Richard Jenkins 
Foundations of Sociology [PDF ebook] 
Towards a Better Understanding of the Human World

This book argues that the foundations of sociology – key concepts which are necessary to all sociology, from whatever perspective – have become taken-for-granted and require re-assessment. Focusing on society, culture, the individual, and collectivity, the author builds a powerful case for an overhaul of these basic concepts, offering a unified model of the subject matter of sociology as ‘the human world’ – understood as individual, interactional and institutional orders – which is part of the ‘natural world’. Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this is a powerful restatement of the value of sociological sense as a necessary critique of common sense, and its relevance to an audience far beyond academia.