Mapping The Social Landscape is one of the most established and widely-used readers for Introductory Sociology. The organization follows that of a typical introductory sociology course and provides coverage of key concepts including culture, socialization, deviance, social structure, social inequality, social institutions, and social change. Susan J. Ferguson selects, edits, and introduces 58 readings representing a plurality of voices and views within sociology. The selections include classic statements from great thinkers like C. Wright Mills, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, as well of the works of contemporary scholars who address current social issues. Throughout this collection, there are many opportunities to discuss individual, interactional, and structural levels of society; the roles of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality in shaping social life; and the intersection of statuses and identities.
Susan J. Ferguson is a professor of sociology at Grinnell College, where she regularly teaches a seminar on the family. Ferguson also teaches Introduction to Sociology, and her critically acclaimed anthology, Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology (SAGE Publications, Ninth Edition, 2021) is used in introductory sociology classes around the country. Ferguson also teaches a first-year seminar, courses on the sociology of health and illness and global health, and a seminar on intersectionality and identity. Ferguson has published research in the areas of medical sociology and on the family. Her co-edited book Breast Cancer: Society Shapes an Epidemic (Palgrave, 2000) is highly praised by medical practitioners and health activists alike. Ferguson also has an anthology on social inequality, Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Class: Dimensions of Inequality and Identity (SAGE Publications, Third Edition, 2020). In addition, Ferguson is the general editor of a series of research monographs on the family, Contemporary Family Perspectives (SAGE Publications). During fall 2016, Ferguson taught three courses on the inaugural Colorado State University Semester at Sea voyage, including the Sociology of Gender, Introduction to Sociology, and Global Studies. In 2018, Ferguson received the ASA Hans O. Mauksch Award for Contributions to Undergraduate Teaching, and in 2021, she received the ASA Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award. Ferguson currently is working on several national projects related to the sociology curriculum.
