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Sociology: The Essentials, 11th Edition

Margaret L. Andersen, Howard F. Taylor

  • Copyright 2026
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2025-02-12T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $79.95 See pricing and ISBN options
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Sociology: The Essentials 11th Edition by Margaret L. Andersen/Howard F. Taylor
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Overview

Andersen/Taylor’s “Sociology: The Essentials” 11th Edition, introduces students to the field of sociology with a focus on critical thinking through the sociological perspective, debunking common assumptions about society, diversity in all aspects of society, sociological research and applying the sociological perspective to everyday life. The text's emphasis on debunking as a sociological skill encourages students to look behind the facade of everyday life, challenge common myths and develop a better understanding of how society is constructed and sustained. With the most thorough coverage of diversity found in any brief introductory text, the book analyzes many social factors as well as race, class and gender, and aims to broaden students' understanding and empathy toward groups other than those to which they belong. This text is also available with MindTap.

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Meet the Authors

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Margaret L. Andersen

Margaret L. Andersen (B.A., Georgia State University; M.A., Ph.D. University of Massachusetts, Amherst) is the Edward F. and Elizabeth Goodman Rosenberg Professor Emerita at the University of Delaware. Her books have had a far-reaching impact and include: GETTING SMART ABOUT RACE: AN AMERICAN CONVERSATION; RACE IN SOCIETY: THE ENDURING AMERICAN DILEMMA, 2E; THINKING ABOUT WOMEN, 11E; the best-selling anthology, RACE, CLASS AND GENDER, soon to be published in its eleventh edition; LIVING ART: THIS LIFE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART COLLECTOR PAUL R. JONES and ON LAND AND ON SEA: A CENTURY OF WOMEN IN THE ROSENFELD COLLECTION. Andersen is an emeritus member and former Chair of the National Advisory Board for Stanford University’s Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Past-Vice President of the American Sociological Association and Past President of the Eastern Sociological Society. She served in several administrative positions at the University of Delaware, including as Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity; Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and as founding director of the President’s Diversity Initiative. She has received numerous awards, including two teaching awards from the University of Delaware, the Eastern Sociological Society Merit Award for career contributions and the American Sociological Association’s Jessie Bernard Award, given for expanding the boundaries of sociology to include women. The University of Delaware granted her an honorary doctorate in recognition of her national prominence in scholarship, teaching and service.

Howard F. Taylor

Howard F. Taylor has taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, and Princeton University, where he is presently Professor of Sociology and former director of the African American Studies Center. He has published over fifty articles in sociology, education, social psychology, and race relations. His books include THE IQ GAME (Rutgers University Press), a critique of hereditarian accounts of intelligence; BALANCE IN SMALL GROUPS (Van Nostrand Reinhold), translated into Japanese; and the forthcoming RACE AND CLASS AND THE BELL CURVE IN AMERICA. He has appeared widely before college, radio, and TV audiences, including ABC's Nightline. Past president of the Eastern Sociological Society, Dr. Taylor is a member of the American Sociological Association and the Sociological Research Association, an honorary society for distinguished research. He is a winner of the DuBois-Johnson-Frazier Award, given by the American Sociological Association for distinguished research in race and ethnic relations, and the President's Award for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hiram College and has a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University.

What's New

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  • New research focuses on important topics in today's society like mothers in college, resistance to vaccinations, gender-conforming children, political polarization and more.
  • New examples discuss important cultural events and problems in the U.S., like the expanding development of AI, the rising influence of social media, voting behavior and more.
  • Language used to describe diverse peoples and groups in society has been carefully reviewed and updated, particularly language around gender identity and visual abilities.
  • Debunking Society’s Myths features show students how sociological perspectives can inform and challenge certain common assumptions and ways of seeing the world.

Features

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  • What Would a Sociologist Say? boxes showcase sociological thinking, taking topics like the globalization of popular music and discussing how sociologists analyze the issue.
  • Doing Sociological Research boxes show questions sociology researchers ask and the various qualitative and quantitative methods they use for investigating these questions.
  • Applying the Sociological Imagination feature writing prompts that ask students to apply a sociological concept to observable events in their own lives.
  • Understanding Diversity boxes include first-person accounts and other discussions of diversity and inequality, with an emphasis on issues of race, gender and class.

Table of Contents

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1. Sociological Perspective.
2. Culture.
3. Doing Sociological Research.
4. Socialization and the Life Course.
5. Social Structure and Social Interaction.
6. Groups and Organization.
7. Deviance and Crime.
8. Social Class and Social Stratification.
9. Global Stratification.
10. Race and Ethnicity.
11. Gender.
12. Sexuality.
13. Families and Religion.
14. Education and Health Care.
15. Economy and Politics.
16. Environment, Population and Social Change.

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MindTap Options

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MindTap
Each MindTap product offers the full, mobile-ready textbook combined with superior and proven learning tools at one affordable price. Students who purchase digital access can add a print option at any time when a print option is available for their course.

This Cengage solution can be seamlessly integrated into most Learning Management Systems (Blackboard, Brightspace by D2L, Canvas, Moodle, and more) but does require a different ISBN for access codes. Please work with your Cengage Learning Consultant to ensure the proper course set up and ordering information. For additional information, please visit the LMS Integration site.

Standalone Digital Access — Ultimate Value

Recommended and most popular

  • ISBN-10: 8214147530
  • ISBN-13: 9798214147536
  • RETAIL $84.95
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Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

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  • ISBN-10: 8214147603
  • ISBN-13: 9798214147604
  • RETAIL $79.95

  • ISBN-10: 8214147492
  • ISBN-13: 9798214147499
  • RETAIL $197.95
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Supplements

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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

FOR STUDENTS

MindTap for Andersen/Taylor's Sociology: The Essentials, 1 term Instant Access

ISBN: 9798214147536
MindTap for Andersen/Taylor’s “Sociology: The Essentials” 11th Edition, is the digital learning solution that powers students from memorization to mastery. MindTap gives you complete control of your course to provide engaging content, challenge every student and build students' confidence. MindTap organizes all of your students' course materials -- readings, multimedia, activities and assessments -- into a learning path that guides them through the introduction to sociology course. MindTap for Andersen/Taylor’s “Sociology: The Essentials” 11th Edition, includes activities that help students understand their implicit biases, develop a sociological imagination and master important chapter concepts. Determine what your students already know through the What Do Sociologists Know? activity. This activity has students explore common misconceptions that people bring to the study of sociology. Offer application practice with the Apply Your Knowledge activity. Nurture your students’ sociological imaginations with the What Would You Do? scenario exercises. Students can check their comprehension of core concepts and theories by using the auto-graded Check Your Understanding and End of Chapter Quiz activities. Students can also extend their learning and make connections to their own lives through curated video content in the Intro to Sociology YouTube channel found under Additional Resources. With MindTap, you can customize the eBook and assignments, emphasize the most important topics and add your own material, notes and bookmarks. In MindTap, you have the flexibility to reorder textbook chapters, add your own notes and bookmarks and embed a variety of content, thus personalizing course content to meet your students’ needs. In addition, the Progress App in MindTap is a built-in gradebook that helps you track students’ progress and engagement as well as pinpoint areas where students may need more support.