Publication date:
27 March 2014Length of book:
288 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442207103
Society Explained introduces students to key concepts in sociology through engaging narrative examples. After an overview of the history of sociology, the book walks readers through subjects that include individualism; culture; socialization and imagination; values, money, and politics; marriage and family; religious diversity; and education and social change.
Nathan Rousseau engages readers with personal examples and those drawn from wider society. Each chapter covers leading thinkers and critical concepts, and chapters build on each other to helps readers acquire a holistic view of society and their role in it. This concise book is an ideal introduction to the sociological imagination.
Nathan Rousseau engages readers with personal examples and those drawn from wider society. Each chapter covers leading thinkers and critical concepts, and chapters build on each other to helps readers acquire a holistic view of society and their role in it. This concise book is an ideal introduction to the sociological imagination.
Rousseau has written the clearest and most direct introduction to sociology this reviewer has read since beginning higher education in 1979. The author introduces more classic and contemporary sociologists than most introductory texts, and his writing style is interesting and understandable for any level of student. Within the descriptions of social institutions, processes, and theories, Rousseau provides relevant and interesting examples that should increase the understanding of readers. He is able to combine the works of the founders of sociology with later works, including postmodernism and liquid theory, among others. The book's list of sources is outstanding and thorough, a special strength that avoids promoting a preference for one perspective over another, a habit of many contemporary authors. Rousseau allows readers to select their own preferences . . . [A]ll academicians should explore this concise, outstanding work. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.