Our Social World ─ An Introduction to Sociology

Our Social World: Condensed inspires students to develop their sociological imaginations, to see the world and personal events from a new perspective, and to confront sociological issues on a day-to-day basis. Jeanne H. Ballantine, Keith A. Roberts, and Kathleen Odell Korgen organize the text around the "Social World" model, a conceptual framework that demonstrates the relationships among individuals (the micro level); organizations, institutions, and subcultures (the meso level); and societies and global structures (the macro level). The use of the Social World Model across chapters (represented in a visual diagram in the chapter openers) helps students develop the practice of using three levels of analysis, and to view sociology as an integrated whole, rather than a set of discrete subjects. The Fifth Edition of the Condensed version is adapted from Our Social World: Introduction to Sociology. Condensed is made approximately 30% shorter by removing selected boxes, editing the main narrative, and combining four chapters into two (Family/Education, and Politics/Economics).