Survey of Sociology

Survey of Sociology: From Hobbes to Hip-Hop provides students with articles that introduce them to key concepts in sociology. Students learn how and why scholars study society, as well as how cultural systems, economics, systems of power, and art influence society and our everyday world.

The anthology is divided into four parts. Part I includes readings that invite students to begin thinking like a social scientist and introduce various data collection methods. In Part II, students learn about the effects of cultural systems, including religion and perspectives on gender and sexuality, on society. The readings in Part III address big-picture issues, including economics, power, capitalism, and ecology. In the final part, students examine perspectives that relate to the individual and everyday life, including the “inner dialogue” between our sense of self and our projection of society’s expectations, exchange-behavior in business culture, and how art, literature, and music can transcend the material experiences of inequality and injustice and transform society.

Insightful and timely, Survey of Sociology is an ideal supplementary textbook for introductory courses within the discipline.