Sociology

An expansive and fascinating field, sociology explores how human society develops and functions. Titles in this collection range from cultural studies classics like Orientalism by Edward Said and Gender Trouble by Judith Butler to recent Pulitzer Prize winner Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond.

Publication year 2015

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Race

Tags Journalism, Black Lives Matter, Race & Racism, Education, Education, US History, Sociology, World History, Social Justice, Politics & Government

Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County is a 2015 nonfiction book by Kristen Green about the closing of public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia from 1959 to 1964, following the 1954 United States Supreme Court ruling that school segregation is unconstitutional. During the five years the public schools were closed, black students in Prince Edward County largely went uneducated while a new private school for whites, Prince Edward Academy, opened. The book... Read Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County Summary

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Education, Fate, Coming of Age, Literature, The Past, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Perseverance

Tags Philosophy, Scandinavian Literature, Magical Realism, Science & Nature, Sociology, Religion & Spirituality, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Sophie's World is a young adult book by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder. The book follows main character Sophie, a young girl who is fourteen years old and living with her parents in Norway. Sophie's life changes dramatically when she receives a series of strange postcards, which ask her large, existential questions about the world around her. Each day, Sophie receives a postcard, and in the evenings she receives a package from a man named Alberto... Read Sophie's World Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Justice

Tags Race & Racism, Black Lives Matter, Gender & Feminism, Sociology, Social Justice, Politics & Government

So You Want to Talk About Race is a 2018 non-fiction book written by Ijeoma Oluo, an American author of Nigerian descent whose columns and news articles on race have appeared in The Guardian, The Stranger, and Jezebel, among other places. This guide refers to the first edition published in 2018 by Seal Press. The title gestures to the discourse that is necessary to combat racial oppression in the United States. The book made Bustle’s... Read So You Want to Talk About Race Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Music

Tags African American Literature, US History, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Black Lives Matter, Race & Racism, Sociology, World History, Social Justice, Politics & Government

Ibrahim Kendi’s comprehensive history of racial thought in the US, Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, was published in 2016 and won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. Kendi has also collaborated author Jason Reynolds (Long Way Down, Ain't Burned All the Bright) on a young adult "remix" of Stamped from the Beginning titled Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, and is well known for his 2019 book, How to... Read Stamped From the Beginning Summary

Publication year 1989

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Language, Race, Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice

Tags US History, Asian History, Race & Racism, Immigration & Refugeeism, Education, Education, Asian Literature, Sociology, World History, Chinese Literature

Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans is a 1989 book by American historian Ronald Takaki. Takaki analyzes the long and diverse history of Asians in America, explaining the personal and economic circumstances that prompted their immigration, and recounting their myriad experiences in their new country. Takaki argues that, traditionally, historians’ Eurocentric histories have neglected to analyze and explain Asian Americans’ role in American history. This has led to a distorted perception... Read Strangers from a Different Shore Summary

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Death, Climate, Environment, Place, Social Class, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality

Tags Sociology, Politics & Government, US History, American Literature, Social Science, Business & Economics, World History, Social Justice

Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right (2016) is an in-depth exploration of the rise of the Tea Party movement in Louisiana by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild. In an effort to understand the Tea Party and bolster her empathy for political opinions oppositional to her own, Hochschild spent five years getting to know residents and conducting interviews in and around Lake Charles, Louisiana. Hochschild argues that by understanding one another’s... Read Strangers in Their Own Land Summary

Publication year 2017

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Social Class, Immigration, Economics

Tags World History, Social Justice, Poverty, Politics & Government, US History, Social Class, Sociology, Race & Racism

Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation is a 2017 non-fiction collection of 36 essays, poems, and short stories edited by former Granta editor John Freeman and including contributions by Rebecca Solnit, Sandra Cisneros, Edwidge Danticat, Julia Alvarez, Joyce Carol Oates, Ann Patchett, Annie Dillard, Roxane Gay, and more. The text crosses disciplinary boundaries, covering sociology, history, racial and ethnic studies, and gender studies.The personal essays, stories, and poetry in Tales... Read Tales of Two Americas Summary

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Language

Tags Sociology, Science & Nature, Business & Economics, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement

In Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know (2019), journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell investigates why we face so many problems when interacting with strangers. He was inspired to search for the underlying causes of our miscommunications following the death of Sandra Bland, a black woman who was pulled over by a white police officer for a minor traffic infraction in 2015. Bland should have been let go with... Read Talking to Strangers Summary

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Education

Tags Education, Race & Racism, Education, Gender & Feminism, Sociology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Social Justice, Politics & Government

Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom is a collection of 14 essays and interviews examining how to transform the multicultural classroom into an inclusive space dedicated to the practice of freedom for all students. “bell hooks” is Gloria Jean Watkins’s pen name, which she chooses not to capitalize so that her work is emphasized more so than her name. She is an acclaimed feminist scholar, cultural critic, writer, and educator. She’s the... Read Teaching to Transgress Summary

Publication year 1992

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology

Tags Technology, Sociology, Education, Education, Science & Nature, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government

Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology is a 1992 nonfiction book by Neil Postman, a professor of education and communication. The book examines the influence of technology in society, particularly its rapid spread, far-reaching effects, and unquestioned acceptance. The last point is significant: Postman is not unequivocally opposed to technology but worries that it is not sufficiently scrutinized.The author begins with an overview of technology and how it works culturally. He reviews the history... Read Technopoly Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Community, Race, Justice, Economics, Power & Greed, Politics & Government

Tags World History, Politics & Government, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Science & Nature, Urban Development, Sociology