For one-semester, junior/senior-level courses in Contemporary Sociological Theory, or in a Classical and Contemporary Theory course. This text examines the assumptions and concepts of the five major sociological theories and the classical roots of the modern theories. It focuses specifically on functionalism, conflict theory, theories of rational choice, symbolic interactionism, and phenomenology.

This volume is designed as a basic text for upper level and graduate courses in contemporary sociological theory. Most sociology programs require their majors to take at least one course in sociological theory, sometimes two. A typical breakdown is between classical and contemporary theory. Theory is perhaps one of the bro- est areas of sociological inquiry and serves as a foundation or framework for more specialized study in specific substantive areas of the field. In addition, the study of sociological theory can readily be related to various aspects of other social science disciplines as well. From the very beginning sociology has been characterized by alternative theoretical perspectives. Classical theory includes the European founding figures of the dis- pline whose works were produced during the later half of the nineteenth century and the first couple of decades of the twentieth century plus early American th- rists. For most of the second half of the twentieth century, a fairly high consensus has developed among American sociologists regarding these major founders, p- ticularly with regard to the works of Durkheim and Weber in analyzing the overall society and of Simmel in analyzing social interaction processes. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s the influence of Marx has also been recognized. Recent decades have also witnessed an increased emphasis on the important contributions of several pioneering feminist perspectives in the early years of sociology.

Written by award-winning scholar Jonathan H Turner, this is a comprehensive, in-depth and detailed review of present-day theory in sociology.

This Handbook provides the hidden common threads that tie sociological inquiry together and featuring eminent scholars, it separates itself from its predecessors in substance and organization. Rather than rehashing old debates or longingly gazing at the past, this book presents sociologists with new ways of conceptualizing the organization and presentation of sociological theory. At the heart of this Handbook’s vision is the twin goals of making theory a viable enterprise by reconceptualizing how we teach theory and keeping theory closely tied to its empirical applications. Three strategies are offered: (1) Elucidating how classic issues like integration or interaction are interrogated today; (2) Presenting a coherent vision of the social levels of reality that theorists work on such as communities, groups, and the self as well as how the coherence of these levels speaks to the macro-micro link; and, (3) Theorizing the social world rather than celebrating theorists or theories; that is, one can look at how theory is used holistically to understand the constraints the social world places on our lived experience or the dynamics of social change. Hence, in the second decade of the 21st century, it has become clear that sociology is at a crossroads as the number of theorists and amount of theory available is increasingly unmanageable and unknowable by the vast majority of professionals and students. As such, this Handbook of Contemporary Sociological Theory presents the novice and the expert with the a roadmap for traversing this crossroad and building a more coherent, robust, and cumulative sociology.

A unique hybrid of text and readings, this book combines the major writings of sociology′s core classical and contemporary theorists with an historical as well as theoretical framework for understanding them. Laura Desfor Edles and Scott A Appelrouth provide not just a biographical and theoretical summary of each theorist/reading, but an overarching scaffolding which students can use to examine, compare and contrast each theorists′ major themes and concepts. No other theory text combines such student-friendly explanation and analysis with original theoretical works. Key features include: * Pedagogical devices and visual aids - charts, figures and photographs - to help summarize key concepts, illuminate complex ideas and provoke student interest * Chapters on well-known figures, such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Parsons and Foucault as well as an in-depth discussion of lesser known voices, such as Charlotte Perkins-Gilman, WEB Du Bois, and Leslie Sklair * Photos of not only the theorists, but of the historical milieu from which the theories arose as well as a glossary at the back

Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basics is a brief survey of sociology′s major theorists and theoretical approaches, from the Classical founders to the present.