One theme is that things are not always as they appear. It is arguably the most important function played by sociology. Sociology offers a perspective on social life that is quite different from that of most Americans. The first week of class, we will talk about what C. Wright Mills called the sociological imagination. Our second theme is that the meaning of all social situations is constructed by the people involved in those situations.
Human behavior is controlled only to a very minor extent by instincts.
Thus, people must create meanings through interacting with one another. People must perceive and interpret the world before they can respond to it. Our constructions of situations depend on our nationality, the language we speak, and our place in society in terms of categories such as class, religion, gender, and race. The book is available at all the local academic bookstores. This book is conceptually sophisticated and somewhat difficult to follow.