Sociology (Fourth Edition)

Author: [British] Anthony
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The tone of this book treats sociology as a discipline playing a core role in modern intellectual culture and occupying a central position in the social sciences. After teaching various levels of sociology for many years, I deeply felt the need to organize and summarize the current frontiers and developments of this discipline, writing a foundational textbook in this field. My goal is to create a textbook that combines originality with the analysis of all fundamental issues of interest to contemporary sociologists. This book does not attempt to introduce overly formed concepts; instead, it includes cutting-edge ideas and research findings in sociology from cover to cover. I hope this is not a biased approach, as I have strived to cover important sociological propositions fairly but without distinction. This book seeks to maintain a balance between theoretical thinking and empirical research. In sociological research, like in other disciplines, theory is clearly crucial. This book teaches students classic theoretical research methods while also addressing new theoretical approaches. The revision of the fourth edition of Sociology is more comprehensive than any of the previous editions of this book. All empirical data in the book has been thoroughly revised and updated. Like the first three editions, the author has strived to make the book both readable and entertaining while staying at the forefront of the discipline. The book extensively uses academic research findings and professional journals as sources of research material. To make the textbook as up-to-date as possible, some newspapers and magazines have also been selected as new sources. Many new sections have been added. By combining the new content with the reliable, tested sections, the book has maintained its reputation as an authoritative introduction to sociology. The fourth edition was published in 1989 and opened up new fields from several perspectives. The innovation of the fourth edition lies in its thorough research on how other changes related to the internet and information technology have transformed our lives. The focus on these issues is actually spread throughout every chapter. The period of great change also brings new risks, and risk is a continuous theme explored in this textbook.