Presenting current research in an innovative format, Harry Moody and Jennifer Sasser’s Aging: Concepts and Controversies encourages students to become involved and take an informed stand on the major aging issues that we face as a society. Using their extensive expertise, the authors provide a thorough explanation of the issues in the Concepts sections and current research in the Controversy sections, demonstrating the close links between concepts and controversies in these broad areas of aging: health care, socioeconomic trends, and the life course.

Discover Sociology: Core Concepts explores sociology as a discipline of curious minds, with the theoretical, conceptual, and empirical tools needed to understand, analyze, and even change the world—all in a more streamlined format. It is adapted from Discover Sociology, Third Edition and offers in-depth coverage of 12 high-priority topics that are at the core of almost all introductory sociology courses. Core Concepts maintains its reader-friendly narrative and the hallmark themes of the parent book, including the unequal distribution of power in society (“Inequality Matters”), the sociological imagination (“Private Lives, Public Issues”), and career skills (“What Can I Do With a Sociology Degree?”). A new feature, “Discover and Debate,” shows students how to take effective, evidence-based positions on important social issues, and how to argue in a respectful manner that recognizes the value of different perspectives. Also available as a digital option (courseware). Contact your rep to learn more about Discover Sociology: Core Concepts - Vantage Digital Option.

In this Eighth Edition of his acclaimed and thought-provoking text, author Dennis Gilbert explores historical and contemporary empirical studies of class inequality in America through the lens of nine key variables. Focusing on the socioeconomic core of the American class system, Gilbert describes a consistent pattern of growing inequality in the United States since the early 1970s. In his search for the answer to why class disparities continue to increase, Gilbert examines changes in the economy, family life, and politics, drawing on vivid first-person accounts to illustrate the human emotion wrapped up in class issues.

With the latest data on income, wealth, earnings, and residential segregation by income, The American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality, Tenth Edition describes a consistent pattern of growing inequality in the United States since the early 1970s. Focusing on the socioeconomic core of the American class system, author Dennis L. Gilbert examines how changes in the economy, family life, globalization, and politics are contributing to increasing class inequality. New to this Edition “The Class Basis of Trump's Victory” looks at why for the first time since before the 1932 election, the Republican presidential candidate won a greater proportion of the working class vote than the Democratic opponent. Addresses the role of technology and other factors in the decline of manufacturing employment and how the trend is crucial for understanding growing inequality and changes in working class family life. Offers international comparisons to show how the U.S. compares with other wealthy nations on social mobility and poverty, and questions our conception of the U.S. as a uniquely open society.

Few themes have been as central to sociology as 'class' and yet class remains a perpetually contested idea. Sociologists disagree not only on how best to define the concept of class but on its general role in social theory and indeed on its continued relevance to the sociological analysis of contemporary society. Some people believe that classes have largely dissolved in contemporary societies; others believe class remains one of the fundamental forms of social inequality and social power. Some see class as a narrow economic phenomenon whilst others adopt an expansive conception that includes cultural dimensions as well as economic conditions. This 2005 book explores the theoretical foundations of six major perspectives of class with each chapter written by an expert in the field. It concludes with a conceptual map of these alternative approaches by posing the question: 'If class is the answer, what is the question?'

Gender is one of the most important topics in the field ofsociology, and as a system of social practices it inspires amultitude of theoretical approaches. The Sociology of Genderoffers an introductory overview of gender theory and research,offering a unique and compelling approach. Treats gender as a multilevel system operating at theindividual, interactional, and institutional levels. Stresses conceptual and theoretical issues in the sociology ofgender. Offers an accessible yet intellectually sophisticated approachto current gender theory and research. Includes pedagogical features designed to encourage criticalthinking and debate. Closer Look readings at the end of each chapter give aunique perspective on chapter topics by presenting relevantarticles by leading scholars.

The title says it all. This tenth edition of the best-sellingSociologyis a comprehensive book and multimedia package that offers readers aglobal perspectiveto help them better understand their own lives, provides a strong focus onsocial diversitythat allows them to see the impact of race, class, and gender, and focuses oncritical thinking. With technology integratedthroughout,this new edition features new research citations, more social theory applications, additional references to pop culture linking directly to sociological material.Covering all aspects of sociology, this book describes sociological investigation, culture, society, interaction in everyday life, groups and organizations, deviance, sexuality, social stratification, social class in the United States, global inequality, gender stratification, race and ethnicity, aging, the economy, politics and government, family, religion, education, health and medicine, population and urbanization, collective behavior and social movements, and social change.An excellent resource for professionals in the field of sociology, this book is also an excellent read for non-academic hobbyists and life-long learners.

The Eighth Edition of Our Social World: Introduction to Sociology inspires students to develop their sociological imaginations, to see the world and personal events from a new perspective, and to confront sociological issues on a day-to-day basis. The consistent application of the Social World Model across chapters helps encourage the practice of using three levels of analysis, and to view sociology as an integrated whole, rather than a set of disparate subjects.

Class does make a difference in the lives and futures of American children. Drawing on in-depth observations of black and white middle-class, working-class, and poor families, Unequal Childhoods explores this fact, offering a picture of childhood today. Here are the frenetic families managing their children's hectic schedules of "leisure" activities; and here are families with plenty of time but little economic security. Lareau shows how middle-class parents, whether black or white, engage in a process of "concerted cultivation" designed to draw out children's talents and skills, while working-class and poor families rely on "the accomplishment of natural growth," in which a child's development unfolds spontaneously—as long as basic comfort, food, and shelter are provided. Each of these approaches to childrearing brings its own benefits and its own drawbacks. In identifying and analyzing differences between the two, Lareau demonstrates the power, and limits, of social class in shaping the lives of America's children. The first edition of Unequal Childhoods was an instant classic, portraying in riveting detail the unexpected ways in which social class influences parenting in white and African-American families. A decade later, Annette Lareau has revisited the same families and interviewed the original subjects to examine the impact of social class in the transition to adulthood.