Robert K. Merton and Contemporary Sociology

ISBN-13: 9781560003182 / Angielski / Twarda / 1997 / 350 str.

Robert K. Merton; Simonetta Tabboni; Carlo Mongardini

Opis

This volume offers scholars of sociology and allied areas the fruits of an international conference on the contributions of the eminent Robert K. Merton. The assessment, as good in content as well as in participants, took place in Amalfi, Italy, with the participation of Merton himself and under the auspices of the Italian Sociology Association. Carlo Mongardini aptly summarizes the unique impact of Merton on the social theory of our century. "His strength as a classic writer lies in his balance, unveiling complexity, and in his humanism which looks beyond the apparent simplicity and coherence of social reality."A special treat is the final chapter by Merton reviewing "Unanticipated Conse-quences and Kindred Sociological Ideas." In it, he ranges from the historical an-tecedents of the concept to his own evolution in the use and expansion of the idea. Merton approaches the development of his thought as installments rather than sim-ple evolution, and in so doing gives us unique insight into how he built upon his originating notions in the context of social science as it existed in the United States. Tensions between integrating scholarship and reaching the general public provide a special insight into Merton that might prove new even to those who know his work well.Contributors to this original volume include: Volker Meja, Nico Stehr, Paolo Ammassari, Gianni Statera, Birgitta Nedelmann, Harriet Zuckerman, Piotr Sztompka, Peter Gerlich, Charles Crothers, Elena Besozzi, and Arnold Zongerle, among others. The chapters address the full range of Merlon's work, with special emphasis on such areas as anomie, structural analysis, the relationship of theory to research, patterns of latent and manifest influence, and even the application of Mertonian concepts to the analysis of Merton as a scholar. This unusual compendium, translated from the Italian, will interest social researchers across the academic spectrum.

Spis treści

Foreword, Foreword to the American Edition, Preface, Part 1: Robert K. Merton’s Place in Contemporary Sociological Thought Introduction, 1. Robert K. Merton’s Structural Analysis: The Design of Modem Sociology, 2. Robert K. Merton: The Relation between Theory and Research, 3. Merton and the Sociology of Science in Europe, 4. The Informative-Formative Reception of Robert K. Merton’s Work in Italy, Part 2: Concepts of Sociological Analysis, 5. Sociological Ambivalence in the Thought of R.K. Merton, 6. Robert K. Merton and Contemporary Sociology The Florentine Case of the “Man-Ape”, 7. Accumulation of Advantage and Disadvantage: The Theory and Its Intellectual Biography, 8. Robert K. Merton’s Four Concepts of Anomie, 9. The Unanticipated Consequences of Action: Sociological and Ethical Aspects, 10. Some Reflections on Latent Functions, 11. Patterns of Manifest and Latent Influence: A Double Case Study of Influences on and from Robert K. Merton, Part 3: Short Papers, 12. Conditioning or Conditionings? Revisiting an Old Criticism of Mannheim by Merton, 13. Some Thoughts on Two Works by Robert K. Merton, 14. Robert K. Merton, the Teacher: Episodic Recollections by an Enthusiastic Apprentice, 15. Notes towards an Analysis of the Relationship between Ambivalence and Rationality, 16. Robert K. Merton for an “Open Society” ? Or, a Concept of Society Beyond Functionalism, 17. Robert K. Merton’s Contribution to Sociological Studies of Time, 18. Serendipity in the Work of Robert K. Merton, 19. R.K. Merton: The Model of Theory-Empirical Research Circularity as a Way Out of the Micro-Macro Dichotomy, 20. Sztompka’s Analysis of Merton’s Writings: A Description and Some Criticisms, Afterword, Contributors, Index of Names

O autorze

Carlo Mongardini