Sociology, simply, is the study of how society functions or, in some cases, does not function. Sociologists can investigate the function of inequality, the importance of gender roles, the reasons why people commit suicide or move to the countryside, the origins of bureaucracy, the impact of youth cultures and much else besides. INTRODUCING SOCIOLOGY traces the origins of sociology from Enlightenment thought and the pioneering work of Auguste Comte to subsequent developments by Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. The book explores the rapid expansion of sociology in 20th-century America and Britain, the post-Second World War dominance of Talcott Parsons, the Chicago School and the rise of structuralism. This is an essential read for anyone keen to understand what makes society tick.