Sociology in Our Times [Hardcover]

Diana Kendall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0495504270 | ISBN-13: 978-0495504276 | Edition: 7

This best-selling applied, comprehensive book highlights the relevance of sociology by including a diverse collection of theories, research, and "lived experiences" that accurately mirror the diversity in society itself. The author's vivid, personal writing style engages readers by using compelling everyday examples that make sociology particularly relevant for today's diverse students. Kendall's text is acclaimed in the field for being the first textbook to integrate race, class, and gender issues, and for its thorough presentation of sociological theory, which includes diverse theoretical viewpoints such as feminist and postmodernist theory.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Overall, the text is nicely written, and it is written at an appropriate level for first and second year students. It could be used successfully at a fairly wide range of colleges and universities. The ratio of graphics to written material also seems appropriate. The typeface, font size and design are all well done and give the book a fine, professional appearance."

"I am pleased with the author's numerous efforts throughout the text to place sociological topics in a global perspectiv--for example, "The Importance of a Global Sociological Imagination" (pg. 7), "The Importance of culture in a Changing World" (pg. 67), and "Why is Socialization Important Around the Globe?" (pg. 101)"

"The placement of "Sociology In Everyday Life" in the early part of the each chapter compliments the "Lived Experience" vignettes and "Questions and Issues" to peak the students' interest in the chapter topics"

"My review of introductory sociology texts indicates that Kendall is superior to any other in the treatment of race, class, and gender. Those concepts are thoroughly integrated into all of the chapters,leaving the reader with a sense of their importance in all aspects of society and social life. Reinforcing these concepts is the author's use of contemporary research by women and minorities, which should make the reader aware that many contributions to sociology are being made by women and minorities."

"I think Kendall's writing is more engaging and attractive than Macionis. I agree with some students that his (Macionis) writing is rather dry and boring. Kendall's writing is more lively and the book is much more simple than Macionis'." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Diana Kendall received a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was invited to membership in Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Her areas of specialization and primary research interests are sociological theory, race/class/gender studies, and the sociology of medicine. Kendall is currently a sociology professor at Baylor University, where she teaches introduction to sociology as well as an undergraduate course in social theory and a graduate seminar in advanced sociological theory. She is a member of the council of the undergraduate education section of the American Sociological Association and a member of the Sociologists for Women in Society for the Study of Social Problems. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 7 edition (December 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0495504270
• ISBN-13: 978-0495504276
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Diana Kendall received a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was invited to membership in Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

Her areas of specialization and primary research interests are sociological theory, race/class/gender studies, and the sociology of medicine. Her articles and presented papers primarily focus on the scholarship of teaching and on an examination of U.S. women of the upper classes across racial and ethnic groups.

In addition to Social Problems in a Diverse Society, she is the author of The Power of Good Deeds: Privileged Women and the Social Reproduction of the Upper Class (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) andFraming Class: Media Representations of Wealth and Poverty in America(Rowman & Littlefield, 2005).

Diana Kendall is currently Professor of Sociology at Baylor University, where she has taught a variety of courses, including Introduction to Sociology, Sociological Theory (undergraduate and graduate), Sociology of Medicine, and Race, Class, and Gender. Previously, she enjoyed many years of teaching sociology and serving as chair of the Social and Behavioral Science Division at Austin Community College. Professor Kendall is actively involved in national and regional sociological associations, including the American Sociological Association, Sociologists for Women in Society, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, the Southern Sociological Society, and the Southwestern Sociological Association.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Terrible textbook for university students, August 31, 2008

By 

Horgi von Snorgi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sociology in Our Times (Hardcover)

This book not only seems to be written for highschool students, it's also prone to extreme bouts of oversimplification and pandering to the "oppressed minority" crowd.

Oversimplification: upon reaching the topic of psychology, they manage to sum Freud up in one paragraph. Not only that, it's a paragraph that feels like it was cribbed from the back of a cereal box. Not only that, what they give is a stereotype of his "id/ego/superego" idea - nothing more. No, for example, Civilization and its Discontents, or Totem and Taboo - I guess they have nothing to do with Sociological theory in any way. Not only that, they then sum up one other important thinker in another paragraph, and then ignore all the rest of psychology that's ever happened.

Pandering: I actually wanted to start a drinking game for each time they mention "race/ethnicity, gender, and class". But then, at chapter 5, they drop "race" and just use "ethnicity, gender and class". This phrase really comes up on every page. I guess the idea is that people experience the world differently according to their race/ethnicity, gender, and class? Wow! I wonder why? No - you don't get an answer to that, all you get is "race/ethnicity, gender and class" over and over again.

This book is pathetic and I strongly urge academics to NOT choose it for a first-year text! There's so much better writing out there that goes into more detail while still being readable. This book is best suited for highschool students, and even then if you only want them to kill time instead of actually learning anything.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Politically Correct Waste of Time, May 8, 2010

By 

Kenneth E. Morris (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sociology in Our Times (Hardcover)

I have taught sociology for over 30 years and for the last ten have been forced to use the evolving editions of this text. The best I can say for it is that it's not a lot worse than most textbooks--which are essentially written by committees and marketing departments--and unfortunately probably does represent the field accurately.

The core problem with his book though, and the field, is that its latent master value is equality, modified by a little self-serving credentialism. Anytime anyone is found to be unequal, the implicit cry is "Injustice!" Well, not so fast. There are plenty of instances in which inequalities are unjust, but no doubt plenty that are just. It doesn't seem to dawn on this author that equality is not the sole criterion of justice. Of course, ever so subtly the text implies that some inequalities are just. You never get the sense that she feels that she shouldn't get paid more than the average person or that the publisher of this text shouldn't wildly overprice it. I guess it's OK for liberal elites to do better than the rest, though besides them I suppose people ought to be equal.

This equality silliness is especially pronounced in the author's feminism. She is constantly changing the subject to women. For instance, she gives two short paragraphs on the Enlightenment (which is actually kind of important) though--Guess what?--one paragraph is about "women in the Enlightenment." Well, you can ask about women in the Enlightenment if you want to--but then you could ask about slaves too (which she doesn't). Students who have never heard of the Enlightenment come away from from her discussion assuming that the biggest issue at that time was whether women's opinions were heard. Sorry, that wasn't the biggest issue, and the text basically distorts history to say it was. Worse, later when she runs through the issues of group conformity, she shifts without explanation to the issue of obedience to authority, and then omits versions of those experiments that linked them to group conformity. (I suspect she was copying from the Maciones text, which included the relevant versions of the experiments, but didn't bother with them because she didn't follow the developing argument.) Anyway, after thoroughly mangling the presentation, she then lands on an experiment that "proves" men will sexual harass women if the conditions are conducive to it. For all I know, this was a decent experiment and the findings sound, but it is obvious to me that she is in such a rush to get to the sexual harassment study that she overlooked other studies that logically led to it.

There are other examples, but the author is always in such a rush to make her feminist points that she frequently screws up other things along the way. My guess though is that sociology doesn't attract the "best and the brightest" (a documented fact) and is increasingly attracting so many women that the field has darn near become a wing of Women's Studies.

I also do not like many of the chapter examples she uses. The example in the first chapter about credit cards is not well done, and a lot of students end up thinking that sociology and economics are roughly the same thing. It's just a weak example, poorly presented.

And, she never gives any evidence of intellectual ability--or of having done her homework. Despite way too many pages, she can never seem to develop a point to its culmination. C. Wright Mills is half-presented in the first chapter, and when she discusses cultural relativism she concludes that it is fine as long as it doesn't violate human rights--giving no hint that human rights are themselves contested. Oh, and in that discussion she wrongly uses Marvin Harris' work as an illustration of cultural relativism, when in fact it is an argument for cultural materialism. Later, she contrasts Kenneth Jackson's history of suburbs with someone else's, but gets Jackson wrong. It is probably the nature of the beast that textbook authors can't read most of the sources they cite, but this woman has a remarkable ability to be wrong about the works she discusses as well as a surprising knack to miss any important idea that might be in them. This text is a quintessential example of how you really can't simplify material without changing it.

Now, a lot of my criticisms would apply to other texts, and probably no text is ever really good. This is an inherent problem with textbooks. However, having used perhaps a dozen different textbooks over the years, I would have to say that this ranks toward the bottom. I haven't followed the textbook field, so don't know the popular choices now, but the Maciones text that I believe cornered the market prior to this one was better.

Let me add that I say all this as a sociologist, a liberal, and a feminist. I probably agree with the author's opinions 90% of the time, and must reluctantly agree that this text probably accurately reflects the sorry state of the discipline. However, the text just does a poor job at teaching about ideas, issues, and facts in a thought-provoking way. It's really a politically correct waste of time and money for anyone with a head on their shoulders.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sociology Book, June 3, 2008

By 

Drac1026 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sociology in Our Times (Hardcover)

I found the material dry and boring. The book tries to provide examples so much that it goes on and on about it.