Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader

UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY: AN INTRODUCTORY READER, Fifth Edition, contains a collection of classic and contemporary sociological readings selected for their timeliness, diversity, and interest, and accessibility. The book includes the most up-to-date selection available-38 of the 68 articles are new in this edition. The intriguing new articles were selected to engage readers' interest, to reflect the richness of sociological thought, and to address issues that have emerged in recent years (such as football concussion injuries, climate change, the Tea Party movement, same-sex marriage, and the criminalization of undocumented immigrants, to name a few). As always, the editors have included the top names in the field. Five themes run throughout the book: classical sociological theory, contemporary research, diversity, globalization, and the application of the sociological perspective.

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 Emerita at the University of Delaware. Her books have had a far-reaching impact and include: GETTING SMART ABOUT RACE: AN AMERICAN CONVERSATION; RACE IN SOCIETY: THE ENDURING AMERICAN DILEMMA, 2E; THINKING ABOUT WOMEN, 11E; the best-selling anthology, RACE, CLASS AND GENDER, soon to be published in its eleventh edition; LIVING ART: THIS LIFE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART COLLECTOR PAUL R. JONES and ON LAND AND ON SEA: A CENTURY OF WOMEN IN THE ROSENFELD COLLECTION. Andersen is an emeritus member and former Chair of the National Advisory Board for Stanford University’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Past-Vice President of the American Sociological Association and Past President of the Eastern Sociological Society. She served in several administrative positions at the University of Delaware, including as Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity; Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and as founding director of the President’s Diversity Initiative. She has received numerous awards, including two teaching awards from the University of Delaware, the Eastern Sociological Society Merit Award for career contributions and the American Sociological Association’s Jessie Bernard Award, given for expanding the boundaries of sociology to include women. The University of Delaware granted her an honorary doctorate in recognition of her national prominence in scholarship, teaching and service.

Kim A. Logio is Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology at Saint Joseph's University, where she recently received a teaching award. She often teaches research methods and guides students through the completion of their undergraduate thesis projects. A member of the American Sociological Association and the Eastern Sociological Society, Dr. Logio has been interviewed for local television and National Public Radio for her work on body image and race, class, and gender differences in nutrition and weight control behavior. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Delaware and lives in Delaware County, Pa., with her husband and three children.

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.