Yoshinori Kamo person
Yoshinori Kamo received his MA and PhD in sociology from University of Washington, Seattle. He then moved to Louisiana State University and taught various courses, including Introductory Sociology, for more than 30 years. He has been Director of Graduate Studies and Chair (since 2016) for Sociology Department. Dr. Kamo has also taught at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, during summer since 2010.
His research interests include marriage and family, social inequality, psychological well-being, aging, cross-cultural studies, and quantitative methods. Dr. Kamo published four books, including this textbook, and his research covers Hurricane Katrina evacuees, marital/family/life satisfaction, and division of household work between spouses, among others.
Dr. Kamo also worked on Olympic Games and World Cup Soccer as a staff member and gave sociology lectures in an around-the-world cruise for four times.
J. Ross Eshleman person
J. Ross Eshleman, PhD, received his doctorate from Ohio State University and is now professor emeritus at Wayne State University. His past teaching experience includes serving as department chair of sociology at Wayne State University and Appalachian State University, two Fulbright grants to the Philippines at the University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle College, a year with the National Science Foundation, and two university teaching awards.
Dr. Eshleman has directed five institutes for teachers of high school sociology with grants through the National Science Foundation. His publications include numerous editions (ten of his own and two co-authored) of a sociology of the family text.
Barbara Cashion person
Barbara G. Cashion received her PhD from the University of Maryland and taught at a variety of universities, including Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. She has special interest in the sociology of medicine and has worked in group health insurance settings at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and in the pharmaceutical field.
Dr. Cashion has published on related topics in a variety of journals. She is currently retired from teaching and is living in Hagerstown, Maryland. There she continues to develop her interests in music and fine arts, especially in the sociology of American art. Dr. Cashion has two daughters and four grandchildren.
Laurence Basirico person
Laurence "Larry" Basirico earned his BA in sociology from Hofstra
University (1972) and his MA (1974) and PhD (1983) at Stony Brook University. He is
professor of sociology at Elon University where he has been since 1983. He was chair of
the Department of Sociology and Anthropology from 1994 to 2004 and resumed his role
as department chair in 2009. Dr. Basirico’s research primarily has been in the areas of
social interaction, identity, socialization, the family and culture—as applied specifically
to rock groups, arts and crafts communities, family reunions, and marital relationships.
His major teaching areas are introduction to sociology, self and society, and the family.
Dr. Basirico was also dean of international programs at Elon for five years (2004 to
2009), spearheading one of the most successful study abroad programs in the United
States and overseeing efforts to internationalize the campus. While he was dean, Elon
won the prestigious Paul Simon Internationalization of the Campus Award, the highest
award given by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.
In 1988, he joined forces with J. Ross Eshleman and Barbara G. Cashion to write
Sociology: An Introduction (Scott Foresman, Little Brown, and then with HarperCollins
Publisher), the precursor for this textbook. That book was one of the first sociology
textbooks that focused on how students could apply sociology in their lives. He assumed
primary responsibility for Introduction to Sociology with BVT Publishing beginning
with the 4th edition.
Dr. Basirico is married with three children and lives in Burlington, North Carolina.
He is a lifelong music lover and learner dedicated primarily to guitar these days, but with
a background in piano. He regularly walks around golf courses chasing a little white ball
into never-before-seen natural habitats.
