While standard sociology textbooks often provide only brief overviews of the field of sociology, the anthology Society, Institutions, and Individuals: An Introduction to the Sociological Imagination allows professors and students alike to spend more time addressing institutional and systemic inequalities, most notably issues of race, class, and gender. The book also examines globalization and its sociological effects.

After an introduction to the nature of sociology, the sections of the book address the ways in which sociologists view the world, the ways culture impacts perspective, persistent social inequalities, and the sociology of development and globalization. The final section presents suggestions and solutions that can be used in dealing with systemic inequality. In this second edition, a new section on research methods highlights how sociologists produce knowledge.

The text exposes students to both classic sociological works, and the freshest contemporary research on topics ranging from media to education to the prison industrial complex through peer-reviewed research articles by notable scholars in the field.

Society, Institutions, and Individuals is an ideal supplemental reader for introductory sociology courses, as well as classes focusing on social problems and inequality. It can also be used as a stand-alone textbook.