Rethinking Society in the 21st Century, Fourth Edition

Book excerpt: Rethinking Society in the 21st Century is a critical collection of readings that provides students with a foundational knowledge base in sociology. The fourth edition has been thoroughly updated to include significant Canadian content, with a greater focus on indigeneity, gender, and sexuality and a new section dedicated to social movements, social change, and emerging fields. This anthology introduces students to the fundamental elements of sociology with a balance of classical theory—Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Mills—and more contemporary approaches found in the works of Michel Foucault and Dorothy Smith. Building on this theoretical grounding, the text outlines core concepts in sociology as well as major social institutions such as families, the economy and labour, education, health care, and media. Covering a wide breadth of topics, including chapters on animals, the environment, crime, trans issues, class, ethnicity, and race, this new edition explores critical debates in Canadian society with an emphasis on intersectional approaches to social inequalities. This volume is rich with pedagogical features that promote critical understanding, including detailed introductions that speak to the contextual history of the source material and discussion questions for each section. Uniquely designed for introductory courses, Rethinking Society in the 21st Century is the ideal reader for Canadian students of sociology.