Introduction

As the academic discipline which studies and tries to make sense of societies and social life, sociology cannot stand still. It must move with society if it is to be relevant to contemporary issues and concerns. Failure to do so would lead to a reliance on outdated and inadequate accounts of the social world. One of our tasks is to provide explanations and frameworks that help everyone to understand the world they are helping to shape. This means that sociologists are always testing their cherished theories and perspectives against the evidence collected in research studies. If we find our theories are wanting, then we have to be prepared to modify them or, as often happens, devise new, more adequate ones. This helps to explain why theories in our discipline seem to change so often.

The ninth edition of Sociology has the same aim as the previous eight, namely to inspire a new generation of sociologists by introducing some of the most exciting research from across the discipline, from the environment, work, inequalities, and the media to war, health and gender issues. As ever, we have tried to avoid abstract discussion and the disciplinary jargon that we know readers find unnecessary. On the other hand, as a scientific subject, sociology does have its own technical language with which students need to become comfortable, and we aim to introduce this carefully and in accessible ways.

The chapters follow a sequence designed to help readers achieve a progressive mastery of the different fields of sociology, but there is also much cross-referencing, so chapters can be tackled as required. We also illustrate ideas, concepts and theories using real-world examples taken mainly from sociological studies. The combination of theory and evidence is, after all, one of the hallmarks of good sociology. Findings drawn from the cutting edge of the discipline are presented alongside contemporary events, issues and data, and we try hard to cover these in an even-handed, though not indiscriminate, way.

Sociology has a central place within the social sciences and a key role in modern intellectual life. Underpinning this book is our shared vision that a general sociological approach is still the best way of setting our personal life experience into a broader context, so we are better able to make sense of the connections between individuals and society.

Four central themes

The book consists of twenty-two chapters, and each deals with a specific field of study, but there are some key issues across the whole book. We have identified four themes – globalization, social inequality, the digital revolution and identity – that are significant in many areas of sociology today.

Globalization

The concept of globalization has become common currency today, and chapter 4 covers the subject in detail. Some have argued that the process of closer global integration has stalled or even gone into reverse, as evidenced by the increasing popularity of nationalism in the political sphere. Our assessment is that this is not correct. The globalization of social life has, of course, prompted opposition from several directions, while the supposed benefits of globalization have clearly not been favourable for everyone. But our view is that the balance of the evidence shows that the globalizing of human affairs continues, systematically binding the world’s societies more closely together, regardless of what we may think about it.

The 2008 financial crash and the 2019–20 Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated that we all share a global economic system and global transport infrastructure that link national economies together and facilitate the mass movement of people around the world. The globalization of social life is one clear illustration of the need for sociologists to maintain a focus on worldwide social, economic and political change.

Globalization in the ninth edition

It is not possible to cover every impact of globalization in one single chapter, chapter 4, ‘Globalization and Social Change’, but a quick reference guide to global issues and globalization will help to direct readers to relevant chapters:

Chapter 1, ‘What is Sociology?’ – introduction to globalization in sociology and the illustrative example of coffee

Chapter 3, ‘Theories and Perspectives’ – colonialism and its legacy, postcolonial theory and decolonizing sociology, cosmopolitanism and citizenship

Chapter 5, ‘The Environment’ – the global risk society, global warming, globalization of ecological modernization

Chapter 6, ‘Global Inequality’ – global inequality throughout, discourses and models of global inequality, global wealth distribution, unequal life chances in the Global South/North, global demographic trends, development theory and post-development critiques

Chapter 7, ‘Gender and Sexuality’ – global human trafficking and sex tourism, the global gender order, feminist movements and theories in the Global North/South, LGBTQ+ rights around the world

Chapter 8, ‘Race, Ethnicity and Migration’ – the global ‘age of migration’, colonialism and the slave trade, global diasporas

Chapter 9, ‘Stratification and Social Class’ – modern slavery, globalization and stratification systems

Chapter 10, ‘Health, Illness and Disability’ – disability in a global context, globalization and health pandemics

Chapter 11, ‘Poverty, Social Exclusion and Welfare’ – the precariat as a ‘global class’ in the making, welfare state reform under globalization

Chapter 13, ‘Cities and Urban Life’ – global cities within globalization, global gentrification, urban development in the Global South

Chapter 14, ‘The Life Course’ – global life expectancy, ageing around the world

Chapter 15, ‘Families and Intimate Relationships’ – globalizing family trends, families in a global context

Chapter 16, ‘Education’ – education in a global context, globalization and the e-university

Chapter 17, ‘Work and Employment’ – globalization of manufacturing, economic globalization

Chapter 19, ‘The Media’ – idea of the ‘global village’, global internet penetration and use, backlash against global communications, global music industry and digitization, media imperialism and resistance

Chapter 20, ‘Politics, Government and Social Movements’ – the global spread of democracy, prospects for global governance, anti-globalization movements, globalization and the social movement society

Chapter 21, ‘Nations, War and Terrorism’ – colonialism and postcolonial identities, globalization and the erosion of national identities, human rights in a global context, global terror networks, ‘new wars’ under globalization

Chapter 22, ‘Crime and Deviance’ – organized global crime, online ‘cybercrime’

Social inequality

Our second theme is social inequality, a founding issue of sociology from its origins in the nineteenth century. Can this really still be a key theme today? The simple answer is, yes. Inequality, both within a single society and between diff erent societies, is just as significant today as it was in the past, and in some ways even more so. Despite the fabulous productive capacity and wealth that exist today, the distribution of rewards remains grossly unequal. Some recent research finds that, globally, the world’s wealth has accumulated disproportionately in the hands of a tiny proportion of the global population. Chapter 6, ‘Global Inequality’, deals with this issue most directly, though numerous others also cover the issue. Economic inequality is just one form of inequality recognized by sociologists today. Race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability and age-related inequality are all discussed at various points in the book. Many studies today have found that apparently discrete forms of inequality are, in fact, interrelated, producing a diverse set of individual life experiences. Sociologists now routinely look to explore the ways in which these major social inequalities ‘intersect’.

Social inequality in the ninth edition

The issue of social inequality has been and remains so fundamental to sociological studies that it may legitimately be said to infuse all of its specialist fields. For this book, that means every chapter contains some discussion of inequalities. However, some of these are more systematic and focused than others, and these sections are listed below:

Chapter 1, ‘What is Sociology?’ – Karl Marx on class-based inequality, conflict theory in sociology and an introduction to feminist theories of gender inequality

Chapter 3, ‘Theories and Perspectives’ – Marx versus Weber on social class, introduction to intersectional analysis of inequalities

Chapter 4, ‘Globalization and Social Change’ – inequalities of historical societies, discussion of the terminology used to discuss global inequalities, Wallerstein on inequality in the world system

Chapter 5, ‘The...