Sociology: A Very Short Introduction

Description

From politics to education, work, crime, and religion this Very Short Introduction discusses some of the core considerations of contemporary sociologists. Exploring the tension between the individual's place in society and society's role in shaping the individual, it demonstrates the value of sociology for understanding the modern world.

• Offers a comprehensive view of the issues which concern contemporary sociologists, including social class, crime and deviance, education, work, religion and politics
• Aims to outline the unique vision of the discipline of sociology
• Discusses the disciplinary background of many of the most famous theorists, showing that much social theory is actually philosophy or literary theory
• Explores the continuing arguments for social egalitarianism
• Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over nine million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

Steve Bruce, Professor of Sociology, University of Aberdeen

Steve Bruce is an internationally renowned sociologist of religion. He taught at The Queen's University, Belfast, from 1978 to 1991 and since 2001 he has been Professor of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy and in 2005 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Steve Bruce is the author of a number of books, including Secular Beats Spiritual (OUP, 2017), Bryan Wilson's Religion in Secular Society: Fifty Years On (OUP 2016), and Scottish Gods: Religion in Modern Scotland (Edinburgh University Press, 2014).

Table of Contents

Introduction
1:The status of sociology
2:Social constructions
3:Causes and consequences
4:The modern world
5:What sociology is not
Further reading
Index

Reviews

"Steve Bruce is the perfect guide: he knows the field, he knows whats important, and he knows how to tell a story. The result is a rarity: a page-turner about sociology." - David Voas, University College London

"Wise, informative, and entertaining. Everyone new to the subject should start here." - Professor Gordon Marshall FBA, The Leverhulme Trust