The book conducts detailed discussion on sociology in the world of today. Starting from sociology in the contemporary social context, the authors seek to provide insights with which to understand and to interpret it better. The various problems addressed by the book form only some of the issues with which sociology deals today.
The social context in which sociology 'lives' grows increasingly complex: the Internet, it is argued, has changed the life of the world. The brief yet dense book seeks to determine the directions in which sociology is heading. The intent is to show that sociology is at a crossroads where it can either go ahead or come to a halt.
The book opts for 'going ahead'. Above all, it raises the question as to whether sociology is indispensable in a globalized society. In order to show how sociology reflects contemporary times, this being the feature that makes it indispensable for humankind, the discipline must once again become 'important'. Sociology will have a future if it is able to to grasp the times and opportunities 'of the moment', and if it is able to respond 'on the instant'. For this purpose it requires a new language.

Luigi Tomasi , University of Trento (Italy) Department of Sociology and Social Research. His main research interests are sociological theory and sociology of religion. He has been Visiting Scholar at the Committee on Social Thought of the University of Chicago (USA) and Visiting Professor at the University of Phnom Penh (Cambodia). In the past, he has worked with Edward A. Shils. His publications include The Influence of Religion on The Chicago School of Sociology (1993); The Contribution of Florian Znaniecki to Sociological Theory (1993); Robert E. Park and the "Melting Pot" Theory (1994); Teoria sociologica ed investigazione empirica. La tradizione della Scuola sociologica di Chicago e le prospettive della sociologia contemporanea (1995); La Scuola sociologica di Chicago. La teoria implicita (1997); Il rischio di essere giovani. Quali politiche giovanili nella società globalizzata (2000); New Horizons in Sociological Theory and Research. The Frontiers of Sociology at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century (2001). From Medieval Pilgrimage to Religious Tourism. The Social and Cultural Economics of Piety (2002); Descendentes de lombardos, trentinos e venetos: semelhancas e diferencas (2005).