Social Theory: Classical and Contemporary - A Critical Perspective

by Berch Berberoglu

Overview

Social Theory provides a sophisticated yet highly accessible introduction to classical and contemporary social theories. The author’s concise presentation allows students and instructors to focus on central themes. The text lets theorists speak for themselves, presenting key passages from each theorist’s corpus, bringing theory to life. The approach allows instructors the opportunity to help students learn to unpack sometimes complex prose, just as it offers inroads to class discussion. Chapters on Addams and early feminism, on Habermas and the Frankfurt School, on Foucault, and on globalization and social movements round out contemporary coverage. The book presents and explains key theories, just as it provides an introduction to central debates about them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138125483
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/06/2017
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Berch Berberoglu is Professor of Sociology and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nevada, Reno. His most recent books include Beyond the Global Capitalist Crisis: The World Economy in Transition (2012); Political Sociology in a Global Era (2013); and The Global Capitalist Crisis and Its Aftermath (2014).

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part I: Classical Social Theory

1. Hegel on Dialectics, the State, and Society

2. Marx and Engels on Social Class and Class Struggle

3. Durkheim on Society and Social Order

4. Weber on Bureaucracy, Power, and Social Status

5. Pareto, Mosca, and Michels on Elites and Masses

6. Simmel on Social Relations and Group Affiliations

7. Cooley and Mead on Human Nature and Society

8. Freud on the Development of Society and Civilization

9. Addams and Early Women Social Theorists

10. Veblen on the Leisure Class and Conspicuous Consumption

11. Mannheim on Ideology and Utopia

12. Gramsci and Lenin on Ideology, the State, and Revolution

13. Kollontai on Class, Gender, and Patriarchy

14. Du Bois and Frazier on Race, Class, and Social Emancipation

Part II: Contemporary Social Theory

15. Parsons, Merton, and Functionalist Theory

16. Mills on the Power Elite

17. Domhoff on the Power Structure and the Governing Class

18. Althusser, Poulantzas, and Miliband on Politics and the State

19. Trimberger, Block, and Skocpol and Neo-Weberian Theorizing

20. Homans on Social Exchange

21. The Frankfurt School of Critical Theory

22. Goffman and Garfinkel on Dramaturgy, Ethnomethodology, and Everyday Life

23. Wilson and Willie on Race, Class, and Poverty

24. Feminist Theory: Yesterday and Today

25. Wallerstein and World-Systems Theory

26. Theories of Globalization

27. Therborn and Szymanski on Contemporary Marxist Theory

28. Foucault on the Diffusion of Power

29. Harvey and Callinicos on Postmodernism and Its Critique

30. Social Movements and Transformation

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

About the Author