The influential authors significantly update their popular introductory text that invites students to reflect on their lives in the context of the combustible leap from modern to postmodern life. The authors show how culture is central to understanding many world problems as they challenge readers to confront the problems and possibilities of an era in which the futures of the physical and social environments seem uncertain. As culture rapidly changes in the 21st century, the authors have successfully incorporated these nuances with many important updates on race and racism, Black Lives Matter, the rise of populist politics, ISIS, new social media, feminist perspectives on sex work, trans and non-gender conforming identities, and more. New to this edition: New data, text box examples, photos, exercises, study questions, and glossary terms appear throughout. New discussions added of arts-based and participatory approaches to research, historical changes in the perception of deviance, legalization of marijuana; Islam vs. secularism in France, new forms of socialization, heteronormative and essentialist language related to sex and gender, intersections of social class and other identities, the prison industrial complex, informal sharing economies, atheism, and more. New text boxes include: Young Saudis Find Freedom in their Phones How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life School-to-Prison Pipeline India's Reproductive Assembly Line Workers Feel Pain of Layoffs Like Prohibition, the fight over guns is about something else Micro-aggression and Changing Moral Cultures Praise for A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology "Treats sociology as a living, vibrant discipline. The book is a masterful synthesis written in a style that is at once sophisticated, engaging, and accessible." -Peter Kivisto, Augustana College "Alexander and Thompson have produced the modern textbook we have all been waiting for-comprehensive and coherent, but above all intelligent. Designed to make teaching sociology unproblematic, the book is the ideal combination of theory, evidence, and accessibility." -Bryan S. Turner, editor of The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology "Sets new standards in speaking directly to students of the most significant recent developments in sociology and social changes they are living. It shows how inspiring the sociological imagination can be in areas like media, sexuality, gender relations, inequality, and globalization. -Lyn Spillman, University of Notre Dame "A truly contemporary sociology, one that mines the classics of sociology for insights into a profoundly changed, postmodern world. Most important, the book reminds us of sociology's capacity to surprise." -Francesca Polletta, University of California-Irvine "An extraordinary textbook that synthesizes a wealth of sociological studies. The book is engaging and readable, key concepts are clearly defined, and important theories are succinctly explicated. I highly recommend it to students and faculty alike." -William Julius Wilson, Harvard University

The influential authors significantly update their popular introductory text that invites students to reflect on their lives in the context of the combustible leap from modern to postmodern life. The authors show how culture is central to understanding many world problems as they challenge readers to confront the problems and possibilities of an era in which the futures of the physical and social environments seem uncertain. As culture rapidly changes in the 21st century, the authors have successfully incorporated these nuances with many important updates on race and racism, Black Lives Matter, the rise of populist politics, ISIS, new social media, feminist perspectives on sex work, trans and non-gender conforming identities, and more. New to this edition: New data, text box examples, photos, exercises, study questions, and glossary terms appear throughout. New discussions added of arts-based and participatory approaches to research, historical changes in the perception of deviance, legalization of marijuana; Islam vs. secularism in France, new forms of socialization, heteronormative and essentialist language related to sex and gender, intersections of social class and other identities, the prison industrial complex, informal sharing economies, atheism, and more. New text boxes include: Young Saudis Find Freedom in their Phones How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life School-to-Prison Pipeline India's Reproductive Assembly Line Workers Feel Pain of Layoffs Like Prohibition, the fight over guns is about something else Micro-aggression and Changing Moral Cultures Praise for A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology "Treats sociology as a living, vibrant discipline. The book is a masterful synthesis written in a style that is at once sophisticated, engaging, and accessible." -Peter Kivisto, Augustana College "Alexander and Thompson have produced the modern textbook we have all been waiting for-comprehensive and coherent, but above all intelligent. Designed to make teaching sociology unproblematic, the book is the ideal combination of theory, evidence, and accessibility." -Bryan S. Turner, editor of The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology "Sets new standards in speaking directly to students of the most significant recent developments in sociology and social changes they are living. It shows how inspiring the sociological imagination can be in areas like media, sexuality, gender relations, inequality, and globalization. -Lyn Spillman, University of Notre Dame "A truly contemporary sociology, one that mines the classics of sociology for insights into a profoundly changed, postmodern world. Most important, the book reminds us of sociology's capacity to surprise." -Francesca Polletta, University of California-Irvine "An extraordinary textbook that synthesizes a wealth of sociological studies. The book is engaging and readable, key concepts are clearly defined, and important theories are succinctly explicated. I highly recommend it to students and faculty alike." -William Julius Wilson, Harvard University

This book examines research using anti-oppressive, arts-based methods to promote social change in oppressed and marginalized communities. The contributors discuss literary techniques, performance, visual art, and new media in relation to the co-construction of knowledge and positionality, reflexivity, data representation, community building and engagement, and pedagogy. The contributors to this volume hail from a wide array of disciplines, including sociology, social work, community psychology, anthropology, performing arts, education, medicine, and public health.

Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice: Putting Theory into Action applies anti-oppressive theories and concepts to a generalist social work practice model to provide students with tools to develop a critically evaluative and self-reflective social work practice. The text combines social welfare history, theory, skills and concrete examples of anti-oppressive practice in real-world settings to help students develop a personal practice that is grounded in an understanding of social justice and the need for social workers to interrogate their work and the institutions that they find themselves working in. Opening chapters address social justice, values and ethics, and theory, and challenge students to critically examine their own social positions, identities, and values. Later chapters present fields of social work and social justice practice, from micro through macro, historical and ideological contexts, and a variety of skills and forms of practice. Within each chapter, Stories from the Field provide students with reflections from practitioners and participants on anti-oppressive practice and social justice work, highlighting personal successes and challenges. The second edition includes new material on environmental and ecological justice, the ethics of care, feminist theoretical approaches, the non-profit industrial complex and other contemporary topics. This edition also incorporates additional Stories from the Field, an expanded section on tools and approaches to family work, as well as additional supplemental films, readings, and organizational resources. Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice is an ideal text for foundational courses in social work that approach multi-level practice from a decolonizing perspective.