Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective, 5th edition

Published by Pearson Canada (January 12, 2021) © 2022

  • Bruce Ravelli University of Victoria
  • Michelle Webber Brock University

eTextbook

C$67.99

  • Easy-to-use search and navigation
  • Add notes and highlights
  • Flashcards help streamline study sessions

Revel

C$84.99

  • Inspire engagement through active learning
  • Provide an immersive reading experience
  • Assess student progress with performance insights

For courses in Introductory Sociology.

Through its distinctive approach to the field, its readability, and its relevance to students’ lives, Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective helps professors develop the sociological imagination in their students by encouraging them to see sociology through multiple lenses. Topics are presented in ways that allow students to engage with the material and to exercise their sociological imaginations.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Why Should We Care? These boxes explore many of today's pressing social issues, such as honour killings, evolution and social Darwinism, Trans Day of Remembrance, Canada's record on Indigenous children, Syrian refugees in Canada, Black-focused schools, the anti-vaccination movement, discrimination in the criminal justice system, and more.
  • Issues in a Global Context. These boxes showcase and investigate issues around the world, for example, the Rwandan genocide, anti- and pro-natalist policies around the world, women's literacy, religion and politics in the Middle East, digital black markets, global media ownership, and fresh water as a commodity.
  • That Was Then, This Is Now. These boxes capture how society changes over time—what the Industrial Revolution can teach us about society today, the commercialization of academic research, soup kitchens in Canada, Viagra and masculinity, corporal punishment of children, credential inflation, being a Muslim in Canada, and Canadians' standard of living in historical perspective.

New and updated features of this title

  • Indigenous Council. We are fortunate to be able to continue to learn and grow from the advice and support of our Indigenous Council colleagues. At every stage of the revision process they were steadfast in their desire to use our textbook to promote understanding and compassion, and celebrate diverse Indigenous insights and perspectives. There were many times when their comments gave us pause, made us stop and reflect on our own positionality, and by doing so made our writing more informed and, hopefully, less colonial.  
  • For this edition, we created a series of new “From the Indigenous Council” boxes to highlight issues and topics that were particularly relevant and engaging to them. Topics explored in these boxes include the sexualization of Indigenous women, Indigenous views on traditional family structures, the use of terminology around race, dismantling colonial barriers within education, Indigenous access to health care, and the Idle No More social movement in Canada.
  • Our interest in highlighting the human–animal dynamic is inspired, in part, by the excellent work being done in the area of Critical Animal Studies, especially in Brock University's Department of Sociology, and we aim to recognize and celebrate the existing and emerging literature in this area of study.

Important Digital Assets in Revel

  • Students Looking Back Videos. New to this edition are a series of videos created by graduating sociology students, reflecting on concepts from Introduction to Sociology that resonated with them, and why. These videos confirm that the concepts we cover in first year do not end with the final exam but can inspire years of social exploration and personal reflection.
  • Why Sociology Matters Videos. Also new for the fifth edition are four videos by leading sociologists who speak directly to first-year students on their research and why sociology matters to them. These videos show students that sociology can transcend their classrooms and confirm a lifelong commitment to making the world a better place.
  • Reviewing the Concepts. Questions at the end of each chapter help students assess their understanding of the material and serve as good preparation for tests.
  • Applying Your Sociological Imagination. Found at the end of every chapter, these questions challenge students to flex their sociological imagination muscles through debate, discussion, and reflection.
  1. Understanding the Sociological Imagination
  2. Classical Social Theories
  3. Contemporary Social Theories
  4. Research, Methodology, and Ethics
  5. Culture
  6. Socialization and Social Interaction
  7. Social Inequality
  8. Gender
  9. Sexualities
  10. Race and Racialization
  11. Families
  12. Education
  13. Religion
  14. Crime, Law, and Regulation
  15. Health, Aging, and Disabilities
  16. Work and the Political Economy
  17. Mass Media
  18. Social Change, Collective Behaviour, and Social Movements
  19. Globalization
  20. Challenges to the Global Environment

BRUCE RAVELLI is an award-winning teacher who has loved teaching for over 30 years. Bruce has published textbooks and readers and written articles and chapters on Canadian culture, cross-national value differences, as well as students’ anonymous evaluation of teaching. Bruce also co-developed award-winning free online software that allows teachers to anonymously assess their teaching/courses at any point during the term (toofast.ca). He has held a number of administrative positions, including being

Chair of the university-wide Appointments, Promotions and Tenure Committee (Mount Royal University) and Director of the Office of Interdisciplinary Academic Programs (University of Victoria). Bruce is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria, where he teaches Introductory Sociology and a fourth-year seminar on Applied Sociology using a Community-Engaged Learning model.

MICHELLE WEBBER received her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Her research interests lie in the sociology of higher education, sociology of gender, and labour studies. She has regularly taught introductory sociology over the last 20 years. Michelle has published articles and book chapters on feminist pedagogies, the regulation of academic work, the work of teaching assistants, the experiences of contingent faculty members, and feminist knowledges. She co-edited Rethinking Society in the 21st Century: Critical Readings in Sociology (First, Second, Third, and Fourth Editions) with Kate Bezanson. Her current research project explores contingent faculty at Ontario universities. Michelle is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at Brock University in Ontario.

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