About the book & authors

Book coverSociology gives us the tools we need to understand our life and the lives of the people around us. It reveals that our commonsense view of the world isn't always right, and enables us to find out what actually shapes our experiences.

In this widely used and very readable introductory text, Judith Bessant and Rob Watts show us how to develop a sociological perspective on what is happening in Australia today. Rapid and far-reaching social changes are taking place which affect us all: globalisation is impacting on our economy and culture; technological developments increase the pace of life; and many people worry about the decline of traditional values and about environmental and personal security. Using a sociological perspective we can explain why different groups of people experience these changes as exciting, unsettling or devastating.

Buy this book from the Allen & Unwin website.

Sociology Australia is structured around six key questions:

Sociology Australia is an ideal introduction to the discipline of sociology and to the dynamics of Australian society today. This third edition of Sociology Australia has been substantially revised and updated, and includes new chapters on religion, education and sustainability.

ISBN: 9781741750164
RRP: $55.00
Format: Paperback 230x176mm
Extent: 552 pp
Publication date: January 2007

Table of contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART ONE: WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

1. Sociology in an age of insecurity
2. Reading sociology
3. Making sense of sociology
4. Doing sociology
5. Ethics and sociology

PART TWO: IDENTITY: Being yourself, being Australian

6. Ourselves: Myself, yourself
7. Ourselves in families
8. Being young: Age and identity
9. Sex in Australia
10. Religion in Australia
11. Identity, multiculturalism and imagined community

PART THREE: GLOBALISATION: Australia and social change

12. Australians at work
13. Confronting class and inequality
14. Inequality in Australia
15. Education in a period of crisis
16. Health and illness in an unequal society
17. Crime, deviance and power
18. Knowing the world: The Australian media
19. Sustainability
20. Conclusion: Australia and globalisation

Glossary
References
Index

The authors

Judith Bessant is Professor of Youth Studies and Sociology at RMIT University, Melbourne.

Rob Watts is Professor of Social Policy at RMIT University.

Publications

They have written books on a range of sociological topics including social policy, welfare, the role of the state, work, criminology and youth issues. These include:

Bessant , J., Dalton, T., Smyth, P., Watts, R., 2006, Talking Policy: Making Social Policy in Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Bessant , J., Hil, R., Watts, R., (eds), 2005, Violation of Trust: How Schools and Welfare Systems have Failed our Young People, Ashgate Publishers, London

Bessant , J., Hil, R., Watts, R., 2003, Discovering Risk: Social Research and Policy Making, Peter Lang, New York

Bessant , J., Sercombe, H., & Watts, R., 1998, Youth Studies: An Australian Perspective, Addison Wesley Longman, Melbourne

Benjamin, J., Bessant , J., & Watts, R., 1997, Making Groups Work: Rethinking Practice, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

Cook, S., & Bessant , J., (eds), 1997, Women’s Encounters with Violence: Australian Experiences, Sage Publishers, USA

Bessant , J., & Hil, R., (eds), 1997, Youth Crime & the Media: Media representations of & reactions to young people in relation to law & order, Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, Hobart,

Bessant , J., Carrington, K. & Cook, S., (eds), 1995, Cultures of Crime & Violence: the Australian Experience, LaTrobe University Press in association with the Victoria Law Foundation, Melbourne, April, pp. 221.

Beilharz, P., Considine, M. & Watts, R., 1992, Arguing About the Welfare State, Allen & Unwin, Sydney

For a complete list of the author’s publications, including articles in refereed journals, go to RMIT University at http://www.rmit.edu.au/