Reading the World

Reading the World: An Introduction to Sociological Critique and Analysis helps students see that the normal, familiar aspects of their everyday life frequently have unexpected and even startling dimensions. Students learn to uncover layers of meaning that are hard to spontaneously perceive in things, behaviors, and events in the world around them.

The book helps readers understand how and why the familiar can be deceptive. It shows that the sciences, sociology included, help us see things otherwise blurred by our own habits of thought, obscured by unexamined mental routines that limit what we can perceive, think, and imagine. The book thus helps students open a window into the world and into their own mental routines. It invites them to explore the life of the curious and of the free, the proper life for a citizen of a republic.

The text also helps students understand how individuals and societies develop a sense of curiosity about the way the world works, and a related readiness for the new, the unexpected, and the strange. It shows that this kind of reflective attitude has changed history, liberated us from our own unexamined perceptions, and bettered the human experience.

All chapters have been updated and expanded; a new discussion about the nature and role of new media has been added. Whereas the 2nd edition featured 13 chapters, the 3rd edition features 15.

Reading the World is designed for undergraduate courses in the social sciences, including sociology, social psychology, and social theory. It draws from sources in six languages other than English, which are mostly unavailable in English translation.