PEDAGOGICAL RESOURCES TABLE OF CONTENTS; PREFACE; PART I THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE AND THE BASIC LANGUAGE OF SOCIOLOGY; 1. UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOUR; SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING; SOCIOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES; SOCIOLOGY AS THE STUDY OF STRUCTURE AND AGENCY; SOCIOLOGY AS CRITICAL THOUGHT AND THINKING; SCIENCE, THEORY, AND THE ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY; THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND ITS 'PROMISE'; DEVELOPING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE; GETTING ON WITH SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS; 2. HOMO SAPIENS: BIOLOGY AND CULTURE; PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS AND DRIVES; INSTINCT; HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY; CULTURE: THE WORK OF RUTH BENEDICT AND MARGARET MEAD; THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE; 3. SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE LANGUAGE OF SOCIOLOGY; CULTURE AND SOCIETY; THE ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE; THE TOOLS OF SOCIOLOGY; 4. SOCIALIZATION; THE BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES; THE HUMAN PERSONALITY; TYPES OF SOCIALIZATION; AGENTS OR AGENCIES OF SOCIALIZATION; THE CULTURAL DETERMINIST POSITION; THE CASES OF FERAL CHILDREN; WHAT DO TWIN STUDIES TELL US?; SOCIALIZATION AS UNIQUE AND SHARED; 5. THEORIES OF SOCIALIZATION; CONDITIONING THEORY; JEAN PIAGET; THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST APPROACH; SIGMUND FREUD; MOVING ON; 6. THE SEX AND GENDER PUZZLE: BIOLOGY IS NOT DESTINY; SEX AND GENDER AS A FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSION OF THE HUMAN CONDITION; SEX AND GENDER: CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION; THE BASIC BIOLOGY OF SEX; AWASH IN A SEA OF HORMONES?; SEX, GENDER, AND BRAIN HEMISPHERES; SEXUAL AND GENDER REASSIGNMENT; BIOLOGY YES-DESTINY NO; SEX, GENDER, AND SOCIAL LEARNING; MOVING ON-NEITHER NATURE NOR NURTURE; TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS; PART II THEORIZING SOCIETY; 7. SCIENCE, THEORY, AND THE ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY; THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND; AUGUSTE COMTE AND THE EMERGENCE OF A DISCIPLINE; MARX AND THE STUDY OF HUMAN SOCIETY; EMILE DURKHEIM; MAX WEBER'S NEW BLUEPRINT FOR ANALYSIS; 8. CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY; EARLY CONTEMPORARY THEORY: THE STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE; EARLY CONTEMPORARY THEORY: NEO-MARXIST SOCIAL THEORY; EARLY CONTEMPORARY THEORY: THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE; BEYOND EARLY CONTEMPORARY THEORY; STRUCTURE AND AGENCY: NEW VISIONS; CONCLUSION; 9. FEMINIST THEORY: ADDRESSING SOCIOLOGY'S LACUNA; INTRODUCTION; WOMEN'S RIGHTS, PATRIARCHY, AND THE FIRST WAVE; SEX AND GENDER IN STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALIST THOUGHT; LIBERAL FEMINISM; MARXIAN FEMINISM; THE DOMESTIC LABOUR DISPUTE; RADICAL FEMINISM; SOCIALIST FEMINISM: HARTMANN AND BARRETT; THIRD WAVE FEMINISM; CONCLUSION; PART III APPLYING SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES AND CONCEPTS; 10. WAYS OF KNOWING AND RESEARCH METHODS; WAYS OF KNOWING; CONCEPTUAL DIGRESSION; CONVENTIONAL WESTERN SCIENCE; CRITICAL REALISM AND SCIENCE; FEMINIST RESEARCH AND CRITICAL REALISM; FROM PHILOSOPHY TO RESEARCH; SOCIAL SCIENCE TECHNIQUES: A PRELIMINARY SKETCH; SURVEY; PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION; CONTENT ANALYSIS; EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN; CONCLUSION; 11. EXPLAINING SOCIAL INEQUALITY; SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN CANADA; THE 'DISCOVERY' OF CLASS IN NORTH AMERICA; THE STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISTS: PARSONS, DAVIS, AND MOORE; THE DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION; MARXIST THEORIES OF CLASS; NEO-MARXISM AND CLASS ANALYSIS; THE STUDY OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN CANADA: NEW DIRECTIONS IN CLASS ANALYSIS; CONCLUSION; 12. THE POLITY, POLITICAL POWER, AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS; PLURALISM; POWER AND THE RULING CLASS: THE MARXIAN PERSPECTIVE; REVISING MARX: NEO-MARXISM ON THE STATE; CLASSICAL ELITE THEORY; BEYOND CLASS POLITICS: FEMINISM AND THE STATE; POWER IN NUMBERS: MODERN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS; 13. TOWARDS A CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY OF MEN AND MASCULINITIES; SHOULD WE STUDY MEN AND MASCULINITY?; GENDER AS SEX ROLES: A CRITIQUE; GENDER AS SOCIAL PRACTICE; HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY; PATRIARCHY AND CAPITALISM; PATRIARCHY, CAPITALISM, AND HEGEMONIC MASCULINITY; 14. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF FAMILIAL RELATIONS; BASIC DEFINITIONS; THE STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALIST APPROACH; THE NEO-MARXIST APPROACH; THE FEMINIST CHALLENGE TO SOCIOLOGICAL THOUGHT; 15. 'WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE HEALTHY AND OTHERS NOT?'; DEFINITIONS; UNDERSTANDING HEALTH INEQUALITIES; CLASSICAL SOCIOLOGY AND HEALTH; THE SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH EMERGES; SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM; POWER CONFLICT THEORY AND HEALTH; FEMINIST THEORY; POST STRUCTURALISM; TOWARDS A HOLISTIC APPROACH; HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS: A COMMENT; 16. DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL; BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS; EMILE DURKHEIM; PARSONS AND MERTON; CONFLICT THEORY AND THE STUDY OF DEVIANCE; NEO-MARXIST OR POWER-CONFLICT THEORY; SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM AND DEVIANCE: LABELLING THEORY; FEMINIST THEORY; 17. RACE AND ETHNICITY AND DIFFERENCE; DEFINING RACE, ETHNICITY, AND 'OTHER'; RACE IN WESTERN THOUGHT: EARLY VIEWS OF DIFFERENCE, INEQUALITY, AND RACE; RACE AND MODERNITY; GENOME SCIENCE AND RACE; SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY, RACE, AND ETHNICITY; SOME THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL CONSIDERATIONS; 18. GLOBALIZATION; A BRIEF HISTORY OF WORLD CAPITALISM; HOW DO WE MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD ECONOMY?; CONCLUSION; POSTSCRIPT THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND NEW DIRECTIONS IN SOCIAL THEORY; SOCIOLOGY AS A MODE OF THOUGHT; SOME PRELIMINARY PREMISES; THE LIMITS OF ABSTRACT THEORY; THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION REVISITED; REFERENCES; INDEX

"I regard this text as the best of its kind." --Kenneth Fish, Simon Fraser University "A key advantage of this text is that it helps represent the diversity of approaches within the discipline." --Alexandre Enkerli, Concordia University

"I regard this text as the best of its kind." --Kenneth Fish, Simon Fraser University "A key advantage of this text is that it helps represent the diversity of approaches within the discipline." --Alexandre Enkerli, Concordia University

100% Canadian. Written by Canadian authors, this indigenous text is relevant and relatable to students in this country. Innovative approach. Offers a concise, accessible introduction to the field with a unique critical treatment of sociological theory. Coverage of the basics. Begins with an overview of the basic language, concepts, assumptions, and premises of sociology, offering students a solid foundation to the discipline. Theoretical coverage. Provides a critical overview of the key developments in sociological theory with a particular focus on recent feminist critiques, exposing students to the many ways sociologists attempt to understand and explain social issues. Promotes critical analysis. Encourages students to apply sociological concepts and theories to real issues and events, thereby helping them better understand themselves, others, and the social world. Topical social issues. Prompts students to make their own judgments on various topics such as inequality, mass communication, political power, race and ethnicity, deviance and social control, family relations, and globalization using different theoretical perspectives. Sex and gender coverage. A chapter on sex and gender (Ch 6) and another on men and masculinities (Ch 13) speak to the increasing importance of these issues both in society at large and for sociology as a discipline Student-friendly pedagogy. Each chapter includes text boxes, critical thinking questions, definitions of key terms and concepts, related websites, and suggestions for further reading, encouraging active learning. Extensive online resources. Both instructors and students will benefit from the exceptional supplemental package accompanying the text, which includes an Instructor's Manual, a Test Bank, PowerPoint Slides, a Student Study Guide, and more.

Murray Knuttila is provost and vice-president academic at Brock University. Before joining Brock, Dr. Knuttila spent more than 30 years with the University of Regina. In addition to Oxford Canada, Dr. Knuttila has published books with McClelland and Stewart, Garamond Press, Fernwood Publishing, Zed Books, and the Canadian Plains Research Center, as well as contributing chapters and articles to numerous journals and edited collections. André Magnan is an assistant professor in the department of sociology and social studies at the University of Regina. His research and teaching interests include the sociology of agrifood relations, globalization and development, environmental sociology, and sociological theory.

100% Canadian. Written by Canadian authors, this indigenous text is relevant and relatable to students in this country. Innovative approach. Offers a concise, accessible introduction to the field with a unique critical treatment of sociological theory. Coverage of the basics. Begins with an overview of the basic language, concepts, assumptions, and premises of sociology, offering students a solid foundation to the discipline. Theoretical coverage. Provides a critical overview of the key developments in sociological theory with a particular focus on recent feminist critiques, exposing students to the many ways sociologists attempt to understand and explain social issues. Promotes critical analysis. Encourages students to apply sociological concepts and theories to real issues and events, thereby helping them better understand themselves, others, and the social world. Topical social issues. Prompts students to make their own judgments on various topics such as inequality, mass communication, political power, race and ethnicity, deviance and social control, family relations, and globalization using different theoretical perspectives. Sex and gender coverage. A chapter on sex and gender (Ch 6) and another on men and masculinities (Ch 13) speak to the increasing importance of these issues both in society at large and for sociology as a discipline Student-friendly pedagogy. Each chapter includes text boxes, critical thinking questions, definitions of key terms and concepts, related websites, and suggestions for further reading, encouraging active learning. Extensive online resources. Both instructors and students will benefit from the exceptional supplemental package accompanying the text, which includes an Instructor's Manual, a Test Bank, PowerPoint Slides, a Student Study Guide, and more.