Welcome to John J. Macionis

What's New?

The print editions of these two titles are available now for student rental. The REVEL interactive editions are also available now. For students who purchase Revel and wish to have a print copy, a three-ring full-color print edition is available for a few dollars more. Very low cost e-Texts, which are not interactive, also available .

Our new introductory titles--Sociology 18e (25 chapters) and Society: The Basics (18 chapters) represent major revisions and state-of-society coverage to support you with best-in-class content.

What does "best-in-class" mean? Below, six major goals of these revisions are presented.

Inclusive: A thorough review of language, images, and content has produced a highly inclusive title that meets all best practices. Critical race theory is included in numerous chapters. Photographs and art have been reviewed and updated as necessary to represent our diverse society. The analysis of data is intersectional, making use of race, class, and gender throughout the chapters.
Current: Every one of more than 2,000 individual statistics in these titles is the latest available at the time of publication. All maps, figures, and tables have been updated with the most recent data available. Discussion is informed by the national reckoning on race that began in 2020 with the murder of George Floyd, changes to cultural values in the United States, how the pandemic has transformed U.S. society, the latest on access to legal abortion, trends in crime, the extent of economic inequality, the transgender movement, and the war in Ukraine.
Cutting-Edge Scholarship: On average, the revision of each chapter is supported by 40 new scholarly references—that's more than 1,000 new references (published between 2020 and 2022) in the revision, representing half of all scholarly references.
Discovery with Interactive Learning: Every chapter has one or more interactive "sociological geography" maps that encourage students to experience "discovery learning." Window on the World Global Maps show patterns at the national level for the world as a whole. Seeing Ourselves National Maps show patterns across the country at state or county level. Revel provides pairs of global and national maps--a central map and a companion map--that invite students to compare two maps to discover how one variable may be linked to another. For example, many global maps are presented with a companion map that shows the level of economic development for the world's nations. By comparing, say, the extent of gender inequality in one map with level of economic development in the other, students discover for themselves how these two variables are linked. A writing exercise is available for you to assign asking students to explain what they have learned from making this comparison. In the case of national maps, for example, a new map showing how states have responded to transgender athletes participating in sports is linked to a companion map showing how each state voted in the 2020 presidential election. Students comparing these maps experience an "Aha!" moment.
Political Literacy: We live in a time of intense political polarization in which everyday discussion of issues is framed in political terms. To encourage our students to be engaged citizens who are informed by sociological insight, our titles now provide political analysis of all macro-structural issues, and that this new analysis is found in most of the chapters. Complementing the existing analysis that applies sociological theory, this new political analysis shows how position on the political spectrum guides people's understanding of the issues discussed in the chapter. Students become able to directly link what they learn in class with the controversies and debates they encounter in their everyday lives and from the mass media and social media.
Accessible and engaging writing: Of course, this has been a goal of our titles since the beginning. At the same time, it is a goal that we revisit again and again so that every discussion is presented in language that ignites student interest by using current examples and illustrations that are meaningful to all categories of people.

What's New: Chapter by Chapter in Society: The Basics 16th edition and Sociology, 18th edition.

This is the Future...

…From a Long-time Classroom Teacher Who Continues to Learn

The focus of my work remains writing what I hope are the most engaging, up-to-date, and change-focused texts in the field of sociology. In an age of outsourcing and cost saving, I still do the work the old-fashioned way--by myself, and I do what it takes to get it right. All the content, all the supplements, all the test questions are done “in house” so you can have complete confidence in accuracy and quality. The Revel digital learning material, which is fully functional on any and all computers and mobile devices, is interactive, current, and written to change lives and change society.

Why digital? This is the future and it is already here. Most of today’s students have experienced digital learning for their entire lives. Because students expect information to be available through electronic devices, they are most likely to complete assignments that are available online. There are other advantages as well. Our digital titles are completely ADA compliant, presenting material in ways that meet the needs of all people including those with various disabilities. Readers can modify screen size, just as students can choose to listen to content available in audio files.

Digital learning is also the answer to the long-time problem of high book prices: Revel titles are sold for less than half of cost of print books (and students may choose to purchase a supplemental print version for a small additional cost). Yes, they can also opt to rent print books for a very low cost.

Most important, digital allows all students to learn through discovery. Rather than passively reading a book, students interact with a digital title that invites the experience of active discovery. Every semester, I increase the interactive content of our titles. This is the bright future of learning. Will you join me and our students on this journey?

If you have questions or comments, I invite you to write to me at macionis@kenyon.edu