Public Sociology: An Introduction to Australian Society

Public Sociology highlights the relevance of sociological perspectives to Australian social life and encourages students to apply a sociological gaze to their own lives and the communities in which they live. This fully revised and updated fifth edition adds new chapters and material on a wide range of contemporary issues, from the COVID-19 pandemic and ‘fake news’ to Iindigenous issues and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Public Sociology presents a wide range of topics in a user-friendly and accessible way, introducing key theories and research methods, and exploring core themes, including youth, families and intimate relationships, class and inequality, and race and ethnic relations. All chapters have been extensively revised to bring them up to date in a fast-changing social world, reflecting the latest sociological debates in response to changing lifestyles and evolving political landscapes. In addition to updated statistics and research findings, an expanded glossary and the latest citations to the scholarly literature, each chapter includes numerous learning features for students and instructors, including definitions of key terms, concise summaries of main points, discussion questions and guides to further reading and additional resources.

This is the essential sociological reference to help students in the social sciences make sense of a complex and challenging world.

New to the Fifth Edition:

• New chapters on the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous issues, youth and identity, and sport
• Exploration of the latest social issues including the pandemic, BLM, expanded discussion of gender, #MeToo, LGBTIQ+ and intersectionality, rising inequality and the ‘post-truth’ age
• All chapters thoroughly revised and updated with the latest research
• Updated design, images, and chapter opening vignettes to engage the reader

John Germov is Professor of Sociology and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Higher Education at Victoria University, Australia. John’s research interests span the social determinants of health, the social origins of food and alcohol habits, workplace change, and the history of sociology. He is the author and editor of 25 books including Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology, A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: The Social Appetite (with Lauren Williams), Histories of Australian Sociology (with Tara McGee), and Hunter Wine: A History (with Julie McIntyre).

Marilyn Poole was an Honorary Associate Professor of Sociology at Deakin University, Australia until 2022. Marilyn has long experience in the community sector and continues to work on advisory committees, particularly in the areas of health and community strengthening. She is author of Idols–Ideals–Identities: Women in Society, editor of Family: Changing Families, Changing Times, and co-editor of Sociology: Australian Connections (with Ray Jureidini) and A Certain Age: Women Growing Older (with Susan Feldman). She was a member of the Professional Education Taskforce that produced Family Violence: Everybody’s Business, Somebody’s Life.