Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology, Ninth Edition, emphasizes how society and social forces affect everything from globalization and international policies to day-to-day activities in our personal lives. In this edition, the authors go beyond the mere questioning of issues to take a closer look at the social world in which we live. They provide an integrated approach that uses sociological thinking to help students analyze and understand key concepts. To focus increased attention on sociological thinking and research methods, they have chosen four key themes: media and technology, globalization, cultural diversity, and trends for the future. Because sociology is about all of us and our daily lives, it is an eminently practical and useful discipline for understanding our social world.

This Ninth Edition Includes:
• specific student outcomes for each chapter as well as assessment items linked to those outcomes
• new chapter-opening vignettes that give real-life examples illustrating important terms, concepts, and theories included in that chapter
• updated data, statistics, maps, charts, boxes, and tables citing the latest research available
• examples of the powerful impact of media and technology on society, especially the role social media play in helping to shape and define our daily social lives
• new photos and cartoons accompanied by critical-thinking questions that reinforce and illustrate important sociological terms, concepts, and theories
 
About the Author
William E. Thompson is a professor of sociology at Texas A&M University–Commerce. He has authored and coauthored more than forty articles in professional journals, including several reprinted in sociology textbooks and readers.
Joseph V. Hickey received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University and his PhD in cultural anthropology from the University of New Mexico. A native New Yorker and Midwest transplant, Professor Hickey has won both writing and film awards. He has authored and coauthored two dozen articles and has written and produced numerous videotapes on such diverse subjects as popular culture, racial and ethnic communities, and cross-cultural studies. Joseph Hickey is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, where for more than two decades he taught introductory courses in sociology and cultural anthropology to undergraduates.
Mica L. Thompson, born in Kansas and raised in Texas, earned her bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and her master’s degree in sociology from Texas A&M University–Commerce. She has more than twelve years of public school teaching experience and teaches introduction to sociology at the university level. Her research interests include qualitative methods, feminist theory, education, and popular culture. In addition to having collaborated on articles published in professional journals, Mica has helped proofread and made significant contributions to previous editions of Society in Focus. In her spare time, Mica teaches arts and crafts as a volunteer at a center for HIV patients, and enjoys art, fitness classes, and spending time with her “best friend,” her nephew.