The Student's Companion to Sociology

This superlative Companion provides a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the discipline of sociology. Written by an international team of leading academics and teachers, many of whose names will be familiar to the reader, this volume provides succinct summaries of the state of knowledge in each of the subfields. The volume is divided into parts broadly characterizable as: approaches, subject matter, methods, current debates, resources (books, journals and archives) and opportunities (intellectual, research-based and career). Taken in total, the chapters convey the tremendous dynamism and diversity of the field.The Companion sets out to realize several objectives:- To stimulate interest in sociology by emphasizing the discipline's engagement with the "real world".- To help orient students within a complex and varied discipline.- To enthuse the reader with the possibilities for sociological engagements with contemporary problems and issues.- To introduce the full range of approaches within the discipline.- To encourage the development of transferable skills.The Student's Companion to Sociology is an essential resource for all students of sociology.

Chet Ballard is Professor of Sociology at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia. He has served as president of the Georgia Sociological Association, vice-president of the Association for Humanist Sociology, and has produced over 20 scholarly articles and research reports. His most recent research describes how rural public school systems in Georgia are employing technology in efforts to prevent school violence.

Jon Gubbay is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of East Anglia. He has a wide range of research interests including the sociology of higher education curricula, housing satisfaction, research methods and class analysis. He is the author, with Rosemary Crompton, of Economy and Class Structure.

Chris Middleton lectures in sociology at the University of Sheffield, UK. He has written widely on the sociological history of class and gender and, more recently, on teaching in higher education.He is the principal editor of The Sociology Teaching Handbook, a sourcebook produced collaboratively by and for university teachers with the support of the British Sociological Association.