Essentials of Sociology
Fourth Edition
Learning Objectives
1.1 Identify major social changes since the 1880s studied by sociologists.
1.2 Explain why sociologists today focus on globalization, consumption, and the digital world.
1.3 Describe how sociologists understand continuity and change, particularly in the context of the sociological imagination and the social construction of reality.
1.4 Differentiate between sociology’s two possible purposes, science and social reform.
1.5 Evaluate how sociology relates to other social sciences and how sociological knowledge differs from common sense.