Invitation to Sociology

Invitation to Sociology

Author: Peter L. Berger

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2011-04-26

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1453215409

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DIVThe most popularly read, adapted, anthologized, and incorporated primer on sociology ever written for modern readers/divDIV /divDIVAcclaimed scholar and sociologist Peter L. Berger lays the groundwork for a clear understanding of sociology in his straightforward introduction to the field, much loved by students, professors, and general readers. Berger aligns sociology in the humanist tradition—revealing its relationship to the humanities and philosophy—and establishes its importance in thinking critically about the modern world./divDIV /divDIVThroughout, Berger presents the contributions of some of the most important sociologists of the time, including Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, and Thorstein Veblen./div


Pragmatic Humanism

Pragmatic Humanism

Author: Marcus Morgan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-01-29

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1317612345

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Is sociology best understood as simply chipping away at our ignorance about society, or does it have broader roles and responsibilities? If so, to what—or perhaps to whom—are these responsibilities? Installing humanity as its epistemological and normative start and endpoint, this book shows how humanism recasts sociology as an activity that does not merely do things, or effect things, but is also self-consciously for something. Rather than resurrecting problematic classical conceptions of humanism, the book instead constructs its arguments on pragmatic grounds, showing how a pragmatic humanism presents an improved picture of both the nature and value of the discipline. This picture is based less around the claim that sociology is capable of providing authoritative revelations about society, and more upon its capacity to offer representations of the social in epistemologically open, transformative, ethical, and hopeful ways. Ultimately, it argues that sociology’s real value can only be disclosed by replacing its image as a discipline aimed towards disinterested social enlightenment with one of itself as a practice both dependent upon, and at its best self-consciously aimed towards, human ends and imperatives. It will appeal to scholars and students across the social sciences, and to those working in social theory, sociology, and philosophy of the social sciences in particular.


Humanist Realism for Sociologists

Humanist Realism for Sociologists

Author: Terry Leahy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781138644960

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Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Preface: Basic stuff - meta-theory for the social sciences -- Returning to meta-theory -- Is there a crisis in the social sciences? -- A crisis of the Left? -- Resisting meta-theory -- Bad meta-theory is always recommending the impossible -- Intended topics of the book -- My background in philosophy -- Connell's critique of metropolitan theory -- Reading this book -- 1 Humanism and its critics -- Humanism as ethics -- The post-humanist critique -- Humanism as a particular view of 'the human' -- Humanism as a 'universalistic' ethics -- Humanism as an anthropocentric ethics -- Bringing back the body -- Social variability and the centrality of culture -- How humans become social by transcending biology -- The structure/agency dilemma -- Dealing with racists and evolutionary psychologists -- Human nature by the back door -- The elephant in the room -- 2 Knowledge in the social sciences -- The philosophy of perception -- Sociology and epistemology -- The political problems of realism -- Direct realism and social science -- 3 Debates about epistemology in recent social science -- Goldfarb on facts and interpretations -- Social and natural sciences in Flyvbjerg -- Weedon's feminist poststructuralism -- How Foucault handles these issues -- Critical Realism and epistemology -- 4 Explanation in the social sciences -- Social versus natural sciences -- Elements of explanation in the social sciences -- The poststructuralist challenge to 'humanist' social sciences -- Discourses and subjects -- Determinist and agentic versions of poststructuralism -- The multiplicity of the subject? -- Discourses and ideologies -- Gender discourses and hegemonic masculinities -- Overlaps and mapping -- 5 What do social scientists do in their accounts? -- Weber's 'Protestant ethic'


The Humanistic Approach in Psychology & Psychotherapy, Sociology & Social Work, Pedagogy & Education, Management and Art:

The Humanistic Approach in Psychology & Psychotherapy, Sociology & Social Work, Pedagogy & Education, Management and Art:

Author: Petru Stefaroi

Publisher: Petru Stefaroi

Published: 2012-12-30

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13:

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In this book is realized a brief presentation of the main orientations and features of the Humanistic Theory and Method in the major socio-human sciences, domains and practices. As construction, structure and content this book cumulates, incorporates, synthesizes and develops in a new, original and unitary work a number of the author’s previous works consecrated to the humanistic approach and method in some socio-human sciences and practices, especially in Psychology and Psychotherapy, Sociology, Social Work, Education and Management, published up to the end of 2012, both in print and electronic format. In the process of realization of this works, including of this book, was taken into consideration and was consulted the universal "social" and "therapeutic" literature of humanistic orientation, with the two main directions – existential/positive and spiritual/ontological/humanitarian, or the one that describes it or refers to it. Essentially, the Existential/Positive Orientations represent and approach, in theory or practice (therapy, education, social work etc.), the Person and Personality through traits (objectives) like high level of personal and social autonomy, free will and high capacity/ ability for self-determination, high level of personal development, high resilience, high capacity to control the emotions, high degree of awareness, self-knowledge, high self-esteem, high level of interpersonal development, adaptability, mature personality, activism and initiative, assertiveness, etc., while the Socio-Human (Micro-)Community is represented through features such as high autonomy, strong organizational culture, high socio-human functionality, high cohesion, unity, solidity, adaptability, resilience, resistance to crisis and challenges, good management, etc. The Ontological/Spiritual Approaches/Theories promote core concepts (and objectives of the intervention) such as spiritual-humane personality and humane/good community, spiritual-humane development of the person and humane-cultural development of the community. These paradigms highlight and promote Personality traits and qualities such as spirituality, virtue, humanness, altruism, empathy, love, faith, etc. Regarding the theoretical representation of the Community these approaches/theories highlight ideas and features as people-centered community, the dominance of the inter-personal relationships of attachment, love, respect, the dominance of the practices and customs of mutual helps, social/group/community solidarity, harmony, unity, inter-personal congruency, socio-human, inter-personal, community functionality, socio-human, moral and cultural integration/ cohesion. *** Regarding the destination of this paper, its design, content and bibliography are made in such a way to be useful both to the academic community, to students and teachers, and also to the professional community, to psychotherapists, educators, managers, social workers, artists, etc.


A Humanist Science

A Humanist Science

Author: Philip Selznick

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2008-08-08

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 0804779694

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Providing a capstone to Philip Selznick's influential body of scholarly work, A Humanist Science insightfully brings to light the value-centered nature of the social sciences. The work clearly challenges the supposed separation of fact and value, and argues that human values belong to the world of fact and are the source of the ideals that govern social and political institutions. By demonstrating the close connection between the social sciences and the humanities, Selznick reveals how the methods of the social sciences highlight and enrich the study of such values as well-being, prosperity, rationality, and self-government. The book moves from the animating principles that make up the humanist tradition to the values that are central to the social sciences, analyzing the core teachings of these disciplines with respect to the moral issues at stake. Throughout the work, Selznick calls attention to the conditions that affect the emergence, realization, and decline of human values, offering a valuable resource for scholars and students of law, sociology, political science, and philosophy.


The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology

The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology

Author: Kathleen Odell Korgen

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-03-26

Total Pages: 538

ISBN-13: 9781107565227

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Whether a student, an instructor, a researcher, or just someone interested in understanding the roots of sociology and our social world, The Cambridge Handbook of Sociology, Volume 1 is for you. This first volume of the Handbook focuses on core areas of sociology, such as theory, methods, culture, socialization, social structure, inequality, diversity, social institutions, social problems, deviant behavior, locality, geography, the environment, and social change. It also explains how sociology developed in different parts of the world, providing readers with a perspective on how sociology became the global discipline it is today. Each essay includes a discussion of how the respective subfield contributes to the overall discipline and to society. Written by some of the most respected scholars, teachers, and public sociologists in the world, the essays are highly readable and authoritative.


Introduction to Sociology

Introduction to Sociology

Author: Frank van Tubergen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 529

ISBN-13: 1351134949

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Comprehensive and engaging, this textbook introduces students not only to foundational sociological work, but also to insights from contemporary sociological theory and research. This combined approach ensures that students become familiar with the core of sociology: key concepts, theories, perspectives, methods, and findings. Students will acquire the ability to think like a sociologist, investigate and understand complex social phenomena. This text presents a complete sociological toolkit, guiding students in the art of asking good sociological questions, devising a sophisticated theory and developing methodologies to observe social phenomena. The chapters of this book build cumulatively to equip students with the tools to quickly understand any new sociological topic or contemporary social problem. The textbook also applies the sociological toolkit to selected key sociological issues, showing how specific sociological topics can be easily investigated and understood using this approach. Taking a global and comparative perspective, the book covers a rich diversity of sociological topics and social problems, such as crime, immigration, race and ethnicity, media, education, family, organizations, gender, poverty, modernization and religion. The book presents a range of helpful pedagogical features throughout, such as: Chapter overview and learning goals summaries at the start of every chapter; Thinking like a sociologist boxes, encouraging students to reflect critically on learning points; Principle boxes, summarizing key sociological principles; Theory schema boxes, presenting sociological theories in a clear, understandable manner; Stylized facts highlighting key empirical findings and patterns; Key concepts and summary sections at the end of every chapter; and Companion website providing additional material for every chapter for both instructors and students, including PowerPoint lecture notes, discussion questions and answers, multiple-choice questions, further reading and a full glossary of terms. This clear and accessible text is essential reading for students taking introductory courses in sociology. It will also be useful for undergraduate and graduate courses in other social science disciplines, such as psychology, economics, human geography, demography, communication studies, education sciences, political science and criminology.


The Perspective of Historical Sociology

The Perspective of Historical Sociology

Author: Jiří Šubrt

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing

Published: 2017-11-09

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 1787433633

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This book provides a comprehensive overview of the themes that make up the field of Historical Sociology. At its centre is the human individual as related to social and historical development. The key question it raises is who or what is responsible for the process of human history: society or the individual?


Resonance

Resonance

Author: Hartmut Rosa

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-07-26

Total Pages: 551

ISBN-13: 1509519920

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The pace of modern life is undoubtedly speeding up, yet this acceleration does not seem to have made us any happier or more content. If acceleration is the problem, then the solution, argues Hartmut Rosa in this major new work, lies in “resonance.” The quality of a human life cannot be measured simply in terms of resources, options, and moments of happiness; instead, we must consider our relationship to, or resonance with, the world. Applying his theory of resonance to many domains of human activity, Rosa describes the full spectrum of ways in which we establish our relationship to the world, from the act of breathing to the adoption of culturally distinct worldviews. He then turns to the realms of concrete experience and action – family and politics, work and sports, religion and art – in which we as late modern subjects seek out resonance. This task is proving ever more difficult as modernity’s logic of escalation is both cause and consequence of a distorted relationship to the world, at individual and collective levels. As Rosa shows, all the great crises of modern society – the environmental crisis, the crisis of democracy, the psychological crisis – can also be understood and analyzed in terms of resonance and our broken relationship to the world around us. Building on his now classic work on acceleration, Rosa’s new book is a major new contribution to the theory of modernity, showing how our problematic relation to the world is at the crux of some of the most pressing issues we face today. This bold renewal of critical theory for our times will be of great interest to students and scholars across the social sciences and humanities.