Our Social World: Condensed: An Introduction to Sociology

Our Social World: Introduction to Sociology, 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. The award-winning author team of Jeanne H. Ballantine, Keith A. Roberts, and Kathleen Odell Korgen organizes 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 application of this model across chapters helps students practice using the three levels of analysis and 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 and is one-third shorter by streamlining boxes and the main narrative, and combining four chapters into two (Family/Education, and Politics/Economics).

New and Key Features

• A new full-length chapter on health, illness, and healthcare has been added.
• Several chapters have been reorganized with updated data, added studies, and newly emerging emphases in sociology.
• Six new “Sociologists in Action” features added.
• Four new “Engaging Sociology” features added with new opportunities for data analysis by students.
• 100 new or updated Tables and Figures, nearly 500 new references, and dozens of older references removed.
• Many sentences and definitions in the book have been revised for brevity and clarity, and the glossary has been updated for better correspondence with the text.
• Links to exceptional teaching resources from A.S.A.’s TRAILS (Teaching Resources and Innovation Library for Sociology) available in SAGE coursepacks.
• MCAT Guide maps chapter content to Foundational Concepts and Content Categories in Section 3 of the MCAT test available in SAGE coursepacks. 

Jeanne H. Ballantine is Emerita Professor of Sociology at Wright State University, a state university of about 17,000 students in Ohio. She has also taught at several 4-year colleges, including an “alternative” college and a traditionally Black college, and at international programs in universities abroad. She has been teaching introductory sociology for more than 30 years with a mission to introduce the uninitiated to the field and to help students see the usefulness and value in sociology. She has been active in the teaching movement, shaping curriculum, writing and presenting research on teaching, and offering workshops and consulting in regional, national, and international forums. She is a Fulbright Senior Scholar and serves as a Departmental Resources Group consultant and evaluator.

Jeanne has written several textbooks, all with the goal of reaching the student audience. As the original director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Wright State University, she scoured the literature on student learning and served as a mentor to teachers in a wide variety of disciplines. Local, regional, and national organizations have honored her for her teaching and for her contributions to helping others become effective teachers. In 1986, the American Sociological Association’s Section on Undergraduate Education (now called the Section on Teaching and Learning in Sociology) recognized her with the Hans O. Mauksch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching of Sociology. In 2004, she was honored by the American Sociological Association with its Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award. In 2010, the North Central Sociological Association awarded her the J. Milton Yinger Award for Distinguished Career in Sociology.

Keith A. Roberts is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Hanover College, a private liberal arts college of about 1,100 students in Indiana. He has taught introductory sociology for 35 years with a passion for active learning strategies and a focus on “deep learning” by students that transforms the way they see the world. Prior to teaching at Hanover, he taught at a 2-year regional campus of a large university.

He has been active in the teaching movement, writing on teaching and serving as a consultant to sociology departments across the country in his capacity as a member of the American Sociological Association Departmental Resources Group. He has written a very popular textbook in the sociology of religion, has coauthored a book on writing in the undergraduate curriculum, has published and led many workshops on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and for 22 years ran an annual workshop for high school sociology teachers. He has chaired the Selection Committee for the SAGE Innovations and Professional Development Awards since the program’s inception. He has been honored for his teaching and teaching-related work at local, state, regional, and national levels. The American Sociological Association’s Section on Teaching and Learning awarded him the Hans O. Mauksch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching of Sociology in 2000. He was honored with the American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award in 2010. In 2012, the North Central Sociological Association awarded Keith the J. Milton Yinger Award for Distinguished Career in Sociology.

Kathleen Odell Korgen is Professor of Sociology at William Paterson University, a comprehensive university in Wayne, New Jersey. Kathleen enjoys teaching her students that sociology is a remarkably useful discipline and highlights how “Sociologists in Action” make a positive impact on society. Her published works on race relations and racial identity include From Black to Biracial, Crossing the Racial Divide, Multiracial Americans and Social Class, Race Policy and Multiracial Americans. Her teaching texts, in addition to Sociology in Action, include Our Social World,  The Engaged Sociologist,  Sociologists in Action, , and Social Problems in Action. Kathleen is also the editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology.

Kathleen works as a consultant for other sociology departments as a member of the American Sociological Association Departmental Resources Group and received William Paterson University’s award for Excellence in Scholarship/Creative Expression in 2006 and the university’s award for Excellence in Teaching in 2014.