Welcome to Sociology! We are excited to make the textbook for our Principles of Sociology class available to you for free. The web version and the PDF version don’t cost anything but a bit of eye fatigue from reading on your screens. If you want an old school hard copy (my preference all the way ;-), you can purchase one from the College Bookstore or Lulu.com.

This textbook is a massive long term collaboration between sociologists who want to lessen the cost of higher education for students like you. This book is originally written by a sociologist at the University of Maine, and the textbook publisher for his many other books doesn’t want his name associated with free work… frustrating but not surprising. The sociology faculty at Lansing Community College secured an editable version and worked to provide a more current version in 2018. Their data analysis from the 2016 General Social Survey and from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample is included in the text. Then in 2020 the sociology faculty at Delta College produced the online version of the book, updated the Census Data to the most recent 2018 American Community Survey and updated the 2017-2020 data from the World Values Survey. Additional editing for readability, a global to local focus, and modern context is underway. This text is a work in progress, and your questions and feedback make it more relevant and relatable.

Thank you for taking a Soc class, and we hope you enjoy the journey.

Signed, a Delta College Sociologist