Introduction to Sociology by Openstax College

by OpenStax College

This book is available for free at to Sociology is intended for a one-semester introductory sociology course. Conceived of and developed by active sociology instructors. This online, fully editable and customizable title includes sociology theory and research; real-world applications; simplify and debate features; and learning objectives for each chapter.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Read For School, Textbooks, Science, School, College

Hardcover

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

OpenStax College is a nonprofit organization committed to improving student access to quality learning materials. Their free textbooks are developed and peer-reviewed by educators to ensure they are readable, accurate, and meet the scope and sequence requirements of your course. Through their partnerships with companies and foundations committed to reducing costs for students, OpenStax College is working to improve access to higher education for all. OpenStax College is an initiative of Rice University and is made possible through the generous support of several philanthropic foundations.

Reviews

[Kaylin (The Re-Read Queen) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If school's going to suck up all my free time, it's sure as hell gonna count towards my reading challenge

[Roxanna López · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Unprofessional first chapter. Life's too short to read something like this.

[Nasto Rabelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

No geral uma boa leitura e necessária pra muitas pessoas que são fechadas para o mundo com suas próprias crenças e tendências dentro de uma sociedade onde cresceu. Para quem tem a mente mais aberta para olhar para os lados sem julgamentos o livro acaba ficando mais massivo, porém com muitos dados e informações que enriquecem o debate dentro de contextos sociais possíveis.

[Sina Jafarzadeh · Rating 2 out of 5]

- Pros: The book is free
- Cons: The book is hard to read and follow-through. The materials were presented biased and lacked impartiality.

Disclaimer: I only skimmed through the materials and main ideas.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

What kind of person reads an Intro to Sociology textbook? The kind of person who is concerned that they might have to teach SOC 101 without ever having taken it. I strongly believe that textbooks should be as cheap as possible, and it's hard to beat Free and Open Source. So how does it perform?

This book has 21 chapters, covering three major theoretical approaches in sociology: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction; and dozens of topics from family to race and social change. The book is clear and minimizes jargon, choosing broad consensus statements over sharp or controversial points. The chapters do a decent job covering the material and linking back to the theories. Each chapter has useful references, rather mediocre multiple choice questions (are there any other kind?) and some decent short discussion prompts. On areas where I have some graduate training, the medical chapter does a decent job but leans too heavily on Conrad's medicalization hypothesis, and the technology and media chapter is a mess. The book relies heavily on recent American examples, which leaves it feeling oddly dated. 2014 feels like a whole 'nother universe.

That said, Free and Open Source is a moral good for intro textbooks, I didn't find any material errors, and a strong instructor could do a lot with this book. Just don't assign the chapters straight through.

[Al Da · Rating 3 out of 5]

كان هذا الكتاب مقرري الجامعي لمادة علم الاجتماع كمقدمة لهذا العلم ومنظريه ونظرياته وأساتذته.

ظننت في البداية أن الكتاب سيكون عن علماء الاجتماع وإنجازاتهم فقط، كحال كتب مناهجنا المدرسية سابقاً، مما ضاءل حماسي وجعلني أبدأه كمقرر دراسي لا أكثر قبل أن يتضح خطئي. فقد عرض هذا الكتاب لنا أهم منظري علم الاجتماع وأهم نظرياتهم ولكن بشكل مختصر مفيد قبل أن يشرع في شرح مداخل العلم ومجالاته واهتماماته بشكل غاية في المتعة والفائدة.

فتحدث عن شتى المواضيع من علم وتكنولوجيا وصحة ومجتمع وأسرة وسياسة واقتصاد وغيرها ورأي علم الاجتماع فيها، شارحاً إياها من وجهة نظر بعض أساتذة هذا العلم ومحللاً إياها حسب نظريات علم الاجتماع الثلاث الأكثر أهمية، فلم يكن بالمسهب ولا المختصر، بل متوسط مفيد.

على الرغم من أن هذا الكتاب كتب من قبل كاتب كندي استشهد بأمثلة وإحصائيات كندية ووجهه للكندييين الذين يودون الغوص في علم اجتماع دولتهم، ولكن مع ذلك عرض الكتاب أمثلة لدول مختلفة على طول الكتاب وحيثما احتاج الأمر، فنحى منحىً عاماً في أحيان وخاصاً في أخرى.

كان الكتاب جيداً وغير باعث على الملل كما ظننته سيكون، ولكنه كان يصب تركيزه في بعض الأحيان على مواضيع وتيارات وفئات مجتمعية تعتبر شاذة وغريبة ومستفزة في بعض الأحيان بالنسبة لقارئ مسلم، ولذلك انزعجت لدى قراءتي بعض الفصول والفقرات.

كما استشففت لدى الكاتب نزعة طفولية وقومية بعض الشيء أثناء إيراده لأمثلة من الولايات المتحدة، محاولاً إظهار كم أن كندا أفضل من أمريكا ومورداً لإحصائيات سلبية من أمريكا حول موضوع ما ومتبعاً إياها بإحصائيات إيجابية من كندا بطريقة أحسستها ساذجة ومضحكة ولكن ليست مزعجة، وكأنهم في صراع محموم وسباق مستمر نحو الأفضلية.

عدا عن هاتين النقطتين، كان الكتاب ممتازاً ويعتبر مقدمة جيدة لعلم الاجتماع العام على الرغم من طوله نسبياً (٧٠٠ صفحة)، وكان أسلوبه سهلاً ومفهوماً ولا يحتاج أي معارف مسبقة لقراءته.

لغته الإنكليزية لم تكن صعبة جداً ولا سهلة القراءة، وإنما في مكان بينهما أبعد قليلاً عن السهولة.

كتاب جيد أكتفي له بنجمات ثلاث لا أكثر.

[To Da · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was great, easy to read, and well organized. I read it for my sociology course, and I liked that it was Free and Open Source introduced by Open Stax College. This is a nice initiative.
However, what I don't like in this book is the fact that it has some biases that seem childish to me. For instance: whenever the book mentions national issues, it makes comparisons between Canada and the USA and shows how much Canada is better than the USA as if they were in an ongoing competition. I think the purpose of the book isn't for promoting to Canada, but it is a scientific discipline that should be neutral.
The other thing I don't like in the book is that it promotes and encourages issues they consider personal liberty while it is devastating for the family and the personal health, society's unity, and social relationships.

[Andrea Menzies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful for my class on the subject.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A straightforward, interesting, easy to follow textbook with many helpful examples.

[Hana Cohen]

text book for sociology

[Cas]

emotionally difficult semester but i love the zero textbook cost

[LaTonya Logston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opens your eyes to a whole new world of perception.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a teacher, nor am I a sociologist, but I feel like this textbook is a great introduction to some of the core ideas in sociology.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give it 3 stars just because I used the textbook and it was easy enough to read. Although I'm not a fan of the theories, the book is straightforward and doesn't entirely beat around the bush.

Conclusion

Will I read this again? If I have another class that uses it, then yes. Otherwise? No.