This title was first published in 2001. This book tackles the important issue of the tasks that confront sociology in the third millennium. It examines the sociological interpretations of the World-Wide revolution which - amid unprecedented scientific and technological progress and the globalization of markets - has generated new inequalities, poverty, structural unemployment and mass conditionings. A number of the most distinguished living sociologists (including Boudon, Beck, Eisenstadt, Tiryakain, Wieviorka) furnish profound and innovative interpretations of changes in world society, while outlining the frontiers of sociological research for the 21st Century. The contributions to the book not only prompt reflection on the structure and organization of sociological research, but also revitalize sociological inquiry by conducting original and stimulating analysis of theoretical and methodological issues - an undertaking essential for the survival of the discipline itself.

An examination of the tasks and frontiers that confront sociology at the start of the third millennium. Distinguished contributors analyze the nature and effects of social changes such as the globalization of markets and unprecedented scientific and technological progress and explore the implications for the structure and organization of sociological research.

The landscape of social theory has changed significantly over the three decades since the publication of Anthony Giddens and Jonathan Turner’s seminal Social Theory Today. Sociologists in the twenty-first century desperately need a new agenda centered around central questions of social theory. In Social Theory Now, Claudio E. Benzecry, Monika Krause, and Isaac Ariail Reed set a new course for sociologists, bringing together contributions from the most distinctive?sociological?traditions?in an ambitious survey of where social theory is today and where it might be going. The book?provides a strategic window onto social theory based on current research, examining trends in classical traditions and the cutting edge of more recent approaches. From distinctive theoretical positions, contributors address questions about?how social order is accomplished; the role of materiality, practice, and meaning; as well as the conditions for the knowledge of the social world. The theoretical traditions presented include cultural sociology, microsociologies, world-system theory and post-colonial theory, gender and feminism, actor network and network theory, systems theory, field theory, rational choice, poststructuralism, pragmatism, and the sociology of conventions. Each chapter introduces a tradition and presents an agenda for further theoretical development. Social Theory Now is an essential tool for sociologists. It will be central to the discussion and teaching of contemporary social theory?for years to come.

Why has nationalism proved so durable? What are the roots of its appeal? This sharp and accessible book slices through the myths surrounding nationalism and provides an important new perspective on this perennial subject. The book argues that: nationalism is persistent, not merely because of its specific ideological appeal, but because it expresses some of the major conflicts in modernity; nationalism reflects and reinforces four key trends in western social development: state formation, democratization, capitalism and the rationalization of culture; the forms of nationalism can be organized into a comprehensive typology which is outlined in the course of this study; post-nationalism and cosmopolitanism are significant innovations in the debate about nation-states and nationalism; and that the new radical nationalisms have become powerful new movements in the global age.

Understanding Max Weber's contribution to social theory is vital for students and scholars of social science. This insightful text offers critical discussion of Weber's ideas, focusing on their uses - how they have been appropriated and applied to contemporary events. Written by one of the world's leading Weber scholars, this is an essential read.

A significant addition to the growing body of literature on citizenship, this wide-ranging overview focuses on the importance, and changing nature, of citizenship. It introduces the varied discourses and theories that have arisen in recent years, and looks toward future scholarship in the field. Offers an analytical assessment of the various thematic discourses and provides guidance in pulling together those discrete themes into a larger, more comprehensive framework Identifies the four broadly conceived themes that shape the many discourses on contemporary citizenship – inclusion, erosion, withdrawal, and expansion Includes a thorough introduction to the subject

Social and Economic Development is a component of Encyclopedia of Development and Economic Sciences in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Social and Economic Development provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world such as: Socioeconomic Developmental Social Work; Perspectives on Contemporary Socioeconomic Development; Sustainable Development of Natural Resource Capital; Sustainable Development Of Human Resource Capital; Intellectual And Knowledge Capital For Sustainable Development At Local, National, Regional, And Global Levels; Economic And Financial System Development Information And Knowledge; Institutional And Infrastructure System Development Information And Knowledge; Basic Principles Of Sustainable Development; Environmental Economics And Sustainable Development; Implementing Sustainable Development In A Changing World; Economic Sociology: Its History And Development; The Socioeconomics Of Agriculture; Agricultural And Rural Geography; Impact Of Global Change On Agriculture; Human Nutrition: An Overview; The Role Of Inter- And Nongovernmental Organizations; Nongovernmental Organizations; Social And Cultural Development Of Human Resources. This 8-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, issues on social and Economic Development. These volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.