社会学をはじめて学ぶ読者に最適な入門書です。社会的階級、犯罪、官僚などについての研究や、宗教団体や政党における変革の問題を取り上げ、社会における個人の役割と、個を形成するために社会が果たす役割との間に生じる問題点とは何かを探ります。改訂第2版は、同性婚の合法化や女性兵士の前線投入などを取り上げ、あらゆる社会的差別撤廃を求める現状や、それが何を社会にもたらすことになるかについて考察を深めます。
   

• Offers a comprehensive view of the issues which concern contemporary sociologists, including social class, crime and deviance, education, work, religion and politics
• Aims to outline the unique vision of the discipline of sociology
• Discusses the disciplinary background of many of the most famous theorists, showing that much social theory is actually philosophy or literary theory
• Explores the continuing arguments for social egalitarianism

 
Drawing on studies of social class, crime and deviance, education, work in bureaucracies and changes in religious and political organizations, this Very Short Introduction explores the tension between the individual's place in society and society's role in shaping the individual, and demonstrates the value of sociology for understanding the modern world. 

In this new edition Steve Bruce discusses the continuing arguments for social egalitarianism, considering issues such as gay marriage, women in combat roles, and the 2010 Equality Act to debunk contemporary arguments against parity. As gender divisions are increasingly questioned he looks ahead to the likely consequences of this for society. Delving into the theory of sociology, Bruce also argues that the habit of dividing sociology into apparently competing 'sects' is misleading, and shows how a new understanding of the disciplinary background of many of the most famous theorists, which shows that much social theory is actually philosophy or literary theory, will prove useful to today's sociologists.