that students can become curious, active readers, we have posed questions at the outset of each chapter that we hope are relevant to everyday life but are also tied to the micro-meso-macro levels of analysis that serve as the theme of the book. The purpose is to transform students from passive readers who run their eyes across the words into curious, active readers who read to answer a question and to be reflective. Active or deep reading is key to comprehension and retention of reading material (Roberts and Roberts 2008). Instructors can also use this feature to encourage students to think critically about the implications of what they have read. Instructors might want to ask students to write a paragraph about one of these questions before coming to class each day. These questions might also provide the basis for in-class discussions.
Students should be encouraged to start each chapter by reading and thinking about these questions, looking at the topics outlined in “What Will You Learn in This Chapter?,” and asking some questions of their own. This will mean that they are more likely to stay focused, remember the material long-term, and be able to apply it to their own lives.
A Global Perspective and the Social World Model
This book incorporates a global perspective throughout so that students can see not only how others live different but rewarding lives, but also the connections between others’ lives and their own. Students will need to think and relate to the world globally in future roles as workers, travelers, and global citizens. Our analysis illustrates the interconnections of the world’s societies and their political and economic systems and demonstrates that what happens in one part of the world affects others.
This global approach attempts to instill interest, understanding, and respect for different groups of people and their lifestyles. Race, class, and gender are integral parts of understanding the diverse social world, and these features of social life have global implications. The comparative global theme is carried throughout the book in the main text, in examples, and in boxes and selection of photos. As students read this book, they should continually think about how the experiences in their private world are influenced by and may influence events at other levels: the community, organizations and institutions, the nation, and the world.
Opening Vignettes
Chapters typically open with an illustration relevant to the chapter content that will grab the attention of students. For instance, in Chapter 2, “Examining the Social World,” the case of Hector, a Brazilian teenager living in poverty in a favela, is used to illustrate research methods and theory throughout the chapter. In Chapter 4, “Socialization,” Craig Kielburger, who at the age of 12 founded a major nonprofit organization fighting child labor practices around the world, begins the discussion. Chapter 7 opens with the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Chapter 15 begins with the experiences of Sally Ride, the first American woman in outer space. These vignettes are meant to interest students in the upcoming subject matter by helping them relate to a personalized story. In several cases, the vignettes serve as illustrations throughout the chapters.
Public Sociology and Sociologists in Action
Public sociology has become a major initiative within sociology, and students are often interested in what can be done with sociology outside of the academy. With that in mind, in each chapter we feature professional or student “Sociologists in Action” who describe how they use sociology to make a positive impact on society.
“Thinking Sociologically” Questions
Following major topics, students will find thought-provoking questions that ask them to think critically and apply the material they just read to some aspect of their lives or the social world. This feature encourages students to apply the ideas and concepts in the text to their lives, to develop critical thinking skills, and to use the material for better recall. These questions can be the basis for in-class discussions and can be assigned as questions to start interesting conversations with friends and families to learn how the topics relate to their own lives.
“Engaging Sociology”
Perhaps the most innovative feature in this book is called “Engaging Sociology”—and the double entendre is intentional. We want students to think of sociology as engaging, informative, and fun. These features—such as applying a population pyramid to the business world, taking a survey to understand why differences in social and cultural capital can make first-generation students feel alienated on a college campus, and reading a map and learning to analyze the patterns—help students understand how interesting and useful sociology can be.
Special Features
Featured inserts provide even more in-depth illustrations of the usefulness of the sociological perspective to understand world situations or events with direct relevance to a student’s life. The “Sociology in Our Social World” features focus on a sociological issue or story, often with policy implications. “Sociology Around the World” takes readers to another part of the globe to explore how things are different (or how they are the same) from what they might experience in their own lives.
Key Concepts, Examples, and Writing Style
Key terms that are defined and illustrated within the running narrative and that appear in the glossary appear in bold with an italicized definition following. Other terms that are defined but are of less significance are italicized. The text is rich in examples that bring sociological concepts to life for students. Each chapter has been student tested for readability. Both students and reviewers describe the writing style as reader-friendly, often fascinating, and accessible—but not watered down.
Social Policy and Becoming an Involved Citizen
Most chapters include discussion of social policy issues and the relevance of sociological findings to current social debates. Furthermore, because students sometimes feel helpless and do not know what to do about social issues that concern them at macro and meso levels, we have concluded every chapter with a few ideas about how they might become involved as active citizens, even as undergraduate students. Some suggestions in the “Contributing to Our Social World: What Can We Do?” section may be assigned as extra credit, service learning, or term projects.
Summary Sections and Discussion Questions
Each chapter ends with review material: a “What Have We Learned?” feature that includes a “Key Points” bulleted summary of the chapter’s core material. The summary is followed with probing discussion questions that ask students to go beyond memorization and apply the material in the chapter to their own lives. Research indicates that unless four discrete sections of the brain are stimulated, the learning will not be long term and deep but surface and short term (Zull 2002). These questions are carefully crafted to activate all four critical sections of the brain.
A Little (Teaching) Help From Our Friends
Whether the instructor is new to teaching or an experienced professor, there are some valuable ideas in this text that can help invigorate and energize the classroom. As we noted earlier, substantial literature on teaching methodology tells us that student involvement is key to the learning process. In addition to the engaging questions and exercises in the text, there are teaching suggestions in the supplements and teaching aids for active learning in large or small classes.
Instructor
