In this feature essay, Phil Sutton takes readers inside the writing of the ninth edition of Polity’s flagship sociology textbook, Sociology, co-authored with Anthony Giddens. He discusses the evolution of the textbook to reflect the way sociology is practised and taught in 2021, the selection of new subjects and research methods to cover in the book and the process of revising and reviewing the content. Sociology (9th edition). Anthony Giddens and Philip W. Sutton. Polity. 2021

Sutton, Phil

English

LSE Research Online

Inside	Number	9:	The	Evolution	of	a	SociologyTextbookIn	this	feature	essay,	Phil	Sutton	takes	readers	inside	the	writing	of	the	ninth	edition	of	Polity’s	flagship	sociologytextbook,	Sociology,	co-authored	with	Anthony	Giddens.	He	discusses	the	evolution	of	the	textbook	to	reflect	theway	sociology	is	practised	and	taught	in	2021,	the	selection	of	new	subjects	and	research	methods	to	cover	in	thebook	and	the	process	of	revising	and	reviewing	the	content.	Sociology	(9th	edition).	Anthony	Giddens	and	Philip	W.	Sutton.	Polity.	2021.	When	the	first	edition	of	Polity’s	flagship	sociology	textbook,	snappily	titledSociology,	was	published	in	1989,	I	was	an	undergraduate	student	and	I	bought	it.Honestly,	I	really	did.	At	that	time	the	book	was	very	much	Tony	Giddens’sindividual	take	on	what	sociology	was,	is	and	could/should	be.	And	very	good	itwas.	I	used	it	a	lot.	The	textbook	is	in	its	ninth	incarnation	this	year	and	there	havebeen	many	changes	over	the	intervening	editions.	But	perhaps	the	most	notableshift	has	been	in	the	overall	character	of	the	book.	It	has	become	much	less	onesociologist’s	assessment	of	the	discipline	and	much	more	an	overview	ofsociology	for	undergraduate	students	and	an	interactive	teaching	resource	forinstructors.	My	first	involvement	in	producing	this	book	came	with	the	sixth	edition(2009)	and	it	has	been	joint-authored	ever	since.Clearly	sociology	as	it	is	practised	and	taught	in	2021	is	very	different	from	1989,or	even	2001	for	that	matter,	and	a	book	like	this	has	to	reflect	that.	The	ninthedition	of	Sociology	has	much	more	on	contemporary	subjects	such	as	digitaltechnology	and	surveillance,	postcolonial	theory	and	research,	gender	and	genderfluidity,	sexualities,	intersectional	inequalities,	global	warming	and	environmentalissues,	race	and	ethnicity,	disability	theory	and	politics,	social	movements,	epidemics	and	pandemics,	war	andgenocide	as	well	as	globalisation.	These	subjects	didn’t	just	‘appear’	this	time	round,	but	have	been	introduced	overseveral	editions	as	they	have	made	their	way	into	undergraduate	teaching	programmes.	The	same	can	be	said	ofemerging	research	methods	and	methodologies	such	as	visual	sociology,	digital	sociology,	biographical	methodsand	the	use	of	social	media.	As	the	book	is	a	guide	to	the	many	specialist	fields	of	sociology,	it	is	important	that	wefollow	what	is	happening	‘on	the	ground’,	as	it	were,	if	the	book	is	to	remain	useful	for	teachers.	We	even	havematerial	on	the	COVID-19	pandemic	and	the	sociological	issues	that	are	emerging	from	it.LSE Review of Books: Inside Number 9: The Evolution of a Sociology Textbook Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-04-20Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/04/20/inside-number-9-the-evolution-of-a-sociology-textbook/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/However,	between	authors	and	editor,	we	also	discuss	what	we	think	the	book	may	be	lacking	and	how	this	can	berectified.	Over	the	years,	we	have	added	new	subjects	that	we	became	convinced	students	needed	to	get	to	gripswith.	For	example,	in	the	sixth	edition,	we	added	new	chapters	on	‘nations,	war	and	terrorism’	and	‘the	life	course’,devoted	an	entire	chapter	to	‘the	environment’	for	the	first	time	and	we	included	a	significant	section	on	socialmovements.	In	the	eighth	edition,	after	feedback	from	teachers,	we	added	a	major	section	on	the	philosophy	of	thesocial	sciences.Other	subjects	become	outmoded	or	just	slide	off	teaching	agendas,	so	we	have	to	deal	with	them	accordingly.	Thestudy	of	organisations	and	institutions,	for	instance,	has	become	less	central	and	a	whole	chapter	can	no	longer	bejustified,	though	the	most	significant	aspects	of	this	field	–	such	as	social	networks	–	are	still	scattered	across	thebook.As	should	already	be	clear,	the	content	of	this	book	–	what	actually	makes	it	into	any	new	edition	–	is	the	outcomeof	a	research	and	decision-making	process	that	involves	many	people.	It	would	be	more	efficient,	less	contentiousand	much	quicker	if	all	the	decisions	were	simply	left	to	me,	but	strangely,	no	one	seems	keen	on	that	idea	(exceptme).	Outlining	some	of	the	stages	involved	in	designing	and	writing	each	new	edition	may	shed	some	light	on	howthe	content	comes	together	and	why	this	book	takes	so	long	to	get	into	print.A	cursory	look	back	over	previous	editions	will	show	that	the	book	is	revised	and	updated	on	a	(roughly)	four-yearcycle	that	allows	it	to	keep	abreast	of	the	latest	cultural,	political,	social	and	economic	developments.	The	ninthedition,	for	example,	now	covers	the	rise	of	national	populist	movements	and	political	parties,	Black	Lives	Matteractivism	and	postcolonial	ideas	and	it	also	includes	recent	(and	often	hostile)	discussions	between	transgendertheorists	and	activists	and	some	feminists.LSE Review of Books: Inside Number 9: The Evolution of a Sociology Textbook Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-04-20Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/04/20/inside-number-9-the-evolution-of-a-sociology-textbook/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Four	years	might	seem	like	a	long	time	to	work	on	the	next	version,	but	over	that	period	there	is	a	lot	to	do.	Whenthe	latest	book	has	been	available	for	around	one	year,	our	editor	and	the	Polity	team	take	soundings	on	theedition,	especially	from	instructors	who	use	it	in	their	teaching.	Most	of	these	sociologists	work	in	UK	universities,with	a	smaller	number	from	other	countries	in	which	translations	of	the	book	are	available.	This	survey	is	reallyimportant	as	it	helps	us	to	understand	how	the	book	is	actually	used	and	for	what	purposes.	For	instance,	we’realways	interested	in	whether	the	block	of	chapters	on	the	history	of	sociology,	theoretical	perspectives	and	researchmethods	are	used	together,	and	which	other	chapters	are	most	useful	for	first-year	undergraduate	teaching.	It’salso	helpful	to	know	if	the	interactive	features	of	the	book,	such	as	the	end-of-chapter	review	materials,	are	doingtheir	job.	All	feedback	from	this	survey	is	collated	and	it	usually	falls	on	me	to	suggest	what	we	might	take	from	it.This	is	then	shared,	discussed,	amended	and	a	general	agreement	is	reached	between	authors	and	publisher.	Areport	on	what	the	next	edition	will	look	like	is	prepared	for	the	Polity	Board	and	a	detailed	timeline	for	the	work	iscarefully	drafted	ahead	of	contract	signing,	before	the	research	begins	in	earnest.As	soon	as	each	draft	chapter	is	produced,	and	while	we	work	on	the	next	one,	it	is	sent	to	two	experts	in	that	fieldfor	assessment.	Usually	at	least	one	of	the	reviewers	works	at	the	‘cutting	edge’	of	their	field	and	often	they	tell	usthat	we	need	to	include	things	we	haven’t	even	considered.	This	can	be	tricky.	Do	first-year	undergraduates	reallyneed	to	be	exposed	to	the	very	latest,	often	highly	complex,	research	and	its	findings?	The	second	reviewer	isusually	someone	involved	in	undergraduate	teaching	who	can	help	us	to	answer	that	question	with	moreconfidence.	Taking	the	two	reviews	together	is	incredibly	helpful	and	the	reviewers	make	recommendations	andsuggestions	for	improvement	that	are,	in	the	vast	majority	of	cases,	constructive	and	supportive.	Usually.	Onoccasion,	one	reviewer	will	tell	us	the	chapter	is	virtually	worthless,	while	the	other	loves	it	beyond	words.Then	we	go	to	a	third	review	–	a	sort	of	sociological	VAR	–	for	adjudication	before	we	start	hitting	the	delete	button.This	process	is	continuous	and	goes	on,	and	on,	for	22	chapters.	Can	you	imagine	just	how	bruised	andincreasingly	fragile	our	social	selves	have	become	by	the	end?	And	that’s	before	the	cold	reader,	proof-reader	andcopy	editor	start	to	pick	apart	our	spelling,	grammar	and	sentence	construction.	Yet	all	of	that	is	quickly	forgottenonce	I	get	the	first	hardcopy	in	hand	and	see	what	a	great	job	the	graphic	designers	and	production	team	havemade	of	the	plain	text	and	statistical	data.	Then	comes	the	sad	part	where	I	get	time	off	for	good	behaviour	beforestarting	on	the	two	companion	volumes:	Essential	Concepts	and	Introductory	Readings.	Can’t	wait.Note:	This	feature	essay	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	ofthe	London	School	of	Economics.	Photo	by	mauro	mora	on	Unsplash.	LSE Review of Books: Inside Number 9: The Evolution of a Sociology Textbook Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-04-20Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2021/04/20/inside-number-9-the-evolution-of-a-sociology-textbook/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

Inside number 9: the evolution of a sociology textbook

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Inside number 9: the evolution of a sociology textbook

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