The sixth edition of Anthony Giddens' Sociology is the best yet. Revised and updated throughout, it provides an authoritative overview of recent global developments and new ideas in sociology. Classic debates are also given careful coverage, with even the most complex ideas explained in an engaging way.Written in a fluent, easy-to-follow style, the book manages to be intellectually rigorous but still very accessible. It aims to engage and excite readers, helping them to see the value of thinking sociologically.The sixth edition includes:substantive new material on education, media, social theory, inequalities, politics and government, and a whole new chapter on war and terrorismfurther revisions and updating in all the chaptersa strong focus on global sociology, and the sociological imaginationnew 'classic studies' boxes, which examine in detail influential empirical researchadditional 'thinking critically' sections woven through the text, to stimulate students' own insightsspecially chosen, eye-catching photographs, which capture the everyday drama of the social worldA best-selling textbook for more than 20 years, the sixth edition sets the standard for introductory sociology. It is the ideal teaching text for first-year University and college courses, and will help to inspire a new generation of sociologists
Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born 18 January 1938) is a British sociologist who is known for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern sociologists, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year. In 2007, Giddens was listed as the fifth most-referenced author of books in the humanities.
Three notable stages can be identified in his academic life. The first one involved outlining a new vision of what sociology is, presenting a theoretical and methodological understanding of that field, based on a critical reinterpretation of the classics. His major publications of that era include Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (1971) and The Class Structure of the Advanced Societies (1973). In the second stage Giddens developed the theory of structuration, an analysis of agency and structure, in which primacy is granted to neither. His works of that period, such as New Rules of Sociological Method (1976), Central Problems in Social Theory (1979) and The Constitution of Society (1984), brought him international fame on the sociological arena.
The most recent stage concerns modernity, globalisation and politics, especially the impact of modernity on social and personal life. This stage is reflected by his critique of postmodernity, and discussions of a new "utopian-realist" third way in politics, visible in the Consequences of Modernity (1990), Modernity and Self-Identity (1991), The Transformation of Intimacy (1992), Beyond Left and Right (1994) and The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998). Giddens' ambition is both to recast social theory and to re-examine our understanding of the development and trajectory of modernity.
Giddens served as Director of the London School of Economics 1997–2003, where he is now Emeritus Professor at the Department of Sociology.