Steven E. Barkan is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Maine. Over his career, his teaching and research interests have included criminology, the sociology of law, and social movements. In addition to his many publications in these areas, Professor Barkan is past president of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), served as chair of the SSSP's Law and Society Division and on the council of the American Sociological Association's Sociology of Law Section, and is past president of the Textbook and Academic Authors Association. Most recently, he published the eighth edition of Criminology: A Sociological Understanding (Pearson 2023), the updated second edition of Health, Illness, and Society: An Introduction to Medical Sociology (Rowman & Littlefield 2023), and the third edition of Sociology: Understanding and Changing the World (FlatWorld 2021).

Preface Chapter 1. The Social Nature and Significance of Law Chapter 2. Defining Law Chapter 3. Understanding Law and Society: Early Approaches and Contemporary Perspectives Chapter 4. Families of Law Chapter 5. Types of Law Chapter 6. Law and Dispute Processing Chapter 7. Dispute Processing in the United States Chapter 8. Law and Social Control Chapter 9. Law and Social Change Chapter 10. Law and Inequality Chapter 11. The Legal Profession Chapter 12. Courts and Juries Glossary Index