Classical Attempt at Theoretical Synthesis
Classical Attempt at Theoretical Synthesis

Author: Jeffrey C. Alexander

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-04-24

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1317808649

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The limits of one-dimensional theory are strikingly revealed in the schools that the founders of the major sociological traditions established. In this volume Max Weber is presented as the theorist who laid out new starting points and the author considers his work as a response, in part, to the idealist tradition which (in Volume 2), he maintains that Durkheim represents. As Weber was less able to avoid ambiguity, the author examines the weaknesses and efforts at ‘paradigm revision’.

Founders, Classics, Canons
Founders, Classics, Canons

Author: Peter Baehr

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 453

ISBN-13: 1351519336

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Founders, classics, and canons have been vitally important in helping to frame sociology's identity. Within the academy today, a number of positions?feminist, postmodernist, postcolonial?question the status of "tradition."In Founders, Classics, Canons, Peter Baehr defends the continuing importance of sociology's classics and traditions in a university education. Baehr offers arguments against interpreting, defending, and attacking sociology's great texts and authors in terms of founders and canons. He demonstrates why, in logical and historical terms, discourses and traditions cannot actually be "founded" and why the term "founder" has little explanatory content. Equally, he takes issue with the notion of "canon" and argues that the analogy between the theological canon and sociological classic texts, though seductive, is mistaken.Although he questions the uses to which the concepts of founder, classic, and canon have been put, Baehr is not dismissive. On the contrary, he seeks to understand the value and meaning these concepts have for the people who employ them in the cultural battle to affirm or attack the liberal university tradition.

Contemporary Sociological Thinkers and Theories
Contemporary Sociological Thinkers and Theories

Author: Sandro Segre

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-05-13

Total Pages: 390

ISBN-13: 1317160509

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This book offers a comprehensive overview of the major theoretical perspectives in contemporary sociology, covering schools of thought or intellectual movements within the discipline, as well as the work of individual scholars. The author provides not only a rigorous exposition of each theory, but also an examination of the scholarly reception of the approach in question, considering both critical responses and defences in order to reach a balanced evaluation. Chapters cover the following theorists and perspectives: ¢ Alexander ¢ Bourdieu ¢ Ethnomethodology ¢ Exchange Theory ¢ Foucault ¢ Giddens ¢ Goffman ¢ Habermas ¢ Luhmann ¢ Merton ¢ Network and Social Capital Theory ¢ Parsons ¢ Rational Choice Theory ¢ Schutz and Phenomenalism ¢ Structuralism ¢ Symbolic Interactionism An accessible and informative treatment of the central approaches in sociology over the course of the last century, this volume marks a significant contribution to sociological theory and constitutes an essential addition to library collections in the areas of the history of sociology and contemporary social theory.

Theoretical Logic in Sociology
Theoretical Logic in Sociology

Author: Jeffrey C. Alexander

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-03-11

Total Pages: 1669

ISBN-13: 1317807057

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This four volume work, originally published in the 1980s and out of print for some years, represents a major attempt to redirect the course of contemporary sociological thought. Jeffrey Alexander analyses the most general and fundamental elements of sociological thinking about action and order and their ramifications for empirical study. He insists that sociological thought need not choose between voluntary action and social constraint. The four volumes can be read independently of one another as each presents a distinctive theoretical argument in its own right. The first volume is directed at contemporary problems and controversies, not only in ‘theory’ but in the philosophy and sociology of science. The last three volumes make interpretations, confronting the individual theorists, and the secondary literature, on their own terms.

An Invitation to Social Theory
An Invitation to Social Theory

Author: David Inglis

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2018-12-18

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1509506438

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Social theory is a crucial resource for the social sciences. It provides rich insights into how human beings think and act and how contemporary social life is constructed. But often the key ideas of social theorists are expressed in highly technical and difficult language that can hide more than it reveals. The new edition of this popular book continues to cut to the core of what social theory is about. Covering key themes from the classical thinkers onwards, including Marxism, post-structuralism, phenomenology, feminism and more, the second edition features a new chapter on Actor-Network Theory and enhanced discussion of postcolonial theory. Wide ranging in scope and coverage, the book is concise in presentation and free from jargon. Showing why social theory matters, and why it is of far-reaching social and political importance, the book is ideal for readers seeking a clear, crisp mapping of a complex but very rewarding area.

History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology
History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology

Author: Edwin R. Wallace

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-04-13

Total Pages: 883

ISBN-13: 0387347089

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This book chronicles the conceptual and methodological facets of psychiatry and medical psychology throughout history. There are no recent books covering so wide a time span. Many of the facets covered are pertinent to issues in general medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and the social sciences today. The divergent emphases and interpretations among some of the contributors point to the necessity for further exploration and analysis.

Theorizing Classical Sociology
Theorizing Classical Sociology

Author: Ray, Larry J

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)

Published: 1999-11-01

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0335198651

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* How did classical sociology emerge and take shape? * What is the significance of classical sociology for current theoretical debates? * How can the classical tradition in social theory inform our understanding of the crisis of modernity? Social theory has been formed through elaboration and critique of the classical tradition, and this introductory volume illuminates current theoretical terrain by examining major classical theories - of Saint-Simon, Comte, Marx, Durkheim, Dilthey, Tonnies, Simmel and Weber - highlighting recurring themes and debates. It explains how classical sociology emerged through a debate with the Enlightenment, in which the concept of the 'social' took shape. This was constructed around various themes emphasizing contrasting components of social life - including material, cultural, rational and moral factors. These divergent theorizations set the scene for the play of theoretical oppositions that characterize much subsequent theoretical dispute. Along with these debates there were questions about the very identity of sociology, which in turn relate to a core issue in the discipline - grasping the crisis of modernity. This authoritative text introduces the key issues of classical sociology to undergraduates, making use of student-friendly features such as clear summaries, further reading and a glossary. It lays the foundations for an understanding of contemporary discussion, and will also be recognized at the postgraduate level as a key reference in the field.