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Structures of Power and Constraint

Papers in Honor of Peter M. Blau

W Richard Scott editor Marshall W Meyer editor Craig Calhoun editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:18th Jun '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Structures of Power and Constraint cover

This book discusses the question: are social structures products of human action, expressions of individual or group power?

Are social structures products of human action, expressions of individual or group power? Or are they essentially external constraints on human action, necessarily analyzed at a different level? How are themes of power and constraint to be joined in a common analytic approach? These have long been central questions for sociologists. since the collapse of functionalism as a unifying paradigm, however they have often appeared as the basis for sharp divisions between competing analytic paradigms. The divide between structuralism and rational-choice theory has been one of the most prominent such splits. Yet each approach has undergone a revival in past years. The editors of this book, in honour of Peter Blau, brought together a wide range of distinguished sociologists who have taken positions on different sides of this issue and brings them into focus as parts of a common discourse on the place of social structure and concepts of strategic action in sociological explanation.

ISBN: 9780521113168

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 29mm

Weight: 740g

508 pages