Sociology and Anthropology: Recommended Books

Sociology, as a discipline, was born at the height of global colonialism and imperialism. Over a century later, it is yet to shake off its commitment to colonial ways of thinking. This book explores why, and how, sociology needs to be decolonized. It analyses how sociology was integral in reproducing the colonial order, as dominant sociologists constructed theories either assuming or proving the supposed barbarity and backwardness of colonized people.

While providing a rock-solid foundation on all the basic topics and concepts in sociology, George Ritzer focuses on three of today's most compelling sociological phenomena: globalization, consumption, and the Internet. A fourth focus throughout the book is one of Ritzer's signature interests, the McDonaldization of Society (the process by which social organizations and institutions adopt the rational, efficient, means-to-an-end principles of a fast food restaurant).

In this timely book, Ori Schwarz explores the main challenges digitalization poses to different strands of sociological theory and offers paths to adapt them to new social realities. What would symbolic interactionism look like in a world where interaction no longer takes place within bounded situations and is constantly documented as durable digital objects?

Social Theory and Education Research is an advanced and accessible text that illustrates the diverse ways in which social theories can be applied to educational research methodologies. It provides in-depth overviews of the various theories by well-known and much-debated thinkers - Michel Foucault, Jürgen Habermas, Pierre Bourdieu and Jacques Derrida - and their applications in educational research.

The Time of Anthropology provides a series of compelling anthropological case studies that explore the different temporalities at play in the scientific discourses, governmental techniques and policy practices through which modern life is shaped. Together they constitute a novel analysis of contemporary chronopolitics.

In this volume Sandro Segre provides a comprehensive overview of the major theoretical perspectives in contemporary sociology. The perspectives are divided into four sections: Interpretative Sociology; Structuralist Sociology; Micro and Macrosociological Perspectives; and Historical and Philosophical Perspectives.