Symbolic Interactionism is a major theoretical and research tradition within sociology. This book provides a student‐friendly introduction to that perspective, appropriate for courses on sociological social psychology (a.k.a. Self and Society, Microsociology, Social Interaction). It could also be used as a supplement in courses on Introduction to Sociology or on Social Theory. Symbolic interactionism is gaining attention in other disciplines across the globe. Colleagues from varied places and disciplines may also find that this volume provides a useful introduction to symbolic interactionism for their students. We hope our book not only extends the reach of the perspective but, moreover, sparks ideas about developing it beyond disciplinary and national borders.

We welcomed Wiley‐Blackwell’s invitation to write a social psychology text using the symbolic interactionist perspective with detailed excerpts from rich qualitative studies. We kept this approach in mind before and as we wrote this book. We asked ourselves: What would interest students in studying social psychology? How can teachers make concepts come alive for their students?

The Social Self and Everyday Life provides a means of teaching symbolic interactionist social psychology that starts where students are. Sociology students are interested in themselves and their situations, as well as in social issues. Our text involves students in familiar experiences and issues that they care about, and then shows how a symbolic interactionist perspective illuminates them. We begin each chapter with an intriguing and readable excerpt from a personal account or qualitative study. We then analyze these excerpts from an interactionist perspective, and forge connections to concepts and findings from classic and current research.

We thus offer a “gentle” introduction to symbolic interactionism. Our book focuses on those ideas we have found to be the most interesting and useful to our students. We occasionally sacrifice some breadth or depth to prioritize students’ understanding and connection with the material.

The Social Self and Everyday Life can be seen as a kind of hybrid – combining the best features of a conventional textbook (e.g. authoritative summaries, clear definitions of key terms) with that of a reader (e.g. enticing empirical excerpts and selective attention to popular ideas).

Instructors should note that Chapters 2–11 each conclude with at least one unanalyzed excerpt for students to analyze on their own (i.e. individually or in class discussions). These concluding excerpts could provide the basis for assignments and/or class discussions.

Respecting the Classics while Embracing Recent Research

Many significant works in symbolic interactionism – such as those by Howard Becker, Charles Cooley, Erving Goffman, Arlie Hochschild, George Herbert Mead, and many others – were written in the last century. Such work is valuable for instructors who want to expose students to important theoretical insights, methodological strategies, and empirical findings.

Sometimes, however, students challenge professors who assign or even discuss books and articles that were published in the last century. Understandably, students wonder if instructors have chosen the most “up to date” or “cutting edge” material to cover in class. When pressed with such questions, we raise one or more of the following points.

Students need to keep in mind that many factors shape an instructor’s decision to focus on a particular author, idea, or reading. While timeliness is one criterion to consider, it is not the only one. Instructors and textbook authors may consider several other factors. Is the research interesting enough to hold the attention of a large percentage of the students in the class? Is the research understandable? Will most of the students be able to comprehend an author’s theory, methods, and findings? Is the research representative of a general field of scholarship? Is the research influential and important? Are an author’s findings or concepts relevant across decades if not centuries or millennia?

Thus, it is almost certainly an error to focus on “new vs. old” as the sole or even primary standard for assessing an idea or a piece of research. Newer is not necessarily better. A relatively recent publication date is not a sufficient measure of quality or utility. In this textbook, as in our classrooms, we try to satisfy as many of the above criteria as possible (among other considerations), when selecting concepts and pieces of research to discuss. In short, we try to respect the classics while also embracing compelling new research.

Kathy thanks Julia Teweles, formerly with Wiley, for the conception of this book and invitation to write it, and Julia Kirk for her interest in the project and earlier help with it. Kathy also appreciates discussing the book with Jennifer Dunn and Kerry Ferris during the early phases of the work. We all thank Manish Luthra of Wiley for bringing the project to completion and handling the permissions.