Sociology for Dummies

by Jay Gabler

Understand how society works―and how to make it better

It’s impossible to exist in the contemporary world without being aware that powerful social forces, ideas, and movements―#MeToo, climate change, and Black Lives Matter to name just a few―are having far-reaching impacts on how we think and live. But why are they happening? And what are their likely effects? The new edition of Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to step back from your personal experience and study these questions objectively, testing the observable phenomena of the human world against established theories and making usable sense of the results.

In a friendly, jargon-free style, sociologist and broadcaster Jay Gabler introduces you to sociology’s history and basic methods, and―once you have your sociological lens adjusted―makes it clear how to survey the big questions of culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, politics, and crime with new eyes. You’ll find everything you need to succeed in an introductory sociology class, as well as to apply sociological ideas to give you extra insight into your personal and professional life. Whether you’re studying sociology at school or just want to gain deeper insight into our collective life, Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to understand the mechanisms of the human world―and the knowledge to influence how they work for the better.     

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

384 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2021

About the author

I'm a writer and editor living in Duluth, Minnesota, where I write about arts and entertainment for the Duluth News Tribune. From 2013 to 2022, I was a digital producer at Minnesota Public Radio's The Current, where among other projects I hosted/wrote our Rock and Roll Book Club feature. I'm also a co-founder of The Tangential and a member of the National Book Critics Circle. Recent books I've written or co-written include 100 Things To Do In Duluth Before You Die (2025), Sociology for Dummies (second edition, 2021), and Robots and Foundation (2020). I'm on Bluesky, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, and Letterboxd. Gmail: jaygabler.

Reviews

[Malia Odekirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was accessible, enjoyable, and served to fill in some historical/theoretical gaps for me. I wanted to engage with it as a benchmark for what I know and what I need to know. In the process, I discovered that I have done a pretty bang-up job in the last 1-2 years of building my knowledge in the field and there was quite a lot that I had already engaged with! I feel pretty comfortable and capable when it comes to Marx, Weber, C. Wright Mills, Goffman, and Hochschild. I could use some additional reading when it comes to Durkheim and W. E. B. Du Bois so I’ll try and tackle more of their foundational works soon. A lot of the baseline theoretical frameworks were in my wheelhouse. I was happy to learn a few more, such as the rational choice theory. All in all this was exactly what I wanted and gave me a bit more background and confidence going into this new field!

[Achilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too leftist or liberal for me. Of course the author sociologist will say I’m mistaken in thinking the science of sociology represents any side at all, but merely collects the objective data. While this is true, the sociologist would also agree that while the data might be objective, the interpretation or even what to do research on is not.

Now it obviously doesn’t make the research “wrong” and they do have plenty of great insights. But I think where sociologists see the problem in society, and therefore what area they do most of their research, is highly towards the left. Seeing the importance of distinguishing between sex and gender, for example, is a leftist project.

[Jay Gabler · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked the first edition, you'll love the second.

[Ola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up to have a better grasp at sociology for my exam- idk if this particular book helped, since a lot of the sociology here was American, but it was still a pleasurable read