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Contemporary Sociological Theory
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Contemporary Sociological Theory

  • Bert N Adams - University of Wisconsin - Madison, Chile, University of Wisconsin, USA
  • R A Sydie - University of Alberta - Edmonton, Canada

Other Titles in:
Social Theory

June 2012 | 304 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
`The strengths of this text are the breadth of theories covered; the integration of gender-related topics - family, work, religion; the use of substantial quotes from primary texts; the consistent inclusion of methodological issues.…I have no doubt that it will find a solid position in the field of theory texts' - Kathleen Slobin, North Dakota State University

The popular Pine Forge Press textbook, Sociological Theory, has been broken into two volumes, to meet the needs of lecturers and students. Contemporary Sociological Theory covers developments in the discipline from the 1930s and includes important new voices in social theory, including 14 female theorists. The treatment of individual theories and theorists is balanced with the development of key themes and ideas about social life, including race, class and gender.

 
Preface
 
A Note to Students
 
1. Introduction to Contemporary Sociological Theory
Nineteenth-Century Sociological Theory

 
Dominant Theories and Ideologies

 
Radical Theory and Ideology

 
Early-Twentieth-Century Sociological Theory

 
Sociological Theory by the 1930s

 
 
SECTION I. TWENTIETH-CENTURY FUNCTIONALISM AND BEYOND
 
2. Twentieth-Century Functionalism
Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)

 
Robert K. Merton (1910- )

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
3. Systems, Structuration, and Modernity
Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998)

 
Anthony Giddens (1938- )

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
SECTION II. CRITICISM, MARXISM, AND CHANGE
 
4. Critical Theory
The Institute of Social Research

 
Jurgen Habermas (1929- )

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
5. Marxism Since 1930
Marxism from 1930 to 1980

 
Marxism Now: Erik Olin Wright (1947- )

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
6. Sociocultural Change: Evolution, World System, and Revolution
Twentieth-Century Evolutionism: Elman Service (1915- )

 
World System Theory: Immanuel Wallerstein (1930- )

 
Revolution: Theda Skocpol (1947- )

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
SECTION III. TRANSITIONS AND CHALLENGES
 
7. Mid-Twentieth-Century Sociology
Ideological Disputes

 
Facts and Values

 
Macro/Micro Perspectives

 
Feminism and Feminist Sociological Theory

 
Race and Colonialism

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
8. Symbolic Interactionism
The Interactionist Tradition

 
Herbert Blumer (1900-1987)

 
Erving Goffman (1922-1982)

 
Arlie Russell Hochschild (1940- )

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
9. Rational Choice and Exchange
James S. Coleman, (1926-1995)

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
10. Feminist Sociological Theory
Sociology and Feminism

 
Dorothy E. Smith (1926- )

 
Patricia Hill Collins (1948- )

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
11. Knowledge, Truth, and Power
Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

 
Final Thoughts

 
References

 
 
12. Final Thoughts on Contemporary Sociological Theory
Sociological Theory Since 1930

 
The Future of Society

 
The Future of Sociological Theory

 
References

 
 
Credits
 
Index

"The strengths of this text are the breadth of theories covered; the integration of gender-related topics¾
family, work, religion; the use of substantial quotes from primary texts; the consistent inclusion of methodological issues.…I have no doubt that it will find a solid position in the field of theory texts."

Kathleen Slobin
North Dakota State University

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