Includes index, references and glossary.

Contents: What is sociology?: The Sociological perspective -- What do sociologists do? -- The Individual, social groups, and society: culture -- Socialization -- Social structure and social interaction -- Social inequality: global and national perspectives -- Inequalities of gender -- Inequalities of race and ethnicity -- inequalities of age -- Social institutions: bureaucracy and formal organizations -- the economy ( money and work ) -- Politics ( power and authority ) -- The Family: initiation into society -- education and religion -- medicine( health and illness in Canada) -- Social change: crime and social deviance -- population, urbanization, and the environment -- Social movement and social change.