Sociology Now: The Essentials (with MySocLab Student Access Code Card) - Softcover

Kimmel, Michael; Aronson, Amy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 020563298X ISBN 13: 9780205632985

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon, 2008

Synopsis

Sociology Now reflects the discipline today and explores the big questions about multiculturalism and globalization that sociologists ask.

 

Sociology has always offered a way to make sense of the complex and sometimes contradictory forces that shape our social lives in any era. As Sociology Now explains sociology as both a body of knowledge and a "way of seeing," it shows how two such forces in particular have come to preoccupy sociologists and influence the way they look at the events and experiences of the early twenty first century:

 

The first is globalization--the economic, political, cultural, and social interconnections among people and institutions all over the world.

 

The second is multiculturalism--the recognition that race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and other statuses are sources of social inequality, but also the foundations of our identities.

 

Michael Kimmel, a leading sociologist and gender researcher, and co-author Amy Aronson, a journalist and media scholar, address these questions head-on as they make a compelling case for the importance of sociology in the contemporary world.

About this title

About the Author:

Michael S. Kimmel is Professor of Sociology at SUNY at Stony Brook.  He is the author of Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men (HarperCollins, 2008) which was featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America and featured on over one hundred radio and newspaper and blog reviews.  His other books include Changing Men (1987), Men’s Lives(8th edition, 2009) Against the Tide: Profeminist Men in the United States, 1776-1990 (1992), The Politics of Manhood (1996), Manhood: A Cultural History (1996, 10th anniversary second edition, 2006), and The Gendered Society (3rd edition, 2008).  He co-edited The Encyclopedia on Men and Masculinities (2004) and Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities (2004).  He is the founder and editor of Men and Masculinities, the field’s premier scholarly journal, a book series on Gender and Sexuality at New York University Press, and edited the Sage Series on Men and Masculinities.  He lectures extensively in corporations and on campuses in the U.S. and abroad.  He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and co-author, Amy Aronson, and their 10 year old son, Zachary.

  

Amy Aronson is Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Fordham University. She is the author of Taking Liberties: Early American Women's Magazines and Their Readers and an editor of the international quarterly, Media History. She has co-edited several books, including a centennial edition of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Women  and Economics  and the two-volume Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities, which was honored by the New York Public Library with a Best of Reference Award in 2004. A former editor at Working Woman and Ms., her work has also appeared in publications including Business Week, Global Journalist and the Sunday supplement of The Boston Globe.

Review:

Approach

 

"This text has a contemporary and fresh approach."

Cynthia Reed

Tarrant County Community College

 

"I found the author's approach to teaching sociology refreshing and intriguing. The way in which the author integrated the new perspectives of globalization and multiculturalism clearly communicated that sociology is and will continue to change and expand in order to more accurately explain societal shifts and transformations."

Kell Stone

El Camino College

 

"The author's approach is very contemporary and unlike many texts does not seem formulaic."

Cynthia Reed

Tarrant County Community College

 

"The text's major strength is its unique approach to teaching introductory sociology. The focus on integrative thinking rather than either/ or thinking and the move to new theoretical perspectives rather than the usual functionalism/ conflict theory/ symbolic interactionism focus are both unique in the field of introductory textbooks."

Jennifer Lerner

North Virginia Community College

 

"The book's major strengths are the way it compares to all the other books on the market."

Jennifer Lerner

North Virginia Community College

 

"He does an excellent job of showing how sociologists see the world in complex ways."

Adam Moskowitz

Columbus State Community College

 

"This text appeals to me because of its focus on race, gender, and class as primary and intersecting themes that organize our social worlds and our lives as well as a contemporary approach to sociology through the lens of multiculturalism and globalization. If instructors are interested in helping their students see the complexity and astonishing nature of our everyday life, this could be the text for them."

Kristine De Welde

University of Denver

  

“Kimmel’s approach is exactly what I am looking for in a sociology text.  It addresses the students’ realities, it moves beyond the “big three” theoretical approach to an approach grounded in postmodernism and aware of the integration of issues typically dealt with as binaries.”

Amy Lynch - George Washington University

 

“I believe the approach to be quite connected to the field and mission of sociology.  I believe that linking the text to ideas outside of the field of sociology is what progressive sociological thinkers continually try to do.”

Risa Garelick - Coconino Community College

 

“The major strength of this book is that it delves deeply into topics and gives very insightful information.”

Dean Wagstaffe — Indian River Community College

 

“One great strength of this text is the ability to break down information in a palatable format.  The sections are not too long, enabling students to assimilate a large mass of material in comfortable formats.  Each chapter seems to be well balanced with text, visuals [assuming from notes], and constructive questions for students to consider.  The examples are current, also a strength for drawing in our contemporary students.  The author provides humor and approachability with this writing style.”

Pamela Williams-Paez — College of the Canyons

 

“The major strengths of the text are that it incorporates global comparisons throughout the whole manuscript and not just in a globalization chapter.”

Shelly A. McGrath — Southern Illinois University

 

“The major strength of this text is that it captures the two intertwined emergent forces in society and weaves that influence throughout basic sociological theory and concepts.”

Susan Blackwell — Delgado Community College

 

 

“When reading the text I felt that it was about learning and piecing information together and not just about memorizing information.”

Shelly A. McGrath — Southern Illinois University — Carbondale

 

 

Students will enjoy the variety of current examples and the active discussions used throughout the text.”

Marybeth C. Stalp — University of Northern Iowa

 

“The author captures and maintains the reader’s attention throughout the entire chapter.  There is full coverage of the topics and the material appears to be well-researched.”

Brenda Donelan — Northern State University

 

“Kimmel used a strong philosophical base to introduce the development of sociology as a discipline.  The discussion of the various scholars/philosophers who contributed to the discipline of sociology was excellent.  This was the best background information on the science of sociology I have read.”

 

“The author does an excellent job presenting sociology as a field of study driven by the scientific method.  The discussion was readable, yet full of information.”

 

“I thought the author did an excellent job representing the major perspectives of sociology.”

Joseph Keith Price — West Texas A&M University

 

“The chapters are successful in promoting critical thinking skills in terms of building arguments, the use of data in those arguments pointing out different sides of the issue, and following up with questions that ask students to apply what they’ve learned.”

Lynette F. Hoelter - University of Michigan

 

Writing Style

 

"The writing style is both inviting and engaging. If it was a rating scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest positive rating, I would give it a 10."

Elizabeth Pare

Wayne State University

 

"I think the best thing about this text is the refreshingly open writing style and lack of pretence. I think that students would be more likely to read, and hopefully remember something that is written for them rather than for the instructor."

William Housel

Northwestern Louisiana State University

 

"I found the writing style engaging and believe the students would too."

Cynthia Reed

Tarrant County Community College

 

"Excellent...explains things very well, uses good examples, speaks directly to the audience, and very engaging."

Adam Moskowitz

Columbus State Community College

 

"The book forces students to think more analytically than other texts."

Amy Kirk

Sam Houston State University

 

“The writing style is very easy to follow along and stay interested.”

Amy Lynch - George Washington University

 

“I think the writing style is a major plus of this book.”

Barry B. Kass – SUNY Orange

 

“The writing style is very engaging and appropriate for students at the introductory level.  Furthermore, the author does an excellent job of providing adequate definitions of terms.  I also thought the author used colorful and relevant examples throughout the text.”

Christy M. Glass – Utah State University

 

“The writing style is lucid and easy to follow.  I feel it is very accessible to students and that they would generally find it engaging.”

Ralph B. Brown – Brigham Young University

 

 

“The writing style of the author is excellent.  I was immediately immersed into the author’s discussion.&...

About this edition

• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 020563298X
• ISBN 13: 9780205632985
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 608