This micro- to macro-level analysis is a central concept in the discipline of sociology. It will help you to develop a sociological imagination, an ability to see the complex links among various levels of the social system, from the micro level of close relationships to the macro level of globalization. Within a few months, you may not remember all the specific concepts or terms that have been introduced, but if the way you see the world has been transformed during this course, a key element of deep learning has been accomplished. Learning to see things from alternative perspectives is a precondition for critical thinking. This book attempts to help you recognize connections between your personal experiences and problems and larger social forces of society. Thus, you will be learning to take a new perspective on the social world in which you live.
A key element of that social world is diversity. We live in societies in which people differ in a host of ways: ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religious background, political persuasion, gender, sexual orientation, and so forth. The most productive and creative organizations and societies are those that are highly diverse. This is the case because people with different backgrounds solve problems in different ways. When people with such divergences come together, the outcome of their problem-solving can create new solutions to vexing problems. Thus, diversity is a blessing in many ways to a community or society. However, diversity often creates challenges as well. Misunderstanding and “us” versus “them” thinking can divide people. These issues are explored throughout this book. We now live in a global village, and in this book, you will learn something about how people on the other side of the village live and view the world.
We hope you enjoy the book and get as enthralled with sociology as we are. It genuinely is a fascinating field of study.
Jeanne H. Ballantine
Wright State University
Keith A. Roberts
Emeritus, Hanover College
Kathleen Odell Korgen
William Paterson University
Your authors—teaching “outside the box”
In the electronic edition of the book you have purchased, there are several icons that reference links (videos, journal articles) to additional content. Though the electronic edition links are not live, all content referenced may be accessed at edge.sagepub.com/ballantine7e . This URL is referenced at several points throughout your electronic edition.
Instructors: How to Make This Book Work for You
How to reach students at their ability and interest levels and provide sociological principles they can grasp and use underlies the content and features of this book. Based on current pedagogical theory and recommendations for the beginning sociology course, the following discussion provides a curriculum map for the chapters and an introduction to the use of the sociological literacy framework.
Special features woven throughout each chapter support the themes of the book. These will help students comprehend and apply the material and make it more understandable and interesting. These features are also designed to facilitate deep learning, to help students move beyond rote memorization, and to increase their ability to analyze and evaluate information.
For students to understand both the comparative global theme and sociology as an integrated whole rather than as a set of separate chapters in a book, we have organized this book around the social world model that demonstrates the relationships among individuals (micro level); organizations, institutions, and subcultures (meso level); and societies and global structures (macro levels of analysis) (see following discussion). At the beginning of each chapter, a visual diagram of the model illustrates this idea as it relates to the topic of the chapter, including how issues related to the topic have implications at various levels of analysis in the social world.
Sociological Literacy Framework
In the past few years, sociologists in the teaching movement have developed a framework for teaching key topics and competencies in introductory sociology courses (Ferguson and Carbonaro, 2015). The individual ideas are not new, but together they lay out a comprehensive framework for teaching our discipline, and they provide a guide for what students should understand and be able to do when they complete the introductory course. Broad enough to include the topics we typically teach in the introductory course, the framework places loose parameters around the field and organizes content into a comprehensive and comprehendible format. Our Social World uses the key ideas and concepts in the framework for a systematic presentation aimed at undergraduate students and an up-to-date presentation of sociology’s core content.
The framework represents what “students of sociology should understand” after completing an introductory sociology course, as determined by several working groups of teacher-scholars and sociologist task forces.* “To Our Students” includes a box outlining the six essential competencies.
* For further information, see Ferguson and Carbonara, 2016.
“Think About It”
So that students can become curious, active readers, we have posed questions at the outset of each chapter that we hope are relevant to everyday life but are also tied to the micro-meso-macro levels of analysis that serve as the theme of the book. The purpose is to transform students from passive readers who run their eyes across the words into curious, active readers who read to answer a question and to be reflective. Active or deep reading is key to comprehension and retention of reading material (Roberts and Roberts 2008). Instructors can also use this feature to encourage students to think critically about the implications of what they have read. Instructors might want to ask students to write a paragraph about one of these questions before coming to class each day. These questions might also provide the basis for in-class discussions.
Students should be encouraged to start each chapter by reading and thinking about these questions, looking at the topics outlined in “What Will You Learn in This Chapter?,” and asking some questions of their own. This will mean that they are more likely to stay focused, remember the material long-term, and be able to apply it to their own lives.
A Global Perspective and the Social World Model
This book incorporates a global perspective throughout so that students can see not only how others live different but rewarding lives, but also the connections between others’ lives and their own. Students will need to think and relate to the world globally in future roles as workers, travelers, and global citizens. Our analysis illustrates the interconnections of the world’s societies and their political and economic systems and demonstrates