"A glossary of key concepts was just the sort of thing I needed when I was a sociology student. Peter Braham has written a lively, comprehensive guide to the most important concepts in our discipline. It will become an essential student resource."
- David Silverman, Goldsmith's and King's College, University of London
"A triumphant tour de force... will be a useful, even essential tool for students and faculty. It is actually fascinating reading even for non-sociologists since these ideas impact all of us all the time."
- Anthony Synnott, Concordia University in Montreal
"A crisp and comprehensive guide to the discipline. The thirty-eight entries, covering history, substance and evaluation, thereby describe both conventional and new topics that define the syllabus of modern sociology. A valuable guide to both teachers and students."
- Bryan S. Turner, Presidential Professor of Sociology, CUNY USA
Sociology consists of a myriad of frequently confusing concepts. Key Concepts in Sociology provides a comprehensive, lively and clearly-written guide to the most important concepts in the subject. It includes both what might be regarded as 'classic' sociological concepts, such as 'class', 'bureaucracy' and 'community', as well as subjects that have become increasingly prominent in recent times, such as 'celebrity', 'risk' and 'the body'.

Each of the thirty-eight substantive entries:

• defines the concept


• provides a clear and compelling narrative


• clarifies the main debates, perspectives and disagreements


• gives advice on further reading
  

Key Concepts in Sociology should be the first choice for sociology students at all levels of learning.

Introduction - Peter Braham
Alienation
Anomie
Bureaucracy
Capitalism
Celebrity
Citizenship
Class
Community
Consumption
Culture
Development
Deviance
Discourse
Division of Labour
Economic Sociology
Equality
Everyday Life
Family
Feminism
Gender
Globalization
Identity
Ideology
Modernity and Postmodernity
Orientalism
Positivism
Public Sociology
Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Race
Rational Choice
Risk
Social Exclusion
Social Justice
Social Mobility
Social Movements
Social Stratification
Society
The Body

Peter Braham lectured in sociology at the Open University for many years. He made major contributions to a number of Open University courses: Patterns of Inequality; Ethnic Minorities and Community Relations; Mass Communication and Society; An Introduction to Sociology; ¿Race¿, Education and Society; Understanding Modern Societies; Implementing New Technologies; An Introduction to Information Technology; Culture, Media and Identities; Studying Family and Community History: 19th and 20th Centuries; and Sociology and Society.

He co-edited Discrimination and Disadvantage in Employment: the Experience of Black Workers [1981]; Media, Knowledge and Power [1986]; Racism and Antiracism [1992]; Political and Economic Forms of Modernity [1992]; Social Differences and Divisions [2002]; Dictionary of Race, Ethnicity and Culture [2003]. His main research interests have been in migration and settlement, child immigration and family reunification, and he has been the UK partner on several international research projects in these areas.