Plummer - Sociology: The Basics

SOCIOLOGY

THE BASICS

A lively, accessible and comprehensive introduction to the diverse ways of thinking about social life, Sociology: The Basics examines:

The scope, history and purpose of sociology

Ways of understanding the social

The state of the world we live in today

Suffering and social inequalities

Key tools for researching and thinking about the social

The impact of new technologies.

The reader is encouraged to think critically about the structures, meanings, histories and cultures found in the rapidly changing world we live in. With tasks to stimulate the sociological mind and suggestions for further reading both within the text and on an accompanying web-page(http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415472067/), this book is essential reading for all those studying sociology, and those with an interest in how the modern world works.

Ken Plummer is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex, UK, and is internationally known for his research on sexualities and narrative. He is author of the best selling Sociology: A Global Introduction (with John Macionis, 5th edition, 2011).

SOCIOLOGY

THE BASICS

Ken Plummer

LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published in 2010
by Routledge

This edition published in 2010
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.

To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledges collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.

2010 Ken Plummer

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Plummer, Kenneth.
Sociology : the basics / Ken Plummer.
p. cm. (The basics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
[etc.]
1. Sociology. I. Title.
HM585.P58 2010
301dc22 2010001790

ISBN 0-203-84772-5 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN10: 0-415-47205-9 (hbk)

ISBN10: 0-415-47206-7 (pbk)

ISBN10: 0-203-84772-5 (ebk)

ISBN13: 978-0-415-47205-0 (hbk)

ISBN13: 978-0-415-47206-7 (pbk)

ISBN13: 978-0-203-84772-5 (ebk)

For all my students who taught me much