Living Sociologically Concepts and Connections

Living Sociologically is built around a contemporary, applied framework that is designed to help students find their place in a complex and contradictory social world. Students who enroll in today's introductory sociology courses are already familiar with such concepts as inequality, privilege, conflict, power, and structure--yet they do not realize how a sociological understanding of these concepts can help them to make sense of and enact change in their diverse social worlds.

Living Sociologically pairs central sociological concepts together--Power and Resistance; Inequality and Privilege; Solidarity and Conflict; Structure and Contingency; and Global and Local--giving students a framework and a set of tools to help them develop their sociological imaginations. For example, to understand the sociological and cultural meaning of wealth, you also need to understand the sociological and cultural meaning of poverty. These pairings, illustrated and reinforced through abundant contemporary examples and case studies, offer students relevant opportunities for thinking intersectionally and discovering the many ways in which sociological forces are at play in their lives.

Ronald N. Jacobs (Ph.D, UCLA) is Professor of Sociology at the University at Albany, State University
of New York.

Eleanor Townsley (Ph.D., UCLA) is the Andrew A. Mellon Professor of Sociology and the Director
of the curriculum to career program, Nexus, at Mount Holyoke College.

PART 1 THE BASICS

1 What Is Sociology?

2 American Sociology: Theory and Methods


PART 2 STRUCTURE AND CONTROL


3 Culture

4 Socialization, Social Interaction, and Group Life

5 Deviance, Crime, and Punishment


PART 3 DIFFERENCE AND INEQUALITY


6 Inequality, Mobility, and Social Change

7 Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration

8 Gender, Sexuality and the Body


PART 4 INSTITUTIONS AND ISSUES


9 Marriage, Family and the Law

10 Science, Religion, and Knowing

11 Education, Work, and Recreation

12 Health, Illness, and Medicine

13 Politics, the Economy, and Social Movements

14 Media and Technology


PART 5 CHANGE, ISSUES, AND THE FUTURE

15 Climate Change and Sustainability