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Introducing Graphic Guides

Introducing Sociology: A Graphic Guide

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Sociology is interested in the ways people shape the society they live in, and the ways society shapes them. Simply, it is the study of what modern society is and how it functions. In the series' inimitable style, Introducing Sociology traces the origins of sociology from industrialization, revolution and the Enlightenment through to globalization, neoliberalism and the fear of nationalism – introducing you to key thinkers, movements and concepts along the way. You will develop insight into the world around you, as you engage your 'sociological imagination' and explore studies of the city, theories of power and knowledge, concepts of national, racial and sexual identity, and much more.

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

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John Nagle

27 books4 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
Profile Image for Stuart.
216 reviews53 followers
December 20, 2016
I think that Icon Books have done a great job with their illustrated introduction series. Having a pocket and/or coffee table sized book that has a convenient format and bite-sized chunks of information was personally really helpful for someone like me who is constantly jumping between books everyday.

Although it is compact and has a simplistic layout, it is filled to the brim with relevant and helpful information. Gathering together key pioneers in sociology like Marx, Mills, Bauman, Berger, Hegel, Durkheim and Foucault (to name a few...) and outlining their work, ideas and influences in concise text and eye-catching art.

After an overview of those involved in the creation and nurturing of sociology, we get a straightforward and fluid insight into the theories and practices within sociology and the overall development over the course of its existence. Finally we get the modern day applications and results of sociology and a look to the future and the aims/predictions/outcomes that scientists expect to see.

The content is fine, it is a perfectly decent introduction into the field of sociology. I consider the artwork/graphic content to be the standout feature of this book. The imagery adds depth and emphasises to what the author is trying to convey to the reader. Having illustrations to accompany the text definitely increases the quality of both comprehension and memory.

Overall, you won't come away knowing everything you need to know from Introducing Sociology: A Graphic Guide. It is definitely a great place to start though, a platform to build your knowledge from and it is reasonable in price and easy to carry around with you if you ever need a quick reference. I recommend this book to those who want to open their mind to those around them, or those at the entry level stage of any sociology class/qualification.
Profile Image for Yousra Bushehri.
663 reviews6 followers
April 27, 2018
It didn’t take me long to finish this book but it’s taken me a while to sit down and write a review.

Going into this book, I had a little background in sociology theories since I studied literature both as an undergrad and a graduate student. And a lot of the information wasn’t new. But I think, even if I was new to it all, understanding this book wouldn’t have been hard. Yes there are moment where even I had to reread the same thing a couple of times before it got fully absorbed, but it all went by smoothly for the most part.

In general, when it comes to readying this kind of book “history of...” or “introduction to...”, I always have a hard time remembering much once I put the book away. I’m more of a auditory and visual learner, so I can’t say that 4 months later, that I remember much. But it was fun and I can see myself rereading this if I ever want to.

It was fun. The illustrations helped. And it allowed my eyes to rest from the constant reading.
Profile Image for Sandeep Gautam.
Author 4 books25 followers
October 27, 2018
This book was slightly out of my league. I devour books on psychology and so believed that sociology being an allied science will be equally understandable and exciting; however from the book what I gathered about sociology is a dark science - a science obsessed with oppression and how social forces can be, and are used for nefarious purposes. Maybe just as in psychology, we need a strong positive sociology movement in sociology. Maybe there is such a movement afoot, but this particular book doesn't address that aspect?
Trying to make sense of sociological structures and theories wasn't easy, and despite illustrations it appeared as heavy stuff. Hopefully it gives a decent bird's eye view of the subject, though not well conversed in Sociology I cannot ascertain that! Nevertheless a good read!!
Profile Image for Jack Stark.
Author 8 books34 followers
March 27, 2022
A fantastic collection of bitesized snapshots into the many areas of sociology, and helped me decide on a few areas that I want to read more on.
Profile Image for Tessa.
44 reviews
August 7, 2025
ISW 101: de meeste basis concepten staan dr wel in, natuurlijk wel erg kort door de bocht en beknopt. Afbeeldingen hadden betere ondersteuning kunnen zijn dan ze nu zijn naar mijn idee
Profile Image for Sanjay Saraf.
2 reviews
March 17, 2020
Utter crap!

This 'book' convinced me more than ever that universities around the world should forthwith shut down all Sociology departments. It is fraud in the name of academics.

You don't do science by expressing your subjective opinion. You do it by setting your opinion aside and looking at things objectively. You need to gather data, analyze it, test hypotheses, and then develop theories. Above all, you should be able to apply theories and demonstrate that you improved people's lives in some way.

None of that in Sociology. Just a bunch of hateful thugs confusing their opinions for scientific theory. No wonder this remains the last choice for a profession. For those losers who could not get admission to productive disciplines.
Profile Image for Cynthia James.
54 reviews8 followers
August 29, 2019
Well-written and informative

I've read a few books on various topics in this series, and so far I think this is the most well-written. I acknowledge it's not easy to cram big topics like sociology into a brief graphic guide and at the same time maintain engagement with the readers - but the author of this book managed to do exactly that. The book is concise, it contains all the most important facts, and written in a way that's engaging and insightful. Having said that, I have to admit that I'm probably a bit bias as sociology is a topic that I especially fancy and that's close to my heart.. It's possible that my passion affects the objectivity of this review.
Profile Image for Sreya Dutta.
24 reviews1 follower
August 20, 2020
Being a sociology student myself, I absolutely loved how they've managed to showcase all the major concepts of sociology. Many exquisite details are missing but, for that you can always go back to reference books.
27 reviews
July 18, 2022
Key takeaways:
- Sociology is the study of ways people are affected by and affect society (macrosociology to do with group-level institutions and processes; microsociology to do with interactions between individuals)
- Sociology seems to have a social purpose to change the world: to help to "unmask domination" and influence public policy
- Our values, thoughts, actions, opportunities are constrained by society and the social groups we are part of

Macrosociology
- Healthy social systems are characterised by harmony between different types of institutions (and there is an utopia where science and rationalism emancipate us from superstition) - division of labour maintains social balance; language is an important social glue' religion achieves a common sense of purpose for all --> what is a healthy social system? where people are happy and have good relations with one another? but surely not all can be happy at the same time - what's the threshold then? is there a material dimension?
- Alienation and 'iron cage', due to capitalism/urbanisation/bureaucracy: isolation from oneself, from one another --> how to address this: revolution and communism, or solidarity?
- Social constructivism --> Sociology can be optimistic: once we recognise that social phenomena, institutions etc are not natural, we realise that we as individuals and groups can change our conditions
- Power, knowledge and discourse: knowledge (and subsequent categorisation of people) is the key to social power; modern society works by extending power via increasing forms of surveillance, and discourses (ideas and language embedded in social institutions) have the power to construct our identities --> medical knowledge led to the distinction of "insane" from "sane" people, and thus the creation of asylums (institutions) to control 'insane' people, whereas before there was no such distinction/treatment
- Social class: education in modern 'meritocratic' societies is actually used for the reproduction of power and privilege for the dominant group; cultural capital is non-economic resources that permit social mobility
- Ethnic groups maintain and distinguish themselves through boundary construction and maintenance. They define their identify in opposition to other ethnic groups.
- The object of prejudice and discrimination against black people is to create a cheap pool of labour for capitalists to exploit.
- Old social movements organise around "the system" (legal and political channels) and lose much of their potential to stimulate radical change; new social movements remain outside of the political system

Microsociology
- Symbolic interactionism: society as the product of everyday interactions between people seeking to attain shared goals
- Interaction order involves tacit and unspoken rituals and rules of behaviour that members of society engage in during face-to-face situations (through which we manage others' impression of us), revealing wider social structures which we make real through our actions

Review:

A strand running through the book was the purpose of sociology, to create or at least encourage social change (implied that change should be in a left-leaning direction). I'm not sure how I feel about this premise - do other disciplines have similar objectives, or is their goal more just to discover as much as possible about the subject at hand? Does this purpose compromise the objectivity of the experts in this domain? Or, is it possible that studying sociology opens your eyes so much such that it is impossible to remain neutral, and you realise that the left's approach to most issues is more just/will perpetuate less inequality?

Was interesting to read about Foucault's ideas for the first time - realised I didn't read his works in school! The idea that knowledge is power seems to be more than a cliche under Foucault's theory, since knowledge can be concretely used to categorise and thus treat people differently. Was awed that this theory which was developed in the last century applies so well to our digital society today, where loads of data is gathered about everyone, to influence their consumption or even social/political behaviours. Wonder if Foucault ever imagined that his concept would be so influential in this way?

Was nice to read about the same concepts that I studied so long ago, and even find out about some concepts I haven't heard about. Was also surprised to find out about the origin of some concepts which are still relevant today and useful in helping to think about certain phenomena - Veblen wrote about conspicuous consumerism in the 19th century, Foucault wrote about surveillance, Bourdieu wrote about faux meritocracy and the perpetuation of social classes in the 60s, Arlie Hochschild wrote about emotional labour in the context of flight attendants in 1980s. But also perhaps a bit sad - these problems are still with us today (and also makes me wonder if sociology as a field is stagnating? is it possible that there is nothing new to be found?? or is it that our society has not changed much in the past 100 years? - afterall, the field emerged due to revolutions in the social order, so if there is no change to the social order, then perhaps there are no new concepts to be unearthed?).

In terms of structure, the book was more like a list of key concepts (mostly grouped by scholar, in chronological order), without going into any great detail. I was okay with this though, since I'm reading this as a sort of refresher :)
Author 1 book3 followers
June 2, 2021
A quick introduction to sociology, its' discoveries and history. I especially liked the sections on post modernism and cultural imperialism.

"Sociology is a martial art. Basically, you use it to defend yourself, without having the right to use it in unfair attacks.

Society is the sum of everyday interactions between people seeking to attain common aims.

Sociology provides an external explanation for the decisions of individuals, as ultimately they are in a sociological structure of relationships which are determined by institutions. This is opposed to the popular belief that our most disadvantaged members of any society are there by choice rather than by the influence of social forces.

Post imperialism, colonisation and globalisation much of the world shares a western framework of thinking. Of neoliberalism and individualism. This creates the popular belief that the most disadvantaged people of any society are responsible for their own outcomes, rather than the belief that we are a product of society and social structures.

Herbert Spencer, following on from the father of sociology, Comte, said in contrary to Darwin that survival of the fittest instead relates to the institutional forms best equipped to flourish.

Emotional labour is that of th service industry to control their emotions as part of their job.

Prior to the period of enlightenment insanity was treated with reverence as people who had wisdom. Following the scientific Revolution insanity became a medical problem that needed to be cured. So were born asylums, institutions to separate the undesirables of society out. It was theorised that with knowledge, surveillance is required which is power.
In a prison, prisoners behave because they are watched, or at least assume they are. This has moved into contemporary society where we all conform to social norms and obey laws because we feel we are watched.

Culture and education are tools to reproduce the societal disparities between affluent and not. It does not reward merit as it was intended, but wealth.

Cultural capital is non-tangible resources like educational certificates or literature that can be used in society. Embodied capital is when these gained skills are taken into the sense of self so that it appears as if the cultural capital is inherent - "she was born talented".

Social class distinctions are now determined by consumption.

Institutional racism is the systematic disadvantaging of minority racial groups by social institutions i.e justice, healthcare, education.

Early racism claimed biological advantages between racisms. This has been replaced with culturism which believes that certain cultures are superior to others and that they are incompatible.

Cultural imperialism - the use of media, consumerism and culture globalisation to create cultural homogeneity and supposedly increase the control of developing nations by Western ones. This doesn't always result in heterogeneity though, as countries can adapt US culture i.e McDonald's producing burgers with Asian flavours

Post material society refers to a democratic society with material excess. So someone will say "I want a creative job with flexible hours and a house with cedar cladding and panoramic views". Vs a man wanting shelter and food. Emphasis on quality of life"
Profile Image for Cheryl.
13k reviews484 followers
sony-or-android
June 19, 2020
So, is sociology a scientific discipline? Or is it philosophy? Or mythology?
(Same questions apply to anthropology.)
I dunno. I know that psychology has done some good science, but still suffers from historic pseudo-scientific influences. But I honestly know nothing real about Soc. or Anthro.

I dunno if I can find a copy of this to read, or if it will be any good. If you have recommendations, please share!
Profile Image for Dr.Krishnaprasad Chaudhari.
134 reviews
January 10, 2024
Wonderful book ! A beautiful vessel is made from good clay and wonderful hands… each being equally important for the wonderful outcome (maybe perhaps every outcome is wonderful)…. Nature and nurtures wonderful symphony…. Similarly psychology and sociology is something which makes us and how we look and think about world and ourselves…. Sociology is something which makes us improve our awareness about relative realities around us… overall wonderful book….
Profile Image for Reinhardt.
272 reviews2 followers
November 28, 2022
Not sure the cartoons make things more comprehendible. Really kind of a simplified dictionary of sociology written for high school students. Never mind that so much modern sociology is ideology not social science. In other words, this book tries to compress a lot of hot air into cartoons and not sure if there is much value there.
28 reviews
June 6, 2023
Sociology in a jiffy

Enjoyed reading the graphic guide on Sociology. For a beginner wanting to understand about sociology, this book gives a broad perspective into the subject covering all ages and models of sociological research and its implications. The biopsychosocial link also been explored in detail.
9 reviews
January 12, 2019
Blank pages and missing content

The book is good summary. However, there are no of pages blank which are spread out throughout out the book. And at places it seems that the text is missing

Profile Image for Andrew.
6 reviews7 followers
October 12, 2019
A great introduction that allows for a quick and general understanding of the field. It does miss some major theoretical movements and practitioners, however, this is reasonable considering the format and size of the book.
4,419 reviews37 followers
March 21, 2020
Black and white illustrations.

Any subject worth studying is so complex that it's hard to sum up in one sentence. Some of these sociologists should probably switch to political science instead.
Profile Image for Adam Schenck.
5 reviews
January 10, 2021
Useful overview of an important discipline

I liked this Introducing entry because of the clarity of the overviews of significant contributors to the field of sociology, and the cartoons are unique in style.
Profile Image for Aditya.
54 reviews4 followers
March 14, 2021
Absolutely stunning read. Great use of the format

Found this extremely crisp, informative and the illustrations were fab! Quite the pleasant surprise this was, considering it was a surprise buy.
Profile Image for Andrew Noselli.
704 reviews80 followers
October 19, 2022
I am familiar with all of the sociologists mentioned in this book except for one or two at the end, whose work I am somewhat inclined to consider meritless and of little value in the context of the founders of sociology as a discipline.
Profile Image for Introvert Insane.
546 reviews7 followers
August 7, 2023
This graphic guides have been a good entryway to a deeper studies so far, making it so accessible for people like me. I've studied this briefly but it is fascinating to refresh what I learned and learn more.
Profile Image for Aaryan.
33 reviews
July 14, 2024
The book is perfect for readers who want to explore and understand about the subject and haven't had any exposure to the same before. The graphics make it understandable and engaging for higher retention of the material.
Profile Image for Ines Dias.
405 reviews3 followers
January 3, 2018
Para quem gosta de saber mais sobre teorias do mundo e da sociedade, um ótimo livro!
Profile Image for Alberto Tebaldi.
487 reviews5 followers
December 5, 2017
my first decent graphic guide. very very very general introduction to the topic, however pleasant.
Profile Image for Sameer Alshenawi.
245 reviews22 followers
December 17, 2017
مقدمة عامة جدا للمبتدئين ، اهم ما فيها كان التعريف باعلام هذا العلم و تقديم مساهماتهم
1 review
August 6, 2018
Basic intro to the topic

This will give the bare minimum but still an understanding of the overarching topic of this book. It is alright.
1 review
September 29, 2019
Good read

A direct and good summary of sociology. enjoyed the quick, efficient style with the cartoons giving images to associate the 'knowledge ' with. Power to the reader.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews

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