Promoting the development of critical thinking skills throughout, this lively survey of core sociological concepts is a comprehensive introduction to the discipline. By exploring classic and current theories students will form an appreciation of the field's foundation while up-to-dateexamples, many of them Canadian, will help them understand the application of sociological principles in today's world. Compelling and timely, Thinking About Sociology will challenge students to rethink their own assumptions and their place within society.

Karen L. Anderson's profile page

Karen Anderson received her BA and MA from the University of Regina, and she received her PhD in sociology from the University of Toronto in 1982. She taught at McMaster University in Hamilton and at King's College in London, Ontario, before coming to teach at York University in 1988, whereshe is currently an associate professor of sociology. Her research interests include nineteenth-century financial capital, gender relations in seventeenth-century Iroquoian societies, contemporary social theory, and theories and practices of post-secondary teaching. Most recently she has begun aresearch project on the flight of capital from manufacturing in a small Ontario town and its impact on people's lives. Between 2007 and 2010 she was a research fellow at York University's Centre for the Support of Teaching, where she conducted research on teaching large introductory universityclasses. She has authored two books, as well as numerous book chapters and journal articles.

"I appreciate that the author has focused on students' lives in an attempt to engage them in the text." --Susan Miller, University of Manitoba

"The author begins with clear and strong discussions of language and the conceptual systems that guide our understanding of the social world. She then follows through with a well-informed philosophical discussion of the complexity of the ideas introduced and a good discussion of thesociological position that the systematic organization of shared meanings is key for constructing and 'fixing' an understanding of the world." --Joseph Galbo, University of New Brunswick