Dimensions of Sociological Theory

ISBN-13: 9781403943064 / Angielski / Miękka / 2005 / 208 str.

David Cheal

Opis

This book looks at a range of sociological theories from the last two hundred years, along with five fundamental questions such as: what is the unit of analysis in sociology and what concepts of structure are embedded in the sociological view of the social world, and how have these concepts changed over time? With illustrations from the work of theorists such as John Stuart Mill, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Karl Marx, Karl Mannheim, Michel Foucault, Anthony Giddens and Erving Goffman, this book provides an accessible guide for introductory students of sociology taking their first course in sociological theory.

Spis treści

Preface.- Introduction.- Dimension One: Units of Analysis.- The Individual vs Social Facts.- Interaction and the Return of Reductionism.- Dimension Two: Modes of Explanation.- Explaining Social Life.- Dimension Three: Key Factors.- Key Factors of Social Evolution.- Dimension Four: Sociological Knowledge.- Sociology and Ideology.- Dimension Five: Structure and Agency.- Social Structure and Its Alternatives.- New Ideas on Structure and Agency.- Conclusion.- References.

O autorze

DAVID CHEAL is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. His research interests, in addition to Sociological Theory, include the Sociology of Family. Publications include Family and the State of Theory, and Sociology of Family Life.