The Sociologist's Eye ─ Reflections on Social Life

In this fascinating introductory text, a renowned sociologist advances the concept of sociology as an enlightening method of viewing the world rather than a cold science of numbers, grafts, and equations. Kai Erikson suggests that a particular focus and imagination sets the sociologist apart from poets, historians, economists, and other observers of humans and their environments. Erikson’s lively and accessible volume discusses the sociologist’s unique perspective, how sociology became a field of study, and how it has adapted over the years to address new areas of study such as stratification and dehumanization. Eschewing the normal textbook approach that reviews theories and data extraction methods, this widely respected author’s introduction to his field provides the reader with new ways of thinking about human societies and social life, and offers an exhilarating sense of seeing what the world looks like when viewed with a sociological eye.

Kai Erikson is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of Sociology and American Studies, Yale University. He is former President of the American Sociological Association, and has twice won the ASA award for writing the best book published in the year past.