Sociology and Social Issues

John E. Farley



After 30 years as a college professor teaching sociology - 29 of them at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - I retired in May, 2006. However, I continue to write and lecture about sociology, and I have three books currently in print.


Books in Print

Sociology, 7th edition. Paradigm Publishers, 2018. We are pleased to announce that, as of October, 2017, the seventh edition of this introductory sociology textbook, co-authored with Professor Michael Flota of Daytona State, is now available! More info on this book here.

Majority Minority Relations, 6th edition. Prentice Hall, 2010/2012. The 6th edition, updated for the 2010 Census in 2012, remains available - this book is suitable for courses in race and ethnic relations and similar topics. For more information contact your Prentice Hall representative or visit the Prentice Hall Web site.

Earthquake Fears, Predictions, and Preparations in Mid-America. (Hardcover and Paperback Editions). Southern Illinois University Press, 1998.

All of these books are available through the major online booksellers. This includes both the sixth edition of Majority-Minority Relations and the seventh edition of Sociology.


You may view my vita, which lists all of my academic publications, here. This vita was updated on April 12, 2020.


Lecture/Speaking Information


I am also available as a speaker. I have delivered keynote or other major addresses to the following groups:

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Fair Housing Summit.

European Forum for Migration Studies, TransAtlantic Discourse on Migration, Berlin, Nuremberg, and Munich, Germany (I spoke to this group in Germany on 3 different occasions, including one keynote address.).

Midwest Sociological Society (Presidential Address).

Black Hills State University, Spearfish, SD, Symposium on American Democracy in the 1960s and 1970s.

St. Louis Community College, Meramec, Diversity Speakers Series and Sociology Club Speaker Series.

Illinois Sociological Association (Keynote Address).

Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council.

Greenville College, Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Sociology and Criminal Justice Week (Keynote Address).


Some of the topics on which I am available to lecture include the following:

Sociology to the People: Public, Applied, and Activist Sociology

The Impact of the Social Movements of the 1960s and 70s on Race Relations in America Today: What Has Changed and What Has Not?

Some Thoughts on the Past, Present, and Future of Sociology

How Much of What You Think You Know about Immigration is True?

School Integration and Its Consequences for Social Integration and Educational Opportunity

Racism and Discrimination: A Sociological Perspective

Racial Segregation in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area: Past, Present, and Future

Racial Housing Segregation and Concentration in the Central Cities

Institutionalized Racial and Economic Inequality, Poverty, Hurricane Katrina, and George Bush


To find out about my availability as a speaker for your event, please email me.


November 12, 2015 - I have written down some thoughts on the recent events at the University of Missouri. You can read them here.

This page last updated April 12, 2020