This revised and updated edition of the highly successful sociology textbook, Contemporary Sociology, continues to throw light on key issues and concerns of present-day society. M. Francis Abraham's vast experience and extensive research cuts across conventional themes and geographical boundaries to include:

Theoretical perspectives and research methods
Key concepts and theories
Relevant issues in education, economy, politics, population, stratification, minorities, urbanization, and environment
Social institutions, organizations, and recent trends of change
Examples drawn from numerous cultural contexts

This second edition introduces the following new concepts in a comparative perspective:
Theoretical perspectives in a global age
Crystallization of social interaction

Race, gender, and stratification
New social movements
Gender and deviance
Women's movements and caste-oriented movement

The crucial topics of modern-day sociology such as gender, race, lifestyle changes, ecological issues, and domestic violence are explained separately, distinguishing the book from general sociology textbooks.