Modern Sociological Theory
A fresh approach to understanding social theory
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Sage Publications Ltd
Published:9th Dec '93
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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This book provides an insightful exploration of contemporary social thought, focusing on key concepts in sociology. Modern Sociological Theory connects classical and modern theories to current societal challenges.
In Modern Sociological Theory, readers are presented with a thorough and current synthesis of contemporary social thought, designed to assist students who already possess a foundational understanding of sociology. This textbook is structured around key concepts rather than traditional schools of thought or individual theorists, offering a fresh perspective on the study of social theory. By emphasizing core issues, Malcolm Waters effectively connects historical and modern theories to the pressing concerns of sociology today.
The book provides a clear overview of essential concepts that sociological theory must engage with, including agency, rationality, structure, and system. Additionally, it addresses the primary phenomena that sociological theory seeks to explain, such as culture, power dynamics, gender issues, differentiation, and stratification. This comprehensive approach ensures that students can grasp the complexities of social theory in a more integrated manner.
Modern Sociological Theory also delves into the significant contributions made by both classical and contemporary theorists regarding each concept. The text skillfully links these theoretical insights to modern sociological challenges, including the impacts of change and globalization, the relevance of feminism in sociological discourse, and the resurgence of cultural analysis. Through this innovative framework, readers gain a deeper understanding of how social theory continues to evolve and address contemporary issues.
`Waters manages to be worthy, thorough and intelligible... Waters organizes his books around four formal concepts: agency, rationality, structure and system, and four substantive areas: culture and ideology, power and the state, gender and feminism, and differentiation and stratification.... His treatment of each is systematic and his coverage extremely thorough.... He writes in a straightforward way that would be within the range of all but the weakest student. Although he acknowledges that we cannot find a systematic body of theory in sociology, he comes close to presenting the complexity of contemporary theory as if it were systematic, and I suspect he really wishes it were.... I would recommend Water′s book to beginners or to any student who was not particularly interested in social theory but had an exam to pass; I am not sure whether that is taking the easy way out or being a good teacher′ - Ian Craib, British Journal of Sociology
`The publication of Malcolm Waters′ Modern Sociological Theory marks a new stage in the teaching of contemporary social theory .In contrast to texts based on individual thinkers or ritualized accounts of schools, Waters provides an ingenious analytical framework for presenting virtually all of the major issues of contemporary social theory: from the varieties of interactionims to rational choice and exchange theory; structuralism and poststructuralism; functionalism and neofunctionalism; feminist theory to the latest variations in neo-Marxist, critical and postmodernist theory. Its what we have been waiting for and more. A focus on agency, rationality, structure and system effectively sets out the unifying terms of debate. Moreover, substantively oriented chapters on culture and idelology, power, gender and stratification link social theory and empirical research in an unparalleld manner. The major individual contributors are concisely presented, and helpful charts quickly convey the relations among abstract concepts. In short, there is no current text that can begin to compare with respect to scope, range, clarity, balance and sophistication. But this book is not only for moving students rapidly to the frontier of theory, it is also a must for anyone interested in catching up with the transformations of social theory over the past two decades. Those not using it for their courses will probably be relying on it for rewriting their lecture notes′ - Professor Raymond A Morrow, University of Alberta, Edmonton
ISBN: 9780803985322
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 660g
384 pages