Western Sociological Readings (Photos)

Author: Yu Hai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-08-01
Features: This book is a collection of Western social theory from the 20th century. It is divided into two main parts: Classics and Contemporary, with the contemporary theories further divided into four subparts: the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. It includes more than 50 influential Western social theorists from the past 100 years and 78 documents. This book can serve as a professional English textbook for sociology majors and also as a foundational classic literature for the social sciences. Anthony Giddens once distinguished between "social theory" and "sociology." He equated "social theory" with the thematic fields common to all the social sciences, such as the nature of action and actors, the relationship between interaction and institutions, etc. He considered "sociology" to be just one branch of the social sciences, focusing only on "developed" or modern societies. This selection is titled "Social Theory," based on Giddens' distinction, and through the prominence of analytical and substantive categories such as action, self, interaction, symbols, structure, knowledge, and power in this collection, it demonstrates the editors' focus, which is also what is commonly referred to as "methodology," "theoretical perspectives," or "theoretical paradigms." However, this distinction should not be rigid or mechanical. Without engaging with the real processes and substantive analysis of Western modern society, social theory will lose its connection to the real world and thus lose its explanatory power. As Hegel insisted, method is the spirit that permeates the process, not a trick detached from it. The social analyses of Durkheim, Weber, Wallerstein, Giddens, Foucault, Baudrillard, and others are similarly carried out through the elaboration of concepts such as "division of labor society," "bureaucratic society," "modern world-system," "reflexive modernity," "disciplinary society," and "simulacrum society," which means that these substantive theories about modern Western society themselves carry methodological significance. This selection has referenced social theory anthologies compiled by Western scholars (primarily American scholars), including: Talcott Parsons et al.'s Theories of Society (The Free Press, 1961); Randall Collins' Three Sociological Traditions (Oxford University Press, 1985); Lewis A. Coser et al.'s Sociological Theory (Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1982), and Charles Lemert's Social Theory (Westview Press, 1999). This selection has fully drawn on the results of these texts' selections of classic theories. In fact, there is already a high degree of consensus in the Western sociology field regarding the selection of classic works, such as the conclusion section of Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, the chapter "Basic Concepts of Sociology" in Weber's Economy and Society, and the chapter "Play, Game, and Generalized Other" in Mead's Mind, Self, and Society, which are all must-select items in any anthology. In contemporary theory, the focus of each selection has diverged, but there remains consensus, such as Parsons' theory of unit action and modal variables, Berger and Luckmann's phenomenological definition of sociology, Levi-Strauss' structural analysis of mythology, and Foucault's discourse on truth and power. This selection has also referenced the work of the aforementioned compilers, and in these aspects, our work is one of sharing rather than originality. However, this is a social theory anthology compiled for Chinese students to read, and thus there are different considerations and arrangements in terms of the selected figures, works, and the structure of the anthology. First, this selection arranges the chapters in chronological and national order to present the development of social theory and its national characteristics, providing Chinese students with an intuitive temporal and spatial framework to grasp the theoretical context. Second, it adds a classification of schools within the national categories, linking the selected figures by school to highlight the origins and divisions of theoretical traditions and reduce the scattered nature of dealing with numerous figures. This classification of schools may not perfectly fit individual figures, and it may be unavoidable to force a fit, but it can still serve as a guide for theoretical learning. Regardless, there remains a fundamental consensus in the recognition of the main social theory traditions of the 20th century. Finally, the selected figures in this anthology are chosen from the perspective of a Chinese scholar, and their importance is largely judged by their influence in China. We strive to balance the number of selected figures from different countries, avoiding bias. This is an indispensable requirement for an anthology labeled "Western social theory." It is precisely because the texts compiled by American scholars give insufficient attention to German and French social theory that this selection pays more attention to German and French theorists. We have included Scheler, Luhmann, and Dahrendorf (Germany), as well as Touraine, Crozier, and Boudon (France), and increased the space given to Habermas, Giddens, and Bourdieu. In fact, after Parsons, France and Germany should be considered more vibrant centers of social theory than the United States. This selection does not overlook the contributions of American social theory. Post-war American sociology, represented by Parsons, became the mainstream theory, and "the sociology of the entire world was dominated by American sociology, and Parsons' imprint was deeply embedded in social theory" (Giddens' words). It still occupies the largest portion, but this does not mean Parsons still holds the heaviest weight. Today, we should have the perspective to give fair attention to other American social theorists, striving not to overlook contemporary and active American social theorists (such as Collins). Comte is often regarded as the founder of Western sociology, but this claim has far more symbolic significance than substantive meaning. The era in which Comte lived gave birth to modern sociology, and Comte did make contributions, but compared to Marx's contributions, they are negligible. The only truly classic figure in 19th-century sociology was Marx. Beyond the Marx tradition, all important social theory traditions and mainstream schools developed in the 20th century. In this sense, this selection does not claim to include all of "modern social theory," but it does cover a significant portion of it. The selected works in this book, except those that have expired copyright and are now in the public domain, have all been granted permission for reprints by the authors or publishing institutions. We have obtained authorization from the following authors: Raymond Boudon of the Sorbonne in Paris, France; Alain Touraine and Erhand Friedberg of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France; Anthony Giddens of the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom; Jeffrey Alexander of Yale University in the United States; Randall Collins of the University of Pennsylvania; and Nancy Chodorow of the University of California, Berkeley. We sincerely thank them for their kindness. Excellent universities in China are advocating the use of foreign original textbooks, and compiling this book is a positive response to this call. For me, it is also a new attempt, and I look forward to the guidance of scholars at home and abroad.