Piotr Sztompka

A Critical Introduction to Contemporary Social Theory (eBook, ePUB)

Key Theories and Theorists of the 21st Century

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Examining the core sociological theories that have emerged in the first two decades of the current century, A Critical Introduction to Contemporary Social Theory outlines their attempts to answer the most fundamental questions of the discipline, from the nature of social order to the mechanisms of social change.

Through a careful exploration of the history of modern social theory, Piotr Sztompka lays the critical groundwork for investigating the development of contemporary social theory from its founding fathers in the 19th century, through the rich contributions of the 20th century, known as "the golden age of theory," up to the most recent developments and illuminates how it is both anchored in and a critique of previous attempts to theorize foundational questions to social being and action. Contemporary theory, the book argues, is now moving toward analysis of action, interpersonal relations, social and epistemological realism, and multivalent mechanisms at the root of social phenomenon.

Major social theoretical thinkers like Anthony Giddens, Pierre Bourdieu, Jeffrey Alexander, Randall Collins, Jonathan Turner, Hans Joas, Ulrich Beck, Erving Goffman, and others are presented and evaluated as significant contributors to contemporary social theory, while pointing toward future possibilities for social theory in the current century. This will be a key resource for undergraduate and graduate students in sociology, social theory, and contemporary cultural studies.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Taylor & Francis eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 260
• Erscheinungstermin: 24. Februar 2025
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781040312445
• Artikelnr.: 72735565

Autorenporträt

Piotr Sztompka is an honorary professor of sociology at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, He was a visiting professor at Columbia University (NY) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as universities in Europe, Australia, and Latin America. He was elected the President of International Sociological Association (ISA). Among his books published in English are Sociological Dilemmas: Toward a Dialectic Paradigm (1979), The Sociology of Social Change (1993), Society in Action: The Theory of Social Becoming (1991), and Trust: a Sociological Theory (1999).

Inhaltsangabe

Preface
Part I: The legacy: On the shoulders of giants
1. Sociological theory: The concepts, varieties, and uses
2. Pseudo-theories and pseudo-epistemology
3. The Long 19th century on the shoulders of giants
4. The Golden Era of Theory: The 20th century
5. New theoretical trends in the 21st century
Part II: Continuities and emerging new trends
Theories With a Moral Message; In Search for a Good Society
6. Jeffrey C. Alexander's cultural sociology: From civil sphere to
performative actions and societalization
7. Gary Allan Fine on tiny publics: Civil sphere at the micro-level of
everyday life
8. Axel Honneth on new critical theory: Focus on recognition
9. Ulrich Beck on cosmopolitanism: World society after globalization
10. Allain Caille on gift paradigm: Focus on reciprocity
Theories Of Microcomponents of Social Life: Dissecting the Social Fabric
11. Jonathan Turner on radical microsociology: Interactions and their
emotional syntax
12. Randall Collins' processual and emotional perspective: interactive
ritual chains, violence, and charisma
13. Hans Joas on new pragmatism: Focus on practices and creative actions
Theories Analyzing Mechanisms of Social Events: Unravelling the Modus
Operandi Of Society
14. Jon Elster on rational choice and emotions: Continuities and revisions
15. Peter Hedstrom on analytical sociology: Social mechanisms and the
theory of imitation
16. Margaret Archer on morphogenesis: Unravelling themechanism of social
change
17. Theodor Schatski and the idea of social sites: On the ontology of
society
18. Robert K. Merton revisited: On theoretical pluralism and disciplined
eclecticism
Bibliography