Modern Sociological Theory

Author: Waters
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-05-01
Features: The purpose of this book is to assist in first-class sociology theory teaching. To this end, the book is committed to demonstrating that there is indeed a theoretical tradition in sociology that students can immerse themselves in. There is a notion that theory can be understood as a series of unrelated schools of thought or distinct individual theorists, a view with which this book cannot agree. The book argues that the contours of this field are reflected in the following four concepts that theory must always engage with: action, rationality, structure, and system. It seeks to highlight two questions: First, these concepts are at the core of theoretical debates; second, even when devoted to theoretically addressing substantive topics like power or gender, these concepts are always mobilized as starting points for discussion.