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Sociology
Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life

15th Edition
Available with:
Learning platform
June 2025 | 664 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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Using vivid prose, current examples, and fresh data, the Fifteenth Edition of Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life presents a unique and thought-provoking overview of how society is constructed and experienced. Author David M. Newman shows students how to see the "unfamiliar in the familiar"—to step back and see organization and predictability in their take-for-granted personal experiences. With his approachable writing style and lively anecdotes, Newman's goal from the first edition has been the same: to write a textbook that "reads like a real book." Many adopters of this book are fans of Peter Berger's classic works, which helped introduce the idea of "social constructionism" to sociology. Newman uses the metaphors of "architecture" and "construction" to help students understand that society is not something that exists "out there," independently of themselves; it is a human creation that is planned, maintained, or altered by individuals.
 
Preface to the 15th Edition
 
Digital Resources
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Part I: The Individual and Society
 
Chapter 1: Taking a New Look at a Familiar World
Sociology and the Individual

 
The Sociological Imagination

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 2: Seeing and Thinking Sociologically
How Individuals Structure Society

 
Social Influence: The Impact of Other People on Our Everyday Lives

 
Societal Influence: The Effect of Social Structure on Our Everyday Lives

 
Three Perspectives on Social Order

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Part II: The Construction of Self and Society
 
Chapter 3: Building Reality: The Social Construction of Knowledge
Understanding the Social Construction of Reality

 
Laying the Foundation: The Bases of Reality

 
Building the Walls: Conflict, Power, and Social Institutions

 
Appreciating the Contributions of Sociological Research

 
Modes of Research

 
The Trustworthiness of Social Research

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 4: Building Order: Culture and History
Dimensions of Culture

 
Cultural Expectations and Social Order

 
Cultural Variation and Everyday Experience

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 5: Building Identity: Socialization
Genes, Social Structure, and the Construction of Human Beings

 
Socialization: Becoming You

 
Growing Up With Inequality

 
Institutions and Socialization

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 6: Supporting Identity: The Presentation of Self
Forming Impressions of Others

 
Managing Impressions

 
Dramaturgy: Actors on a Social Stage

 
Social Influences on Impression Management

 
Collective Impression Management

 
Mismanaging Impressions: Spoiled Identities

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 7: Building Social Relationships: Intimacy and Families
Life With Others

 
Social Diversity and Intimate Choices

 
Family Life

 
Cultural Variation in Intimacy and Family

 
Family and Social Structure

 
Divorce

 
Family Violence

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 8: Constructing Difference: Social Deviance
Defining Deviance

 
Explaining Deviant Behavior

 
Criminalizing Deviance

 
The Medicalization of Deviance

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Part III: Social Structure, Institutions, And Everyday Life
 
Chapter 9: The Structure of Society: Organizations, Social Institutions, and Globalization
Social Structure and Everyday Life

 
Social Dilemmas: Individual Interests and Structural Needs

 
The Structure of Formal Organizations

 
Organizations and Institutions

 
Globalization and Social Institutions

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlightsq

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 10: The Architecture of Stratification: Social Class and Inequality
Stratification Systems

 
Sociological Perspectives on Stratification

 
Social Class and Everyday Life

 
Class Distinctions

 
Definitions and Consequences of Poverty in The United States

 
Why Poverty Persists

 
Global Development and Inequality

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 11: The Architecture of Inequality: Race and Ethnicity
Race and Ethnicity: More Than Just Biology

 
Histories of Oppression and Inequality

 
Racial and Ethnic Relations

 
The Cultural Ideology of Racism

 
Institutional Racism: Injustice Built Into The System

 
Global Perspectives on Racism

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 12: The Architecture of Inequality: Sex and Gender
Sexism at the Personal Level

 
Sexual Violence Against Women

 
The Ideology of Sexism: Biology as Destiny

 
Institutions and Gender Inequality

 
The Global Devaluation of Women

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 13: Demographic Dynamics: Population Trends
The Influence of Birth Cohorts

 
Demographic Dynamics

 
Population Trends in The United States

 
Conclusion

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Chapter 14: Architects of Change: Reconstructing Society
Social Change

 
Movements For Social Change

 
Elements of Social Movements

 
The Sociological Imagination Revisited

 
Conclusion and Farewell

 
Your Turn

 
Chapter Highlights

 
Key Terms

 
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index
Key features
NEW TO THIS EDITION:
  • The new edition is available in Sage Vantage, an intuitive learning platform that integrates quality Sage textbook content with assignable multimedia activities and auto-graded assessments to drive student engagement and ensure accountability. Unparalleled in its ease of use and built for dynamic teaching and learning, Vantage offers customizable LMS integration and best-in-class support.
    • Flashcards and note-taking tools help students better prepare for class.
    • NEW! Audiobook Player allows students to listen to text content, boosting comprehension and retention. It offers flexible, on-the-go access, engaging both reluctant readers and auditory learners, improving the overall reading experience.
    • The Offline Reading option in the Student Dashboard offers greater accessibility to Vantage’s reading content, regardless of where students are or how strong their internet connection may be.
  • Current events and trends such as the 2024 presidential election, global economy, race relations, immigration, global climate change, social media, and the global coronavirus pandemic are woven throughout the book to illustrate the interconnections between private life and massive historical events.
  • Updated statistical information from reliable sources like the United Nations, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Population Reference Bureau, and more.
  • Updated Sociologists at Work and Micro-Macro Connections features provide in-depth discussions linking social institutions to personal experiences.
  • Health, illness, and medicine are used as extended examples throughout the book, providing relevant applications for students considering a career in medicine.
  • The book has been streamlined to replace outdated material with new content, making it more relevant and engaging for today's readers.
KEY FEATURES:
  • Personal vignettes?engage students and show them how sociology affects everyday life.
  • Research features?expose students to the importance and application of social science research.
  • Micro-Macro Connection?boxes demonstrate how individual experiences connect to broader cultural, institutional, and structural phenomena.
  • Chapter-ending learning aids, including summaries, “Your Turn” exercises, highlights, and key terms, help readers master important concepts.
  • For students considering medical careers and preparing for the MCAT exam, the book contains many substantive examples from medicine and health care, including jargon used by medical professionals, the medicalization of deviance, impression management by hospital physicians, “back stage” conversation among doctors and nurses, the medical and social penalties for obesity, gender inequality in health care, U.S. health care reform, and global public health issues.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Ch1-2

Vantage Reference: 
Sociology - Vantage Learning Platform

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