1-1   Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.

1-2   Explain why sociologists today focus on trends in globalization and consumption.

1-3   Describe what we mean by the McDonaldization of society.

1-4   Explain sociology’s approach to studying social life, including using the sociological imagination and examining the relationship between private troubles and public issues.

1-5   Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.

1-6   Evaluate the ways in which sociological knowledge differs from common sense.

Social changes in the last few centuries, including the Industrial Revolution, the growth of white-collar work, the increased par­ticipation of women in the labor force, and the arrival of the information age, have set the stage for sociology to come into its own. Sociology is the systematic examination of the ways in which people are affected by and affect the social structures and social processes associated with the groups, organizations, cultures, societies, and world in which they exist. This book deals with innumerable social issues, but it focuses especially on three powerful structural forces in the social world that have drawn the attention of contemporary sociologists: globalization, consump­tion, and digital technology.

As the world has become more globalized, individual societies have lost some of their significance, and larger, transnational organiza­tions have become more prominent. Global society has also become more fluid. People move more quickly and easily across borders, as do goods, messages, and music, among many other things.

Consumption is the process by which people obtain and uti­lize various goods and services. While it may seem like a posi­tive force, sociologists have also identified some of its negative aspects. Among these are overconsumption, excessive and rising debt, and the increasing likelihood of defining ourselves by what we own rather than by our actions or our social relationships.

Life in the digital world and its links to life in the real world have become major topics of study for sociologists. Technology also plays an important role in consumption, particularly with the shift from highly social shopping experiences, such as in a mall with other people, to the more isolated experience of shopping online.

The McDonaldization of society brings the rational principles of the fast-food industry into prominence in additional sectors of society and the world. These principles are efficiency, calculabil­ity, predictability, and control.

All these changes are easier to understand using C. Wright Mills’s “sociological imagination,” which calls on us to look at phenomena not just from a personal perspective but also from the outside, from a distinctively sociological perspective. It is also helpful to see the relationship between private troubles and larger public issues and to acknowledge that much of our reality is socially constructed.

Sociologists study many topics, sometimes to understand them through scientific research and sometimes to help generate change and reform. Many of the topics discussed in this book are familiar to you from your daily life. Try to take a more system­atic sociological approach to understanding them. Keep in mind that sociological phenomena are all around you, and keep your own sociological imagination honed and ready as you explore the social world.