Examine the sociological meaning in Hurricane Katrina, same-sex marriage, the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison and scores of modern, compelling issues such as these in Andersen and Taylor's updated new edition of this easy-to-understand text. The book uses research and data to illustrate how class, race-ethnicity, gender, age, geographic residence, and sexual orientation relate to key sociological topics.. Andersen and Taylor inspire you to think for yourself about sociology with the book's "Debunking Society's Myths" features and critical thinking exercises. End-of-chapter summaries in a question-and-answer format provide a built-in review to help you prepare for exams, while an extensive map and illustration program makes concepts easier to understand. View the world through a sociological lens with this best-selling textbook . . . a perpetual favorite with students. This modern book and its fascinating coverage will make you want to read more as you learn to question, challenge, and look at the world like sociologists do.

SOCIOLOGY: UNDERSTANDING A DIVERSE SOCIETY, FOURTH EDITION, is a theoretically balanced, mainstream, comprehensive text characterized by its emphasis on diversity. In every chapter, students explore fascinating topics (Hurricane Katrina, same-sex marriage, abuses at Abu Ghraib prison) as well as research and data that illustrate how class, race-ethnicity, gender, age, geographic residence, and sexual orientation relate to sociological topics discussed in that chapter. This text provides a solid research orientation to the basic principles of sociology yet it is fascinating and accessible, appealing to the ever-changing student population, and inviting students to view the world through a sociological lens. Andersen and Taylor get students thinking for themselves about sociology, with the book's "Debunking Society's Myths" features and critical thinking exercises. This is the book that will grab student interest and inspire them to keep reading and asking questions!

Andersen & Taylor is a theoretically balanced, mainstream, brief text characterized by its emphasis on diversity. In every chapter, students explore research and data that illustrate how class, race-ethnicity, gender, age, geographic residence, and sexual orientation relate to the topics covered. This text provides a solid research orientation to the basic principles of sociology while maintaining an accessible style, appealing to the ever-changing student population, and inviting students to view the world through a sociological lens. This highly integrated, research-oriented, contemporary example approach combined with its depth of coverage in a brief-text format accounts for its wide appeal to professors and students alike.

Margaret L. Andersen (B.A., Georgia State University; M.A., Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst) is the Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at the University of Delaware. She is the co-editor of the best-selling anthology, RACE, CLASS AND GENDER, Sixth Edition (Wadsworth, 2007; with Patricia Hill Collins), author of THINKING ABOUT WOMEN: SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON SEX AND GENDER, Seventh Edition (Allyn and Bacon, 2006); SOCIOLOGY: THE ESSENTIALS, Fourth Edition (Wadsworth, 2007; also co-authored with Howard F. Taylor), and UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY: AN INTRODUCTORY READER, Second Edition (Wadsworth, 2004; co-edited with Kim Logio and Howard F. Taylor). She is a recipient of the University of Delaware's Excellence-in-Teaching Award and the College of Arts and Science Distinguished Teaching Award, former president of the Eastern Sociological Society, and chair of the National Advisory Board for the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity at Stanford University, where she has been a visiting professor. She has received the American Sociological Association Jessie Bernard Award (2006) for broadening the horizons of sociology to include the study of women and has also received the 2004-2005 SWS Feminist Lecturer, an award given annually to a social scientist who has made significant contributions to the study of women in society.Howard F. Taylor was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hiram College and has a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University. He has taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, and Princeton University, where he is presently Professor of Sociology and former director of the African American Studies program. He has published over forty articles in sociology, education, social psychology, and race relations. His books include THE IQ GAME (Rutgers University Press), a critique of hereditarian accounts of intelligence; BALANCE IN SMALL GROUPS (Van Nostrand Reinhold); and the forthcoming RACE, CLASS, AND THE BELL CURVE IN AMERICA. He has also written SOCIOLOGY: THE ESSENTIALS, Fifth Edition (Wadsworth 2007, co-authored with Margaret L. Andersen), and UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY: AN INTRODUCTORY READER, Second Edition. (Wadsworth, 2004, co-edited with Margaret L. Andersen and Kim Logio). He has appeared widely before college, radio, and TV audiences, including ABC's Nightline. He is past president of the Eastern Sociological Society; a member of the American Sociological Association and the Sociological Research Association, an honorary society for distinguished research. He is a winner of the DuBois-Johnson-Frazier Award, given by the American Sociological Association for distinguished research in race and ethnic relations, and the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. He lives in Pennington, New Jersey, with his wife, a corporate lawyer.

Part One: INTRODUCING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE. 1. Developing a Sociological Perspective. 2. Doing Sociological Research. Part Two: INDIVIDUALS IN SOCIETY. 3. Culture. 4. Socialization. 5. Social Interaction and Social Structure. 6. Groups and Organizations. 7. Deviance. 8. Crime and Criminal Justice. Part Three: SOCIAL INEQUALITIES. 9. Social Class and Social Stratification. 10. Global Stratification. 11. Race and Ethnicity. 12. Gender. 13. Sexuality. 14. Age and Aging. Part Four: SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 15. Families. 16. Education. 17. Religion. 18. Economy and Work. 19. Government and Politics. 20. Health Care. Part Five: SOCIAL CHANGE. 21. Population, Urbanization, and the Environment. 22. Collective Behavior and Social Movements. 23. Social Change in Global Perspective. Glossary. References. Credits. Name Index. Subject Index.