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Description
Introductory Sociology has already established itself as one of the most exciting,
well-respected and popular textbooks in its field.
This new edition distils together a wealth of scholarship with a genuine sensitivity to
what it is like to study sociology for the first time at an advanced level. The result is
a text that is ambitious in its engagement with the most significant themes and debates
that have made an impact on the discipline, but is also designed to extend and support the
beginning student. Offering an accessible blend of theoretical, applied and illustrative
discussion, it looks to build knowledge, understanding and confidence hand in hand. Chief
amongst the features that it boasts are:
Highlighted chapter aims, incorporating chapter-specific lists of key concepts.
An on-page glossary, supported by a full, detailed glossary at the back of the book.
'Connections' boxes, linking related sections of the text together, to create alternative
pathways through the material and encourage wider reading.
Questions to think about, both embedded in the text, and listed at the ends of chapters
for the purpose of further reading, writing and project work.
Annotated reading lists, organised systematically by topic.
Summary points at the end of each chapter, to facilitate revision and review.
An outstanding website, rich with further teaching and study guidance and resources.
Acclaimed in its third edition for its narrative coherence, its sustained critical edge
and its cutting-edge thematic, the fourth edition of Introductory Sociology offers
significantly extended coverage as well as enhanced accessibility and a still more
imaginative approach to the teaching and learning of sociology.
Adopters can register to gain free access to the Resource Pack online at:
www.macmillan-press.co.uk/sociology
Contents
PART 1 CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS
Studying Society Today
Living in Modernity
Globalization and Modernity
PART 2 SOCIAL DIVISIONS AND POWER
Social Divisions
The Significance of Social Class
Gender Relations
Race and Ethnicity
Power, Politics and the State
PART 3 DIMENSIONS OF MODERN SOCIAL LIFE
Family Life
Education
Work and Employment
The Mass Media
Health, Illness and Medicine
Crime
Knowledge, Belief and Religion
PART 4 SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND METHOD
Principles of Sociological Research
Foundations of Social Theory
Making Social Life: Theories of Action and Meaning
Modernity, Postmodernity and Social Theory
| What is new to this edition of Bilton? The
fourth edition of this highly successful text offers:
increased substantive coverage, with a completely new chapter on the media;
extended discussion of social divisions to include disability, youth and age; new sections
on feminist theory; and coverage of writings by such contemporary theorists as Habermas
and Beck.
a greater emphasis on illustration and application, with lots more empirical
data provided throughout, in often much more graphic form.
a stronger and more transparent conceptual framework. Bilton has long been
regarded for its critical and applied theoretical approach. The new edition's four-part
structure has been simplified with a more focused and applied first part (providing the
thematic framework for succeeding chapters) and more compact and comprehensive coverage of
social theory, now brought together at the end of the book. Boxes highlighting key
concepts covered in each chapter offer an at-a-glance conceptual map of the book's
structure, and these are supplemented by fuller lists available on this website.
more support for the process of teaching and learning. These include, in the
text, questions to think about (both integrated into the narrative and augmented by
further questions at the end of each chapter), annotated further reading, connections
boxes linking together arguments dispersed across different chapters of the text. In
response to popular demand, our much liked on-page glossary remains as a feature of the
fourth edition. This website offers a further wealth of resources and support.
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