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Sociology: A Global Perspective. 5th ed. Joan Ferrante. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2003. 592 pages. $72.95.
Sociology in Our Times. 4th ed. Diana Kendall. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2004. 720 pages. $92.95.
Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society. 3d ed. Margaret Anderson and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2003. 736 pages. $95.95.
Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. Robert J. Brym and John lie. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. 2003. 592 pages. $92.95.
I reviewed these books as if I had to select one for a course in introductory sociology. In doing so, I focused on the following categories for comparison: organization of chapters; definition of sociology; theoretical orientations; social constructivism; sociological imagination; ideology; changes from previous edition; supplemental resources; and use of photos.
Chapter Organization
In respect to the organization of sociological knowledge, as reflected in the chapter titles, these books are almost identical. Except for Ferrante, the texts are organized into five sections: Introduction, Social Processes (or some variant on that title), Social Inequality, Social Institutions, and Social Change. Each textbook begins with an introductory chapter: Anderson and Taylor call theirs "Sociological Perspective," as does Kendall. Brym and lie use "Social Compass" and Ferrante calls her introductory chapter "Sociological Imagination." The following chapters include methods of research, culture, socialization, social interaction (or some variant of that term), social organization (or groups), deviance, social stratification (Anderson and Taylor along with Kendall organize this into two chapters-one on the United States and the second on global stratification), race and ethnicity, sex and gender (Anderson and Taylor and Kendall each have a chapter on aging), five or six chapters on social institutions (Brym and lie include the mass media in an additional chapter), one or two chapters on social change and collective behavior, and one on population.
In an attempt to engage the student, Anderson and Taylor begin each chapter with several paragraphs that cite some research or happening. For example, Chapter 1 begins "Imagine that you had been switched with another infant at birth. How different would your life be?" This is to impress the student that society "is marked by both change and stability." There are recurring inserts throughout the book. For example, in Chapter 9, on Crime and Criminal Justice, an insert "Sociology in Practice" is subtitled...