In recent decades, sociology of education has been dominated by quantitative analyses of race, class, and gender gaps in educational achievement. And while there's no question that such work is important, it leaves a lot of other fruitful areas of inquiry unstudied. This book takes that problem seriously, considering the way the field has developed since the 1960s and arguing powerfully for its renewal. The sociology of education, the contributors show, largely works with themes, concepts, and theories that were generated decades ago, even as both the actual world of education and the discipline of sociology have changed considerably. The moment has come, they argue, to break free of the past and begin asking new questions and developing new programs of empirical study. Both rallying cry and road map, Education in a New Society will galvanize the field.

Recruiting some of the best and most thoughtful scholars to address the status of the field and to review their work in the context of a reassessment of the field is a major achievement. Education in a New Society is ushering in a new understanding of education for the discipline of sociology, and is a must-read for all scholars and every graduate student interested in education. --Floyd M. Hammack, New York University
Education in a New Society is timely and thoughtful, full of interesting and intriguing arguments that made me think about our field in a new way. The ambition of this volume and the stature and insights of its contributors should generate a lively debate in the field about the core concerns of the sociology of education and what lines of theory and research could be most fruitful. --Maia Bloomfield Cucchiara, Temple University

Jal Mehta is associate professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Scott Davies is professor of sociology at the University of Toronto.