How Societies Work

Class, Power and Change in a Canadian Context, 4th edition

Joanne Naiman

How Societies Work offers a unique introduction to the analysis of contemporary Canadian society, by focusing on both the roots of modern societies and the current political economy of Canada. Drawing on various sociological theories as well as anthropology, genetics, economics, history, philosophy, politics, and social psychology, this accessible and integrated work helps undergraduate students make sense of our complex social world. The author’s goal is to open students’ minds to the “sociological imagination,” allowing them to connect the social world to their own lived experiences. The fourth edition has been thoroughly revised. Several chapters have been reorganized, many new topics have been added, and both the language and content have been made even more student-friendly.

”In my opinion, it’s the best introduction to Sociology text I’ve seen, and I wouldn’t use any other.”

-Avis Mysyk, Cape Breton University

Contents

• Preface
• Introduction: Getting the Most from Your Textbook and Your Course
• Sociology and the Study of Society
• Is Human Behaviour the Result of our Biology?
• Culture, Society, and History • The Basis of Modern Society
• Analyzing Social Class
• Living in Capitalist Societies
• The Social Construction of Ideas and Knowledge
• The Role of the State
• Neoliberalism and Globalization
• Inequality of Wealth and Income
• Race and Ethnicity
• Gender Issues
• Looking Toward the Future
• Glossary
• References

About the Author

Joanne Naiman is Professor Emerita of Sociology at Ryerson University in Toronto. During her thirty-three years there she taught a variety of undergraduate courses — urban sociology, women’s studies, social change,and gender roles, in addition to introductory sociology. She is also the author of a number of academic articles, including “Dueling Identities and Faculty Unions: A Canadian Case Study”(with Mike Burke), in Cogs in the Classroom Factory: The Shifting Identities of Academic Labor, Deborah Herman and Julie Schmid, eds., Praeger Press (2003); and “Left Feminism and the Return to Class” Monthly Review, No. 48 (June 1996).

Throughout her career she was involved in a variety of activist organizations—from involvement in the anti-apartheid and peace movements to efforts to support and protect public education in Ontario. Since retiring from full-time teaching in 2004 she has moved to Vancouver where she continues to volunteer in numerous organizations that work to make the world a better place.

Excerpt

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