Introduction to Sociology - Vantage Learning Platform

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KEY FEATURES OF INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY, SIXTH EDITION

New to this Edition:

• The new co-author, J. Michael Ryan, brings expertise to the book from his research on gender, sexuality, and the social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his experiences living and teaching sociology in different parts of the world.
• More than 100 new or revised figures with data from 2019-2023.
• Names and spellings of minority groups have been thoroughly updated to reflect the most current scholarly conventions; to be more inclusive and non-binary; to more accurately describe a person or group's ancestry, origins, or citizenship; and to make clear distinctions between socially-constructed and biological categories. Some examples include the following:
  • Black instead of black
  • White instead of white
  • Black instead of African American
  • female/females instead of woman/women or girl/girls
  • male/males instead of man/men or boy/boys
  • they instead of he and she
  • U.S. residents instead of Americans or U.S. citizens
• All text boxes have been eliminated with material on globalization and digital living integrated into the main narrative.

Key Features:

• The text focuses on several themes that help define social life today:
  • Globalization—the flow of people, goods, institutions, and ideas across national borders.
  • Consumer Culture—the meaning attached to getting and using material goods.
  • Digital Living—social life mediated by digital technologies.
• A conceptual foundation for understanding sociology is provided in the first chapter so students can build upon that foundation when they are introduced to different sociological theories.
• Strong coverage of sociological theory is presented in an enhanced three-category system that is similar to the approach of most introductory sociology texts, but richer—encompassing classical theories as well as the most important offshoots of those theories developed in recent years.
• Contemporary public sociologists, whose works and ideas have entered the national conversation, are featured throughout to encourage students to join a public conversation by providing key insights about current sociological issues.