Sociology

An expansive and fascinating field, sociology explores how human society develops and functions. Titles in this collection range from cultural studies classics like Orientalism by Edward Said and Gender Trouble by Judith Butler to recent Pulitzer Prize winner Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.

Publication year 2001

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Race, Society: Class, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Social Justice, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism, Politics / Government, Disability, Education, Education, Sociology, Psychology, Psychology


Publication year 1879

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Business / Economics, Philosophy, Politics / Government, Poverty, Social Justice, Urban Development, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Class

Tags Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Gender / Feminism, Social Science, Parenting, Social Justice, Poverty, Sociology


Publication year 1966

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger

Tags Anthropology, Education, Education, Anthropology, Social Science, Sociology, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion / Spirituality

Originally published in 1966, Purity and Danger, by Mary Douglas, is a treatise on the concepts of purity and uncleanness in various societies and cultures. It is widely considered a classic in the field of cultural anthropology. Douglas (1921-2007), a British anthropologist with an interest in comparative religion, pursues the idea that dirt is abhorrent to us because it is “matter out of place.” She examines dietary rules, religious rituals, and social and sexual taboos... Read Purity and Danger Summary


Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Race, Society: Education

Tags Race / Racism, Education, Gender / Feminism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Sociology, Social Justice, Politics / Government


Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Education

Tags Psychology, Self Help, Sociology, Business / Economics, Leadership/Organization/Management


Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Relationships: Teams, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose

Tags Self Help, Business / Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Sociology, Education, Leadership/Organization/Management, Parenting

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking is a nonfiction book by Susan Cain, published in 2012. It is considered part of the psychology and self-help genres. The book made several bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and National Public Radio. It also was voted the best nonfiction book of 2012 by the Goodreads Choice Awards and has been translated... Read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Identity: Race

Tags Technology, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Philosophy, Education, Education, Science / Nature, Technology, Sociology, Politics / Government


Publication year 1986

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Sociology, Politics / Government, Social Justice, Education, Education, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy


Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Education, Identity: Race, Society: Community

Tags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Sociology, Politics / Government, History: U.S., Education, Education, History: World


Publication year 1999

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Race, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Sociology, History: World, Biography, Social Justice, Politics / Government

Published in 1999 by historian and professor Timothy B. Tyson, Radio Free Dixie is a work of biographical nonfiction about the life of civil rights leader Robert F. Williams. A controversial figure within the movement, Williams is best remembered for his advocation of armed self-defense in the struggle for Black liberation. In Radio Free Dixie, Tyson charts Williams’s rise to prominence against the sociopolitical and cultural influences that guided the evolution of the civil rights... Read Radio Free Dixie Summary


Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Sociology, Race / Racism, Journalism, Social Justice, Poverty, Biography

Random Family was published in 2003 and is the product of a decade of research and interviews by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc. It mainly focuses on two Puerto Rican teenagers, Coco Rodriguez and Jessica Martinez, who are fifteen and sixteen, respectively, when the narrative begins.Jessica is the daughter of Lourdes, and when we are first introduced to her, she is a sixteen-year-old girl who lives on Tremont Avenue, a particularly desolate area in the Bronx. Simultaneously... Read Random Family Summary


Publication year 2015

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Society: Education, Identity: Language

Tags Psychology, Technology, Relationships, Parenting, Science / Nature, Sociology, Psychology, Self Help, Arts / Culture

Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age (2015) is a non-fiction work by Sherry Turkle. A clinical psychologist and professor of Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT, Turkle specializes in human-technology interaction and has decades of experience writing on technology’s problematic effects on human connection. In Reclaiming Conversation, the book’s premise is in the title: Turkle believes that technology has detrimentally taken over human conversation and that we ought to... Read Reclaiming Conversation Summary


Publication year 2003

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory

Tags Sociology, Military / War, History: World, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts / Culture

Regarding the Pain of Others is a book-length essay by Susan Sontag published in 2003. Sontag initially addresses a question posed to writer and anti-war activist Virginia Woolf: “How in your opinion are we to prevent war?” but then, deducing that war is perennial, Sontag uses the remainder of her book to examine the relation between photography and feelings and ideas about war. She insists on discussing specific wars and specific photographers because each work... Read Regarding the Pain of Others Summary


Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Disability, Identity: Race, Society: Community

Tags Anthropology, Race / Racism, Sociology, History: U.S., Education, Education, Anthropology, Social Science, Politics / Government


Publication year 2017

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Economics, Society: Class, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Education, Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation

Tags Business / Economics, Politics / Government, Philosophy, Social Justice, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Finance / Money / Wealth, History: U.S., American Literature, Sociology, History: World, Philosophy

Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power by linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky evaluates the rise of income inequality in the US over the last 40 years. It argues that the main consequence of neoliberalism, which has increased since the 1970s, is a dramatic concentration of wealth and power to the elite—at the expense of the lower and middle classes. Chomsky observes how rapid financialization since the... Read Requiem for the American Dream Summary


Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Family, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Psychology, Gender / Feminism, Parenting, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, Sociology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Self Help

Reviving Ophelia was written in 1994 by Mary Pipher, a psychologist who works with women and teen girls, studying the ways cultural norms impact their mental health. The book comprises a collection of Pipher’s essays, which are based on the interviews and focus groups with adolescent girls she conducted with her daughter, Sara Pipher. She wrote the collection to bring awareness to the cultural trauma and dysfunction experienced by adolescent girls and to assist girls... Read Reviving Ophelia Summary


Publication year 2008

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Community, Society: Globalization, Society: Class

Tags Addiction / Substance Abuse, Journalism, Sociology, History: U.S., Information Age, Education, Education, Anthropology, Anthropology, Social Science, Arts / Culture, Health / Medicine


Publication year 2018

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Nation, Identity: Race

Tags Race / Racism, History: U.S., Sociology, History: World, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Biography

Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist (2018) is a biography of disavowed white nationalist Derek Black, authored by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow.Derek is a former white nationalist wunderkind. Derek is the son of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard and Stormfront online hate group creator, Don Black, and the godson of former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, white supremacist politician, and notorious public figure, David Duke. Derek’s parents remove... Read Rising Out of Hatred Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Class, Society: Community, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Teams

Tags Health / Medicine, Sociology, Poverty, Class, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Biography