
Top 10 Sociology OSO Titles – Oxford University Press
Sociology draws from a plethora of empirical investigation and critical analysis, encompassing research on the study of society,
social interactions and relationships, and the culture of everyday life. Topics can range from social mobility, religion and race,
sexuality and gender, to social media, digital identity, and activism.
To celebrate the continuously expanding field of Sociology, we reflect on some of the most visited works and the most popular research topics by users of Oxford Scholarship Online.
Explore our collection and enjoy free access to chapters from the top 10 most visited titles.
(Most visited between April 2019 – January 2020)

The Culture of Connectivity
“Twitter and the Paradox of Following and Trending”
This book provides the first critical history of the rise of social media. This chapter traces the transformation of Twitter, from an autonomous utility service promoting user connectedness, into an information network exploiting user connectivity.

Identity Theory
“The Development of Identity Theory”
Written by two of the most important sociologists conducting research on identity, this definitive synthesis examines the origins of identity theory, the research that supports it, and its future direction. This chapter summarizes identity theory in its more general formulation.

Climate Change and Society
“The Climate Change Divide in Social Theory”
This book breaks new theoretical and empirical ground by presenting climate change as a thoroughly social phenomenon, embedded in our institutions and cultural practices. This chapter explores the divides that generate productive tensions and conversation, while keeping the dynamic biophysical realities of climate change in sight.

Who Owns the World’s Media?
“Media Concentration in the United States”
This book provides a dispassionate and data-driven analysis of global media ownership trends and their drivers. This chapter examines the American media landscape, exposing fears that American communications media are increasingly controlled by a shrinking number of firms, with global ramifications.

Someone To Talk To
“Confidants”
This book reveals the often counter-intuitive nature of social support, it explains the surprising fact that people often confide highly personal matters to people they are not close to. This chapter reviews the literature that probed people’s decisions about whom to turn to when they need a confidant.

Digital Feminist Activism
“Hashtag Feminism”
This book examines how girls, women, and some men negotiate rape culture through the use of digital platforms. This chapter focuses on use of the hashtag #BeenRapedNeverReported exploring how it developed in response to the public allegations of sexual violence made about then-popular Canadian CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi.

Refuge beyond Reach
“The Euro-Moat”
This book addresses how to manage flows of refugees and other types of migrants — and helps to identify the conditions under which individuals can access the protection of their universal rights. This chapter examines how European governments are intercepting asylum seekers and other migrants far from their shores.

Closing the Opportunity Gap
“Housing Segregation Produces Unequal Schools”
This book re-examines the way we think about inequality in education, arguing that policy and reform efforts must focus on the denial of learning opportunities if we hope to see achievement gaps close. This chapter focuses on racial issues, explaining the intertwined character and baneful consequences of segregation in housing and schools.

No Shortcuts
“Smithfield Foods”
This book argues that meaningful social change can only happen with organizing that puts ordinary people at the center of their own struggle. This chapter demonstrates how motivation and strategy may have more to do with failure and success across all sectors of workers than previously thought.

Random Families
“The Surprise of Donor Siblings”
This book asks: Do shared genes make you a family? What do couples do when they discover that their child shares half their DNA with a dozen or more other offspring from the same sperm donor? What do kids find in common with their donor siblings? This chapter describes how children respond to learning that they have donor siblings.