This Is Sociology: A Short Introduction

Studying social life? This book provides an engaging, concise introduction. It covers a diverse range of theorists from the rich history of sociology and shows how thinking sociologically can help us understand our lives, the groups we are part of, and the rapid social changes and inequalities that shape contemporary societies. In this book you will encounter:

·   Compelling international examples and a range of theoretical perspectives from across the world;

·  A brand new chapter on Digital Lives, covering a range of topics from filter bubbles and memes to digital inequalities;

· The latest approaches emerging from efforts to build an inclusive global sociology, equipped for the challenges of the 21st Century.

This book is aimed at students and scholars, eager to explore the evolving landscape of sociology, from its historical foundations to its present-day applications.

Dan Woodman is T.R. Ashworth Professor in Sociology at University of Melbourne. He researches youth, young adulthood and generational change using longitudinal method. Dan is co-Editor in Chief of Journal of Youth Studies and the President of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in Australia. He has been teaching first year sociology students at the University of Melbourne for a more than a decade.

Steven Threadgold is Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Newcastle. His research focuses on youth and class, with particular interests in unequal and alternate work and career trajectories; underground and independent creative scenes; and cultural formations of taste. Steve is the co-director of the Newcastle Youth Studies Network, an Associate Editor of Journal of Youth Studies, and on the Editorial Boards of The Sociological Review and Journal of Applied Youth Studies. His latest book is Bourdieu and Affect: Towards a Theory of Affective Affinities (Bristol University Press).  Youth, Class and Everyday Struggles (Routledge) won the 2020 Raewyn Connell Prize for best first book in Australian sociology. Steve’s current research projects are on online cultural taste communities called ‘Dank Distinction and Homologies of Snark’; the ARC funded ‘Young Hospitality Workers and Value Creation in the Service Economy’ investigating the immaterial forms of labour young people perform to create value in the night-time economy; and the FEDUA funded research program ‘Regional youth in precarious times: Work, wellbeing and debt’. Contact at steven.threadgold@newcastle.edu.au