Modern Sociological Theories (Second Edition) (Second Edition)

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