Sociology: The Essentials (Available Titles CengageNOW) - Softcover

Andersen, Margaret L.; Taylor, Howard F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0495812234 ISBN 13: 9780495812234

Publisher: Cengage Learning, 2010

Synopsis

SOCIOLOGY: THE ESSENTIALS, Sixth Edition, uses the theme of debunking myths to look behind the facades of everyday life; challenge ready-made, common-sense assumptions; and help students develop critical thinking skills and better understand how society is constructed and sustained. This thorough but streamlined text provides exceptional coverage of diversity, including social factors such as age, religion, sexual orientation, and region of residence, in addition to race, ethnicity, class, and gender. The text employs a reader-friendly presentation and very manageable structure, even while maintaining a strong focus on sociology concepts, methods, and research. The new edition includes coverage of the latest research and current trends and themes.

About this title

About the Author:

Margaret L. Andersen (B.A., Georgia State University; M.A., Ph.D. University of Massachusetts, Amherst) is the Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Sociology at the University of Delaware, where she has also served in several senior administrative positions, including most recently as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity. She holds secondary appointments in Black American Studies and Women and Gender Studies. She is the author of several books, including (among others) THINKING ABOUT WOMEN, recently published in its tenth edition; the best-selling anthology, RACE, CLASS, AND GENDER (co-edited with Patricia Hill Collins, now in its ninth edition); LIVING ART: THE LIFE OF PAUL R. JONES, AFRICAN AMERICAN ART COLLECTOR; and ON LAND AND ON SEA: A CENTURY OF WOMEN IN THE ROSENFELD COLLECTION. She is a member of the National Advisory Board for Stanford University's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, the Past Vice President of the American Sociological Association, and Past President of the Eastern Sociological Society, from which she received the ESS Merit Award. She has also received two teaching awards from the University of Delaware and the American Sociological Association's Jessie Bernard Award.

Howard F. Taylor has taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, and Princeton University, where he is presently Professor of Sociology and former director of the African American Studies Center. He has published over fifty articles in sociology, education, social psychology, and race relations. His books include THE IQ GAME (Rutgers University Press), a critique of hereditarian accounts of intelligence; BALANCE IN SMALL GROUPS (Van Nostrand Reinhold), translated into Japanese; and the forthcoming RACE AND CLASS AND THE BELL CURVE IN AMERICA. He has appeared widely before college, radio, and TV audiences, including ABC's NIGHTLINE. Past president of the Eastern Sociological Society, Dr. Taylor is a member of the American Sociological Association and the Sociological Research Association, an honorary society for distinguished research. He is a winner of the DuBois-Johnson-Frazier Award, given by the American Sociological Association for distinguished research in race and ethnic relations, and the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hiram College and has a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University. He lives in Pennington, N.J., with his wife, a corporate lawyer.

Review:

"I especially like the features Searching the net, related to social policy. These are both important skills(searching the net and analyzing social policy) for students. Understanding Diversity is also a good focus, since our culture is becoming more and more diverse, and we need to learn to live with and appreciate it!"

"Andersen/Taylor seem to do a better job of suggesting how the students might apply the materials within the chapter to their everyday lives. It permits a student to look deeper into the subject by going on the internet - this empowers the student to seek out their own interests within society rather than making forced instructor choices."

"Andersen/Taylor moves students towards understanding rather than concept defining and has great chapter summaries."

"The Debunking Society's Myths (features) are interesting and are perfect for starting class discussions."

"The strengths of this text are that it is well-organized, thorough, emphasizes diversity, and that it incorporates technology."

About this edition

• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0495812234
• ISBN 13: 9780495812234
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 6
• Number of pages: 528