. Extensive Website Resources – for lecturers and students – link to and extend the book content. Visit the website at www.pearsoned.co.uk/plummer 
   
   For lecturers:
   
   Instructor’s Manual
   Powerpoint lecture slides
   
   For Students:
   
   Podcasts introducing sections and 'global voices'
   'Big Vote' online with other students on key sociological debates
   Interactive questions
   Key sociological concepts explored
   Weblinks
   Videography links
   Revision flashcards