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Sociological Snapshots 4: seeing Social Structure and Change in Everyday Life. 4th ed. Jack Levin. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press. 2004. 218 pages. $29.95.
This is the fourth edition of a somewhat unique supplemental reader for Introduction to Sociology classes, or sophomore-level sociology classes aimed at sociology minors. The book might also be appropriate for Social Problems classes. Instead of readers like Macionis and Benokraitis (2004), with a collection of excerpts from landmark, seminal, or historic sociological research and theory, Levin's articles are all his own work. Levin's book is more like Schwalbe (2001)-a relatively short, easily read supplemental text that makes the sociological perspective more readily accessible to undergraduates than do dry standard textbooks. Unlike Schwalbe's chapter-by-chapter development, Levin's book is composed of very short essays written in an op-ed style, arranged by topics paralleling the typical Introduction to Sociology textbook. The book's seven parts, including "Culture," "Socialization," and "Social Institutions," provide an obvious organization that should not be confusing to first- and second-year undergraduates. Each part opens with an introduction furnishing a transparent connection to any standard introductory textbook and concludes with suggestions for short research and writing assignments.
Each of the seven parts of the book is composed of a handful of short, two- to three-page essays, or "snapshots," of American social structure, culture, or social change. Each snapshot is a good example of the application of the sociological perspective, attracting readers' interest by discussing current events and what is meant to be everyday life from the students' perspective. The snapshots are made more readable and inviting by a minimal use of sociological terminology, intimidating tables and graphs, and didactic descriptions of empirical evidence. For example, in one of the most effective snapshots, Levin admits to being a soap opera addict, describes how he became addicted, and then briefly considers some social implications of television-in a manner bound to set a class in the right mood for pertinent and lively discussion. The whole book can easily be read by an instructor or teaching assistant in an afternoon. If broken up into weekly reading assignments over a typical 15week semester, students could without much trouble finish the snapshots associated with textbook chapters within an hour before their discussion sections. The book is...