The third edition of Exploring Society has been extensively revised and brought up to date, with reference to recent events and new research. First and foremost, the text is an introduction to sociology for students at tertiary level, but equally it is an introductory text for New Zealand students. It introduces the major themes in contemporary sociology in a way that is relevant to the culture and issues of students in New Zealand.

Exploring Society is the first fully integrated New Zealand sociology text. It blends theory, research and issues through three themes: the social and the personal, the local and the global, and differences and divisions. These themes are used to analyse major areas of sociological interest, such as health, gender and ethnicity, and provide coherence and structure to the text.

• The historical development of sociology is outlined in three chapters, giving students essential background knowledge regarding the origins of contemporary sociological views.
• No previous knowledge of the discipline of sociology is required or assumed.
• Key words are highlighted and explained as they occur in the text.
• Each chapter contains an essay by a specialist in a particular field of sociology.
• Photographs and cartoons enliven the text and illustrate the local content.
• Three completely new chapters on religion, population dynamics and new technologies have been added.
• Additional tables and graphs have been included in the revised edition.
• The book is written specifically to meet the demands of the semester system.
• Sound pedagogy: each chapter follows the same format, beginning with chapter aims and an introduction and ending with a conclusion, study questions and a further reading section.

1. The sociological imagination: insights, themes and skills
2. The story of sociology I: understanding modernity
3. The story of sociology II: classical to contemporary
4. Sociological methods
5. Population dynamics
6. Gender, sexuality and identity
7. Family life
8. Work and economic life
9. Cyberworlds and new technologies
10. Stratification and class
11. The city and city life
12. Racism and ethnicity
13. Health, illness and medical power
14. Deviance and crime
15. Leisure and sport
16. Religion
17. The story of sociology III: new society, new sociological imagination

Gregor McLennan is Professor of Sociology at the University of Bristol, UK, having been Chair of Sociology at Massey University from 1991 to 1997. Gregor has published extensively in sociological theory and philosophy of social sciences, his latest work being Sociological Cultural Studies: Reflexivity and Positivity in the Human Sciences (Palgrave, 2006). His teaching includes introductory undergraduate lectures and postgraduate theory classes.

Ruth McManus teaches and researches on the sociology of death and dying, globalisation, poverty and social policy. She is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Paul Spoonley is Professor of Sociology and the Regional Director of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of Massey University at Albany. He has written or edited more than twenty books, including Recalling Aotearoa: Indigenous Politics and Ethnic Relations in New Zealand (1999) and Mata Toa: The Life and Times of Ranginui Walker (Penguin, 2009). His recent research has been on migrants and cultural diversity, the New Zealand labour market, and urban development in Auckland.