Changing Theories: New Directions in Sociology

by Roberta Garner, Black Hawk Hancock

Overview

Influenced by Thomas Kuhn's work on paradigm shifts in the social sciences, this overview of contemporary theory identifies major themes, charts the impact of social change on theories, acquaints readers with a sample of individual theorists (the "transitional giants" who shaped contemporary theories), explores the impact of contemporary theories on various areas of sociology, and traces how the great social theories of the past are being reinterpreted and incorporated into new theories. The result is an original interpretation of the important role that theory plays both in the real world and in the shaping of an academic discipline.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442635838
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	03/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	747 KB

About the Author

Roberta Garner is a professor in the Department of Sociology at DePaul University.

Black Hawk Hancock is Associate Professor of Sociology at DePaul University in Chicago. He is the co-author with Roberta Garner of Changing Theories: New Directions in Sociology (2009) and author of American Allegory: Lindy Hop and the Racial Imagination (2013).

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: What is Theory and Why Does it Change?

Periods of Social Theory
The Organization of the Book 

Part I: Changes

Chapter 1: 1968-2009: What Happened?

Why 1968?
A New Global Order: Globalization, Neoliberalism and Market Expansion, and Hyper-Industrialization
Issues without Borders: Population Growth, Urbanization, Health and Environmental Problems, and Regional Conflicts
The Emerging Distribution of Economic Inequality
Cultural Consequences: Postmodern Culture and Ironic Hopelessness
How and Why Did All These Changes Happen?
Conclusion

Chapter 2: Changes in Theory

Introduction: Making Theories
How and Why Have Sociological Theories Changed in the Past Forty Years?
Toward Contemporary Theories
Conclusion

Part II: Transitional Giants

Chapter 3: Erving Goffman (1922-1982)

Major Works, Ideas, and Concepts
Total Institutions and Labels
Interaction Order and Behavior
Frames of Reference and Discourse
The Politics and Feeling-Tone of Goffman's Work
Rupture and Continuity: Goffman as a Transitional Giant and Postmodernist

Chapter 4: Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

Major Works, Ideas, and Concepts
Foucault and the Traditions of Social Theory
Foucault's Impact and Method
Foucault's Politics
Conclusion: Foucault and the Transition to Contemporary Theory

Chapter 5:  Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002)

The Craft of Sociology
Habitus, Body, Practice
Symbolic Power, Symbolic Violence, and Misrecognition
Fields, Spaces, and Capitals
Taste, Distinction, and Naturalized Categories
Public Intellectuals and Politics
The Critique of Neoliberalism
Conclusion: A Note on Foucault and Bourdieu

Chapter 6: Stuart Hall (1932- )

Hegemony
Ideology
Articulation
Overdetermination
False Consciousness
The Function of Common Sense
Interpellation and Ideological Subjects
Hegemony, Ideology, and Societies Structured in Dominance
Race: The Floating Signifier
Media: The Politics of Representation
Critical Politics of Contesting Images
Culture as the Arena of Struggle
Identity
The Move to Ethnicity
Thinking about Multiculturalism
Intellectual Labor and Politics of Resistance
Conclusion

Conclusion

The Uneven Impact of Contemporary Theory on Sociology
Legacies, Reinterpretations, and New Paradigms
Beyond Legacies: What's New?
What Will Happen Next?

References and Suggestions for Further Reading

Note to Readers
General Theoretical References (with Jose Soltero)
References and Reading Suggestions for the Transitional Giants

Erving Goffman
Michel Foucault
Pierre Bourdieu
Stuart Hall

Two Specialized Areas: References and Reading Suggestions

Theoretical Development in the Sociology of Families (prepared by Tait Runnfeldt Medina and Julie Artis)
Sociology of Health (prepared by Grace Budrys)

Index

What People are Saying About This

Ron Mize

This is exactly what we need for contemporary theory courses. Hancock and Garner brilliantly dissect the four most eminent theorists who will continue to define the future of sociological theory well into the twenty-first century.

Gianpaolo Baiocchi

A terrific book that should leave a significant imprint on the way we teach and think about social theory. The authors have crafted a text that offers an accessible introduction to the subject while making a bold argument about the nature of theory itself.

David Yamane

The ideas presented in Changing Theories are rich and subtle enough to challenge graduate students, but the presentation is straightforward and accessible enough for undergraduates. This book could be used as the core text in a contemporary theory course, but the idea of 'transitional giants' makes this book uniquely suitable for those of us who want to create a systematic analytical bridge between classical theory and theory as it is practiced today. In the end, the best thing I can say about Hancock and Garner's work is that it makes me want to get into the classroom and teach.

Editorial Reviews

Changing Theories makes for a warm and engaging read. The authors have given us a good history and summation of some of the most important contemporary theories in the discipline. [...] Changing Theories would make a strong contribution to the critically engaged contemporary theory course as well as graduate courses on the history of sociology and the sociology of knowledge.—Teaching Sociology
The authors manage effectively to paint the bigger picture for their readers, exploring the difficulties of theory and cementing it in the real world, and that's an achievement of which they should be proud. Changing Theories could be an indispensable tool for encouraging new students to engage with theory. More importantly, it could also go a long way to break misconceptions about the inaccessibility of theory.—Times Higher Education

This is exactly what we need for contemporary theory courses. Hancock and Garner brilliantly dissect the four most eminent theorists who will continue to define the future of sociological theory well into the twenty-first century.

—Ron Mize, Cornell University

A terrific book that should leave a significant imprint on the way we teach and think about social theory. The authors have crafted a text that offers an accessible introduction to the subject while making a bold argument about the nature of theory itself.

—Gianpaolo Baiocchi, Brown University

The ideas presented in Changing Theories are rich and subtle enough to challenge graduate students, but the presentation is straightforward and accessible enough for undergraduates. This book could be used as the core text in a contemporary theory course, but the idea of 'transitional giants' makes this book uniquely suitable for those of us who want to create a systematic analytical bridge between classical theory and theory as it is practiced today. In the end, the best thing I can say about Hancock and Garner's work is that it makes me want to get into the classroom and teach.

—David Yamane, Wake Forest University

From the Publisher

The authors manage effectively to paint the bigger picture for their readers, exploring the difficulties of theory and cementing it in the real world, and that's an achievement of which they should be proud. Changing Theories could be an indispensable tool for encouraging new students to engage with theory. More importantly, it could also go a long way to break misconceptions about the inaccessibility of theory.

Times Higher Education

Changing Theories makes for a warm and engaging read. The authors have given us a good history and summation of some of the most important contemporary theories in the discipline. [...] Changing Theories would make a strong contribution to the critically engaged contemporary theory course as well as graduate courses on the history of sociology and the sociology of knowledge.

Teaching Sociology