Introduction to Critical Sociology A Reader

Introduction to Critical Sociology: A Reader provides students with a curated collection of articles centered on critical sociology and its ability to address the social, political, racial, gender, ableist, and other oppressive structures of the past and today. The anthology challenges readers to question often unnamed or hidden categories that support structures of power that reproduce division and exclusion.

The anthology is organized into five units. Unit I focuses on the foundations of sociology as a discipline, what sociological thinking is, and what it looks like in practice. Unit II covers the media, paying close attention to American society and culture. In Units III and IV, readers learn about social stratification and issues related to gender, sex, and sexuality. The final unit focuses on critical race theory and White supremacy.

Designed to help students become more socially aware, self-reflective, and better stewards of a just and equitable world, Introduction to Critical Sociology is an ideal supplementary textbook for courses and programs in sociology.

Miguel Montalva Barba, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Formerly, he was the Latinx student success faculty fellow at the Center for Justice and Liberation at Salem State University. Dr. Montalva Barba's background as an undocumented and queer immigration rights activist informs his teaching, research, and engagement, within and outside the academy. His work aims to rattle sociology's foundations from its White supremacist core to address social issues. His professional and research interests including include critical race theory, sociology of race and ethnicity, urban sociology, Latinx sociology, intersectionality, and qualitative methods.