Description

A Down-to-Earth Approach

James Henslin shares the excitement of sociology. With his acclaimed 'down-to-earth' approach and personal writing style, the author highlights the sociology of everyday life and its relevance to students' lives. With wit, personal reflection, and illuminating examples, Henslin shares with readers his passion for sociology.

In addition to this trademark down-to-earth approach, other distinctive features include: comparative perspectives, the globalization of capitalism, and visual presentations of sociology.

Teaching & Learning Experience

• Personalize Learning — The new MySocLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals.
• Improve Critical Thinking - New Learning Objectives & Questions on each page reinforce key concepts and build critical thinking skills.
• Engage Students - New design and personal narrative from the perspective of an international field researcher invites students on a sociological journey.
• Explore Theory - Offers a balanced approach; relevant theories are discussed in each chapter.
• Understand Diversity - Global, national, and personal material combine to present a complete view of the world.
• Support Instructors - New Integrated Test Bank & written activities and assessment in MySocLab engage students and help them succeed.

Features

A DOWN-TO-EARTH APPROACH

• The author’s trademark “down-to-earth” approach is reflected in the many vignettes, boxes, and examples based on personal experience and field research. These first-person accounts provide a rich and compelling “insider’s” perspective on social life (ex . p. 186).
• 'Down-to-Earth Sociology” boxes highlight the sociology of everyday life and its relevance to students today (ex. p. 11, 14, 136).
• 'Through the Author's Lens' photo essays, from Jim Henslin's travels, enable students to look over the author's shoulder as he experiences other cultures or explores aspects of culture in the United States (ex. p. 144, 202).
  

PERSONALIZE LEARNING WITH MYSOCLAB

• The new MySocLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals.
• Quantitative research in each chapter is tied to a 'living data' activity in MySocLab. The activity allows students to practice quantitative literacy and explore data on a deeper level.
• MySocLab now features documentary film clips to engage students with current issues and events.
• The Pearson eText lets students access their textbook anytime, anywhere, and any way they want—including listening online or downloading to iPad.
• A personalized study plan for each student, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, arranges content from less complex thinking—like remembering and understanding—to more complex critical thinking—like applying and analyzing. This layered approach promotes better critical-thinking skills, and helps students succeed in the course and beyond.
• Assessment tied to every video, application, and chapter enables both instructors and students to track progress and get immediate feedback. With results feeding into a powerful gradebook, the assessment program helps instructors identify student challenges early—and find the best resources with which to help students.
• An assignment calendar allows instructors to assign graded activities, with specific deadlines, and measure student progress.
• Class Preparation Tool collects the very best class presentation resources in one convenient online destination, so instructors can keep students engaged throughout every class.

IMPROVE CRITICAL THINKING

• New Learning Objectives & Questions on each page reinforce key concepts and build critical thinking skills (ex. p. 216, 224).
• 'Thinking Critically' sections engage students by asking them to examine controversial social issues (ex. p. 139-140, 200).
• MySocLab encourages students to build critical thinking skills and master essential chapter content through a new Study Plan based on Bloom’s taxonomy.

ENGAGE STUDENTS

• Personal narrative with an international field researcher’s perspective invites students on a sociological journey (ex. p. 211).
• New design places a premium on large photos and new art to capture students' attention (ex. p. 127, 134).
• MySocLab now features documentary film clips to engage students with current issues and events.
• Quantitative research in each chapter is tied to a 'living data' activity in MySocLab. The activity allows students to practice quantitative literacy and explore data on a deeper level (ex. p. 258).</

New to this Edition

1) Overall Changes

2) Chapter-by-Chapter Changes

1) Overall Changes

PERSONALIZE LEARNING WITH MYSOCLAB

• MySocLab now features documentary film clips to engage students with current issues and events.
• Quantitative research in each chapter is tied to a 'living data' activity in MySocLab. The activity allows students to practice quantitative literacy and explore data on a deeper level.

IMPROVE CRITICAL THINKING

• Learning Objectives & Questions on each page reinforce key concepts and build critical thinking skills.

ENGAGE STUDENTS

• New design places a premium on large photos and new art to capture students' attention.
• MySocLab now features documentary film clips to engage students with current issues and events.
• Quantitative research in each chapter is tied to a 'living data' activity in MySocLab. The activity allows students to practice quantitative literacy and explore data on a deeper level.

SUPPORT INSTRUCTORS

• Integrated Test Bank - The new Test Bank is fully integrated with the new learning architecture in the book and MySocLab program. Each question is tagged to Bloom’s Taxonomy and to the Chapter-Specific Learning Objectives. A new set of questions relating to MySocLab activities is now available for every chapter. The Test Bank is available in MySocLab; Pearson’s MyTest and TestGen platforms; and a variety of Learning Management Systems including Blackboard and WebCT.
• The new Instructor’s eText gives instructors easy access to videos, readings, and more within their eText. Found within MySocLab, it is the one location to find all available instructor resources.

2) Chapter-by-Chapter Changes

Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective

• The use of Facebook to document the race-ethnicity of friendships of college students
• How applied sociology relates to Dora the Explorer

Chapter 2: Culture

• Cultural Diversity Around the World Box: Dancing with the Dead
• Down-to-Earth Sociology Box: 2-D: A New Subculture and a Different Kind of Love
• Genetics-informed sociology

Chapter 3: Socialization

• Advertising as a source of gender messages in the mass media
• Movies as a source of gender messages in the mass media
• Research on babies indicates an inborn morality
• How the effects of day care follow children (NICHD research; latest testing at age 15)
• How the facial expressions of people blind since birth, upon learning they had won or lost at the Paralympics, were the same as those of sighted people
• The average number of commercials Americans are exposed to has jumped to 200,000 a year
• The lack of an abstract, universal morality, is unexpected from Kohlberg’s theory

Chapter 4: Social Structure and Social Interaction

• The U.S. army is trying to apply body language to alert soldiers to danger when interacting with civilians in a military zone
• How snap-together BioBricks to produce your own life forms could be coming soon
• Sociology and the New Technology Box: “So, You Want to Be Yourself?” Cloning and the Future of Society
• Through the Author’s Lens: Social Structure and Social Interaction in the City

Chapter 5: Social Groups and Formal Organizations

• Through the Author’s Lens: Helping a Stranger (which shows limitations to Darley and Latane’s laboratory research on the diffusion of responsibility)
• Cu

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective  

Chapter 2 Culture

Chapter 3 Socialization   

Chapter 4 Social Structure and Social Interaction

Chapter 5 Social Groups and Formal Organizations      

Chapter 6 Deviance and Social Control  

Chapter 7 Global Stratification   

Chapter 8 Social Class in the United States  

Chapter 9 Race and Ethnicity  

Chapter 10 Gender and Age

Chapter 11 Politics and the Economy

Chapter 12 Marriage and Family  

Chapter 13 Education and Religion 

Chapter 14 Population and Urbanization   

Chapter 15 Social Change and the Environment

Epilogue: Why Major in Sociology?