Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- About the author -- The individual and society -- Taking a new look at a familiar world -- Seeing and thinking sociologically -- The construction of self and society -- Building reality: the social construction of knowledge -- Building order : culture and history -- Building identity : socialization -- Supporting identity : the presentation of self -- Building social relationships : intimacy and families -- Constructing difference : social deviance -- Social structure, institutions, and everyday life -- The structure of society : organizations, social institutions, and globalization -- The architecture of stratification : social class and inequality -- The architecture of inequality : race and ethnicity -- The architecture of inequality : sex and gender -- Demographic dynamics : population trends -- Architects of change : reconstructing society -- References -- Photo credits -- Glossary/index.