Welcome to the Introduction to the Sociology of Everyday Life. Through this textbook, we hope you will learn more about sociological perspectives and how you can use this knowledge to develop your sociological imagination. We challenge you to keep an open mind as you learn about sociological ways of thinking that often center on understanding difference, power, discrimination, and equity.

This textbook is designed to engage you in learning about the discipline of sociology. With the required reading and video content, chapters range from 60 minutes to 2 hours. Your reading time will vary depending on how fast you read and how much time you are able to devote to your academic work. Many examples connect to experiences we share in Oregon and the region; however, we also incorporate serious issues that readers will be able to relate to across the United States.

This text is designed to pair with Sociology 204 Introduction to Sociology in the state of Oregon. You will find assignments and discussion questions that help you understand these readings more deeply. There are two types of activity boxes in the text: “Activity” and “A Closer Look.” “Activity” boxes include media and discussion questions, while “A Closer Look” offers a deeper dive into topics related to the chapter content. We have included links to videos, blogs, papers, and other resources throughout the book. Please refer to your instructor for assistance in knowing which activities are required or recommended. Even if your instructor is not collecting the assignment, you may find the activities helpful as you work through the course and learn more.

One of the appeals of participating in the Open Oregon Educational Resources project was the ability to think of this textbook as a living document that has the potential to change. Our work only becomes better through your feedback. You may uncover small errors, as they do happen in a project of this magnitude. If you find an error related to accessibility, please let your instructor know so it can be fixed. Sometimes we cut topics and ideas that are more prominent in standard textbooks in favor of highlighting a lesser known influential scholar or offering diverse perspectives. We look forward to learning about what works well for you with this text, as well as what could be improved on. Areas we’d like to learn more about include:

• What do you want to learn more about?
• Are there additional definitions that could clarify existing content?
• Are there features that you have seen in other textbooks that we could add and that would help you learn better?

Thank you for taking this journey with us. We look forward to seeing how you apply your sociological imagination to the world around you.

We created this text because we are passionate about offering an accessible introductory sociology textbook that connects to real life experiences. By drawing on recent sociological research and current events, we hope it helps readers better understand their social worlds. We entered this project excited to highlight a diversity of perspectives and frameworks. We attempt to center voices of lesser known scholars who have still been influential in shaping sociology. The free and open license helps cut down on overpriced textbook costs, while allowing readers and instructors to customize and elaborate on the text in ways they see fit.

This book focuses on how race, class, and gender influence our experiences in a variety of social settings, while providing an introduction to the core concepts of sociology. In doing so, we make connections to current events and social issues in the Pacific Northwest, emphasizing how social facts are embedded in particular places and times. The book is sequenced to first cover some of the basics of sociology, our theories for understanding social life, and our methods for studying the social world. Those first three chapters serve as the basis for the chapters that follow, and would ideally be read first. The middle chapters move from small scale social patterns to larger patterns of meaning-making. The final chapters relate to inequalities, pointing to how inequalities exist at multiple levels, from interpersonal interactions to larger scale social patterns.

Best wishes,

Jennifer Puentes, Lead Co-Author

Licenses and Attributions for Message to Students

“Message to Students” by Jennifer Puentes and Matt Gougherty is licensed CC BY 4.0.