Sociology: The Essentials, 10th Edition

Margaret L. Andersen

Copyright 2020
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Sociology: The Essentials 10th Edition by Margaret L. Andersen

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Overview
Meet the Author
What's New
Features
Table of Contents
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Overview

SOCIOLOGY: THE ESSENTIALS, Tenth Edition, uses the theme of debunking myths to look behind the facades of everyday life, challenge common assumptions, and help students develop critical thinking skills as well as better understand how society is constructed and sustained. This thorough yet streamlined text employs a reader-friendly presentation and manageable structure, while maintaining a strong focus on sociology concepts, methods, and research. Updated throughout with coverage of the latest findings, trends, and themes, the text provides exceptional coverage of diversity, including social factors such as age, religion, sexual orientation, and region of residence in addition to race, ethnicity, class, and gender.

Meet the Authors

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Margaret L. Andersen

Margaret L. Andersen (B.A., Georgia State University; M.A., Ph.D. University of Massachusetts, Amherst) is the Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor Emerita at the University of Delaware. Her books have had a far-reaching impact and include: GETTING SMART ABOUT RACE: AN AMERICAN CONVERSATION; RACE IN SOCIETY: THE ENDURING AMERICAN DILEMMA, 2E; THINKING ABOUT WOMEN, 11E; the best-selling anthology, RACE, CLASS AND GENDER, soon to be published in its eleventh edition; LIVING ART: THIS LIFE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART COLLECTOR PAUL R. JONES and ON LAND AND ON SEA: A CENTURY OF WOMEN IN THE ROSENFELD COLLECTION. Andersen is an emeritus member and former Chair of the National Advisory Board for Stanford University’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Past-Vice President of the American Sociological Association and Past President of the Eastern Sociological Society. She served in several administrative positions at the University of Delaware, including as Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity; Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and as founding director of the President’s Diversity Initiative. She has received numerous awards, including two teaching awards from the University of Delaware, the Eastern Sociological Society Merit Award for career contributions and the American Sociological Association’s Jessie Bernard Award, given for expanding the boundaries of sociology to include women. The University of Delaware granted her an honorary doctorate in recognition of her national prominence in scholarship, teaching and service.

What's New

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Extensive Inclusivity & Diversity review to update biased language and provide better coverage to marginalized identities and persons.
The text continues the use of graphs and maps to convey crucial sociological data. There are two types of maps, one focused on the U.S. called "Mapping America's Diversity," and the other on the world called "Viewing Society of Global Perspective." Graphs on such topics as public opinion, income and poverty data, and other demographic facts are richly used throughout the book, both to help students learn how to interpret data and also to add visual appeal.

Features

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The text's theme of "debunking" encompasses looking behind the facades of everyday life, challenging common assumptions, and helping students develop critical thinking skills as well as a better understanding of how society is constructed and sustained. "Debunking Society's Myths" features in each chapter reinforce this theme in interesting and thought-provoking ways.
Helping students maximize their study time and retention of key concepts, learning objectives are included near the beginning of every chapter, articulating what the authors expect students to learn from the chapter and matching the major chapter headings.
"A Sociological Eye on the Media" boxes help students become savvy and discerning consumers of media messages that can be misleading or inaccurate. Topics include "Death of a Superstar," about Whitney Houston (Chapter 2); and "Idealizing Family Life," featuring images of families as portrayed on television (Chapter 13).
"Thinking Sociologically" features in every chapter pose critical-thinking questions that encourage students to engage their sociological imaginations. Each of these develops from a highlighted sociological concept.
"See for Yourself" features in every chapter provide several levels of detailed prompts to guide student writing exercises. This feature gives you the flexibility to tailor the length and depth of writing assignments to your students' abilities and the needs of your course.
The text provides the most thorough coverage of diversity found in any brief introductory text on the market. The authors broadly define diversity to include social factors such as age, religion, sexual orientation, and region of residence, in addition to race, ethnicity, class, and gender. This primary focus is emphasized in the boxed feature "Understanding Diversity".
"Doing Sociological Research" features highlight the importance of research while providing a proven, practical structure to help students learn key concepts and develop their own skills. These features build on a unique four-step approach that guides students to consider research questions, methodology, results, and implications.
"What Would a Sociologist Say" boxes are intended to show students the way that sociologists understand particular topics, thus moving students away from the typically more individualistic explanations of common topics. An example is the box on the Tea Party in Chapter 15 that examines the social roots of this significant political development.
The Tenth Edition continues to present and expand upon the most complete use of race/class/gender and sexual orientation in the study of American society. There’s new and updated material on poverty, including the rise of extreme poverty in the United States and new research on immigration and poverty (Ch. 8); the rise of color-blind racism (Ch. 10); sexual assault on college campuses (multiple chapters); and the influence of money on political campaigns (Ch. 15). These are just a few of the ways the book incorporates current topics to explicate important sociological concepts and theory.

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1. Sociological Perspective.
2. Culture.
3. Doing Sociological Research.
4. Socialization and the Life Course.
5. Social Structure and Social Interaction.
6. Groups and Organization.
7. Deviance and Crime.
8. Social Class and Social Stratification.
9. Global Stratification.
10. Race and Ethnicity.
11. Gender.
12. Sexuality.
13. Families and Religion.
14. Education and Health Care.
15. Economy and Politics.
16. Environment, Population and Social Change.