Culture and Everyday Life (The New Sociology)

I assigned this book as a text for an introductory undergraduate course in popular culture because it quickly develops a solid understanding of the notion of culture, class distinctions and foundational Western cultural values and then brings all this together in a discussion of hi vs. pop culture and the nature of (pop) culture in a global, mobile society. What is more, it does this all in a remarkably short span, while still introducing foundational sociological theorists and theories, and does this in an engaging way by connecting theories to issues of everyday life. The book also introduces issues of class in a way that students don't reject--not an easy trick nowadays. Chapters 3 and 4 are also excellent examples of deductive and inductive argument, and the author uses well described and well chosen examples throughout (perhaps with the exception of his discussion of a novel at the start of the first chapter).