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Microsociologists seek to capture social life as it is experienced, and in recent decades no one has championed the microsociological approach more fiercely than Randall Collins. The pieces in this exciting volume offer fresh and original insights into key aspects of Collins'thought, and of microsociology more generally. The introductory essay by Elliot B. Weininger and Omar Lizardo provides a lucid overview of the key premises this perspective. Ethnographic papers by Randol Contreras, using data from New York, and Philippe Bourgois and Laurie Kain Hart, using data from Philadelphia, examine the social logic of violence in street-level narcotics markets. Both draw on heavily on Collins'microsociological account of the features of social situations that tend to engender violence. In the second section of the book, a study by Paul DiMaggio, Clark Bernier, Charles Heckscher, and David Mimno tackles the question of whether electronically mediated interaction exhibits the ritualization which, according to Collins, is a common feature of face-to-face encounters. Their results suggest that, at least under certain circumstances, digitally mediated interaction may foster social solidarity in a manner similar to face-to-face interaction. A chapter by Simone Polillo picks up from Collins'work in the sociology of knowledge, examining multiple ways in which social network structures can engender intellectual creativity. The third section of the book contains papers that critically but sympathetically assess key tenets of microsociology. Jonathan H. Turner argues that the radically microsociological perspective developed by Collins will better serve the social scientific project if it is embedded in a more comprehensive paradigm, one that acknowledges the macro- and meso-levels of social and cultural life. A chapter by David Gibson presents empirical analyses of decisions by state leaders concerning whether or not to use force to deal with internal or external foes, suggesting that Collins'model of interaction ritual can only partially illuminate the dynamics of these highly consequential political moments. Work by Erika Summers-Effler and Justin Van Ness seeks to systematize and broaden the scope of Collins'theory of interaction, by including in it encounters that depart from the ritual model in important ways. In a final, reflective chapter, Randall Collins himself highlights the promise and future of microsociology. Clearly written, these pieces offer cutting-edge thinking on some of the crucial theoretical and empirical issues in sociology today.

This volume of papers from the distinguished sociologist Anselm Strauss reflects his self-professed lifelong intention to create sociological awareness in his readers and students. As Irving Louis Horowitz notes in his foreword to the book, at the center of Strauss's effort has been the democratization of sociology. He has achieved this goal by making sure that relativities of status, power, and wealth are acknowledged in the conduct of everyday life, and by recognition that all collective life is subject to negotiation, rearrangement and reconstruction.Represented here is some of the work for which Strauss is best known, and the principal themes that have captured his imagination throughout his productive career. These include work, leisure, culture, illness, identity, and policy. All are linked by Strauss's'web of negotiation'by which organizational arrangements can be changed. The volume concludes with a selection of his work in problems of method, consultation, and teaching, affirming Strauss's commitment to passing along the sociological awareness reflected in this volume to a next generation.Squarely in the long tradition of the Chicago School of sociology, the work of Anselm Strauss represents the very best thinking in modem sociological and psychological analysis. Those interested in the development of his major conceptual frameworks, as well as those interested in the development of the specific subject areas to which Anselm Strauss has devoted his career will find this an essential volume. Professionals in the history of sociology, the sociology of knowledge, or medical sociology will find the book of particular interest.

Originally published in 1988, The Rhythms of Society reflects the time-obsessed age we lived in when it was written. The contributors, drawn from a range of disciplines, develop a common sociological approach to examine time in a range of cultures, sub-cultures and historical periods. With time even more of an issue now, this can be read today with an eye to the future.

This best-selling textbook returns for an eighth edition with material on the most fundamental issues in sociology today. The authors continue their tradition of focusing on the big picture, with an emphasis on race, class, and gender in every chapter—building on the seventh edition's discussion of reproductive justice after the revocation of Roe v. Wade, social movements such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, a discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic and Donald Trump and Joe Biden.The text frames sociological debates around the major theoretical perspectives of sociology and focuses on capturing students'imaginations with cutting-edge research and real-world events. The hallmark of the book continues to be clear writing that helps students understand the intricacies of the discipline like no other textbook on the market.New to the eighth editionThinking outside the box (or inside it…)Selected chapters contain thematically linked boxed inserts aimed at bringing analytical and expositional focus to certain issues, as follows: Sociological Insights: These boxes focus on how sociology can help us better understand a variety of issues and how examples from everyday life can help us to understand sociological principles, illustrating how topics are carefully linked to that material. Global Sociology: One of the most pronounced social changes of the past century has been globalization—a transition from the dominance of nation-states and national economies to global interactions. These boxes examine how social change moves around the world. Sociological Surprises: One common criticism of sociologists is that we sometimes expend a great deal of effort to prove things that are obvious. On the contrary, the reality is that what we find often goes against what people commonly believe and even against what sociological researchers expect to find. These boxes focus on such unexpected findings, analyzing why the social reality turns out to be something different from what is expected. Understanding Race, Class, and Gender: These boxes give added emphasis to the book's focus on race, class, and gender inequality. In every issue that sociologists study, race, class, and gender play a key role—and these boxes provide students with clear and concrete examples of how this occurs. Student Life: These boxes, which discuss student life from a sociological viewpoint, show how sociology is relevant to students in their everyday lives, covering race relations to dating to paying for college, and draws out their sociological implications. Putting Sociology to Work: These boxes focus on application: How can sociology be used to solve a social problem or to make an important decision?

Questioning society and one's place in it is a common theme in both comedy and sociology. Understanding and subverting hierarchies and norms, exploring deviance and taboos, and relating lived experience to broader questions all hold a crucial place for them both.Introduction to Sociology Through Comedy teaches foundational sociological concepts using comedy, first considering the history of sociology before employing examples from comedians – including standalone comedy bits, sketches, characters, and scenes – to illustrate a specific theory, concept, or social phenomenon. The profession of comedy is then used as a case study for the application of sociological concepts, such as impression management, social stratification, racial segregation, deviance, and stigma, allowing readers to gain familiarity with the concepts while simultaneously practicing their application.This book explains why we laugh by applying theories of humor, which will bolster students'understanding of sociological principles by forcing them to question their own assumptions – helping them to put why they laugh into sociological terms.

First published in 1932, Studies in Sociology consists of essays that fall into three groups, the first concerned with the scope and method of sociology and its relation to history and social philosophy; the second devoted to an analysis of the theory of evolution as applied to society, and to a number of problems in social psychology, such as the nature of social purpose, the place of instinct in social science, the relation between instinct and emotion, and the inheritance of mental characters; while the third group deals with the claims of Eugenics, and social classes and social mobility. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, history and philosophy.

Based upon the interdependencies of human beings as we cooperate and conflict with each other, how we share information, and how culture evolves, this book proposes a sociology of humanity covering three hundred millennia. Grounded in empirical findings from archaeology, history, lab experiments, and field studies – supplemented for precision with computational network models of cultural evolution, cooperation, influence, cohesion, warfare, power, social balance, and inequality – this is the first attempt at encompassing sociology of humankind. Informed by the theory of cultural evolution, it extends the notion that cultural evolution connects humans of all times in a giant sociocultural network, thereby yielding coherence between a great many empirical findings. It will therefore appeal to scholars of sociology and anthropology with interests in historical sociology, cultural evolution, and social theory.

Social Theory and the Political Imaginary: Practice, Critique, and History is an innovative work of synthesis, critique and analysis. It presages a social theory perspective that recognizes the constitutive significance of the political imaginary in modernity. Social theory's current dilemmas are explored through a series of interlinked assessments of recent substantial strands, specifically, Luc Boltanski's pragmatism and the wider ‘practical turn,'the perspectives of multiple modernities and global modernity, the outlook of social and political imaginaries and critical social theory. The political imaginary's reconfigurations are evident in the tensions of global modernity, and original social theory interpretations are advanced of landmark instances of twenty-first-century social contestation: the Hong Kong protests conditioned by threats to civil freedoms and a lack of self-determination, the radical democratic practices of anti-austerity movements contesting capitalist globalization's injustices and the inverted cosmopolitanism of the 2005 French Riots challenging the oppression and inequalities experienced by immigrant communities and marginalized youth. These incisive applications of social theory and complementary conceptual innovations illuminate the vicissitudes of social struggles, political forms and theoretical perspectives. Similarly, reflection on the political imaginary is found to enable a necessary rethinking of the interrelationship of practice, critique and history.

Since the nation's independence, the union and state governments of India have employed a variety of development strategies, some of which have evolved over time. The model of development implemented in Bihar in recent decades is different from its prior development strategies. Along with a number of social reform initiatives, the Bihar government implemented the “development-with-justice” model to enhance the lives and living circumstances of the most marginalized groups of the population and ensure the attainment of social justice.In light of the aforementioned context, this book offers an understanding of the various aspects of the Bihar government's “development-with-justice” model, and the effects of its implementation on lives and quality of living conditions of the state's underprivileged population. The book covers a wide spectrum of areas such as history of social reform measures, social justice in education, health, labour market, etc., caste- and gender-based discrimination, women's empowerment, migrant workers, poverty, inequality, agrarian concerns, planning for development, and so on. Besides recommending policies to improve the state's development outcomes, this book will aid researchers in identifying topics that may require additional research.Clearly researched, concise, and up-to-date, this book will be useful to the students and researchers from the fields of development economics, development studies, gender studies, sociology, political science, economic history, as well as the policy-planners in the government.

Indian Modernity (first published in 1998) acquires a new meaning today. While it critiques a techno-militaristic model of modernization, it visualizes alternative possibilities to give a distinctively new definition to our modernity. It engages the reader in dreaming of a new path to modernity beyond its present contradictions and paradoxes with its lyrical style, philosophic insights, sensitivity to deep religiosity, life-affirming femininity and, most of all, sociological imagination.This book continues to hold relevance for social science students and researchers, teachers, and visionaries, despite the passage of time.This title is co-published with Aakar Books. Print editions not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

This book explores and proposes original definitions of central terms in political sociology and social theory, including political culture, imaginary, ideology, and utopia, in a manner that renders the individual definitions consistent with one another as part of a single and general conceptual framework for understanding social action. Through a Weberian distinction between means, ends, and values, together with the thought of Alfred Schütz and phenomenological sociology more generally, it sheds light on the ways in which the book's key concepts make sense of social action, advancing the view that, rather than some promised land or aspiration, utopia is a project of broad and far-reaching collective action realized in its own enactment. As such, the book will appeal to scholars of social theory, political sociology, and political theory.

In a hyper-individualistic age and in the face of the narrowly focused, policy-oriented research ubiquitous in the social sciences, this book revisits the humanistic world-view that is integral to Norbert Elias's pre-eminent figurational-process sociology, with the aim of increasing the fund of sociological knowledge that has the human condition as its horizon.Clarifying the contentious ‘post-philosophical'aspects in order to supplement standard histories of sociology with new insights, it offers incisive evaluations of some of the bewildered attempts by prominent sociologists to diagnose the malaise of contemporary globalised society. It also challenges the orthodox limitation of the empirical scope of sociology to ‘modernity'. With its ominous warnings of the destructive prevalence of ‘overcritique'in the discipline and lack of in-depth sociological psychology, Post-Philosophical Sociology will appeal to scholars of sociology, psychoanalysis, social philosophy, cultural theory and social and political theory with interests in developmental and dynamic thinking and the history of the discipline.

This third edition of Social Theory Re-Wired is a significantly revised edition of this leading text and its unique web learning interactive programs that'allow us to go farther into theory and to build student skills than ever before,'according to many teachers. Vital political and social updates are reflected both in the text and the online supplements.'System updates'to each section offer an expanded set of contemporary theory readings that focus on the impacts of information/digital technologies on each of the text's five big themes: 1) the Puzzles of Social Order, 2) the Social Consequences of Capitalism, 3) the Darkside of Modernity, 4) Subordinated/Alternative Knowledges, and 5) Self-Identity and Society. New to this edition: The'big ideas/questions'thematic structure of the text as well as the connections between classical and contemporary theorists continues to be popular with instructors. This feature is enhanced in the new edition An expanded'Podcast Companions'series now pairs at least one podcast to every reading in the book Many new updates to the exercise platform allow students to theorize and build theory on their own New readings excerpts include such important recent work as: Shoshana Zuboff's'The Age of Surveillance Capitalism,'Ruha Benjamin's'Race After Technology,'David Graeber's'Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit,'Sherry Turkle's “Always-On/Always-on-You.”

This book is a dialectic and multi-perspective examination of classed traumas in late modernity. The primary anchoring question is whether and how class becomes a condition of possibility for coping with traumas. What does it mean to experience deindustrialization, crises, or domestic violence from a specific class position? Do the coping mechanisms differ along the lines of class, gender, race, age, or ethnicity?The text negotiates such questions, travelling back and forth from psychoanalysis to sociology and from the global to the local, while critically engaging with memories, narratives, and myths engraved into social and personal histories. Through a dialogic quest for what is silenced, and what is salient within oral, written, and visual testimonies, it foregrounds what the upper classes prefer to neglect: the traumatizing core of the new class divide. Rather than idealizing or vilifying the dominated, this study calls for an exploration of practices, narrations, and spaces whereby alienation and integration co-exist antagonistically, producing hybrid and fragmented, but also potentially transformative, subjectivities.This book will be of interest to scholars of humanities and social sciences, primarily for those studying social stratification and inequalities, sociology of emotions, identity theory, trauma and memory, political psychoanalysis, labour history, and ethnography.

Starting Sociology can be daunting. This user-friendly introduction takes the reader on a quest towards a sociological understanding of the world we live in. Using contemporary examples, The Sociological Quest asks what is distinctive about the way Sociologists view society. Haydn Aarons and Evan Willis show that they are concerned with the relationships between the individual and society, and that a sociological analysis involves an approach which is historical, cultural, structural, and critical.This sixth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and includes new material on identities, social change, social movements, populism, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, digital interaction, and social media. Also included in the sixth edition is an expanded chapter on empirical research in Sociology and the research process, as well as a new chapter on careers in Sociology.

From Society to System presents sociologist Michel Freitag's (1935-2009) distinctive, multifaceted and interdisciplinary work. Elaborated within the grand sociological tradition, his dialectical sociology redefines sociality as the realm of the symbolic to pinpoint its ontological frailty. Such a perspective expands the borders within sociology to rejoin classical philosophical preoccupations, revisiting social ontology as a radical critique of contemporary society where not only life and planet earth is at stake as a result of capitalism but reflexivity as well.This collection of essays touches on topics that have been of central concern for social theory since the end of the 20th century: the discussion about holism versus individualism and the dissolution of transcendental identity; the current state of the social sciences, both epistemologically and practically; the end-of-20th century debate over the nature of society along with its future in the context of globalisation. These essays show how Freitag's sociology is part of a larger unified framework that integrates ontology, epistemology, anthropology and philosophy into a coherent vision of the world – testifying to the distinctiveness of Freitag's social theory, standing next to other great social theorists such as Margaret Archer, Jürgen Habermas, Murray Bookchin and Ulrich Beck.

The Emotions in the Classics of Sociology stands as an innovative sociological research that introduces the study of emotions through a detailed examination of the theories and concepts of the classical authors of discipline.Sociology plays a crucial role emphasizing how much emotional expressions affect social dynamics, thus focusing on the ways in which subjects show (or decide to show) a specific emotional behaviour based on the social and historical context in which they act. This book focuses the attention on the individual emotions that are theorized and studied as forms of communication between subjects as well as magnifying glasses to understand the processes of change in the communities. This volume, therefore, guides the readers through an in-depth overview of the main turning points in the social theory of the classical authors of sociology highlighting the constant interaction between emotional, social and cultural elements. Thus, demonstrating how the attention of the emotional way of acting of the single subject was already present in the classics of the discipline.The book is suitable for an audience of undergraduate, postgraduate students and researchers in sociology, sociology of emotions, sociology of culture, social theory and other related fields.

Connecting Practices develops a distinctive method of conceptualising significant trends and global issues including environmental sustainability and inequalities in wealth and health, arguing that these are outcomes of the ways in which social practices interact and combine across space and time. Engaging with the question of how connections are made between practices and how past and present combinations make some futures more likely than others, this book brings practice theory to bear on large problems in society. Richly illustrated with examples from the spreading of germs to the history of shipping containers, this powerful analysis of how societies hang together and how they change will appeal to scholars and students of sociology and social theory.

This book is a collection of critical engagements with Andrew Sayer, one of the foremost postdisciplinary thinkers of our times, with responses from Sayer himself.Sayer's ground-breaking contributions to the fields of geography, political economy and social theory have reshaped the terms of engagement with issues and debates running from the methodology of social science through to the environment, and industrial development to the ethical dimensions of everyday life. Transatlantic scholars across a wide range of fields explore his work across four main areas: critical realism; moral economy; political economy; and relations between social theory, normativity and class.This is the first full-length critical assessment of Sayer's work. It will be of interest to readers in sociology, economics, political economy, social and political philosophy, ethics, social policy, geography and urban studies, from upper-undergraduate levels upwards.

This book explores the fertility and enigma of Erving Goffman's sociological reasoning and its capacity to shed fresh light on the fundamental features of human sociality. Thematically arranged, it brings together the work of leading scholars of Goffman's work to explore the concepts and themes that define Goffman's analytical preoccupations, examining the ways these ideas have shaped significant fields of study and situating Goffman's sociology in comparison to some eminent thinkers often linked with his name. Through a series of chapters informed by the same inventive and imaginative spirit characteristic of Goffman's sociology, the book presents fresh perspectives on his contribution to the field and reveals the value of his thought for a variety of disciplines now increasingly aware of the importance of Goffman's sociology to a range of social phenomena. A fresh perspective on the legacy of one of sociology's most important figures, The Routledge International Handbook of Goffman Studies will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in interactionist and micro-sociological perspectives.

This book presents the core ideas of early sociologist Gabriel Tarde and suggests a new pathway for sociology based on his foundational work. Rejecting anthropocentrism, Tarde highlights the contrast between the natural and the artificial, uniquely emphasizing the positive significance of the artificial in an age in which people have come to distrust it profoundly. Recovering Tarde's theory today in the context of contemporary as well as classical scholarship and recognizing how it fits with such phenomena as quantum physics and digital media, this book develops the concept of the cosmological imagination as the context for a critical Tardian analysis of artifice that can bring together what we know about our contemporary future-oriented global societies.How we know the universe, our place in it, the place of other animals and objects in it, our global socialities, our human claims of power and privilege within it, are pointed questions Tarde asks as he wonders whether a future temporality conducive to constant artifice has become our normal human way of life. Considering our ambivalence about modern products and modernity in general, our thinking about the future, and our tendency to forget what nature used to signify in its presentation of problems beyond our control, such as illnesses and epidemics, Gabriel Tarde: The Future of the Artificial demonstrates the reasons for which we need to return to Tarde's work to rediscover its relevance for public debate as we seek to think through the new era and its societies in which culture and nature are no longer distinct. This book will appeal to scholars of social and political theory with interests in our digital age, new sociologies of materials and objects, neomonadology, and the thought of Gabriel Tarde.

Few concepts are as central to sociology as institutions. Yet, like so many sociological concepts, institutions remain vaguely defined. This book expands a foundational definition of the institution, one which locates them as the basic building blocks of human societies—as structural and cultural machines for survival that make it possible to pass precious knowledge from one generation to the next, ensuring the survival of our species. The book extends this classic tradition by, first, applying advances in biological evolution, neuroscience, and primatology to explain the origins of human societies and, in particular, the first institutional sphere: kinship. The authors incorporate insights from natural sciences often marginalized in sociology, while highlighting the limitations of purely biogenetic, Darwinian explanations. Secondly, they build a vivid conceptual model of institutions and their central dynamics as the book charts the chronological evolution of kinship, polity, religion, law, and economy, discussing the biological evidence for the ubiquity of these institutions as evolutionary adaptations themselves.

A lively, accessible and comprehensive introduction to the diverse ways of thinking about social life, Sociology: The Basics has been translated into six languages. The volume is packed with thought-provoking summaries, questions, quotations and activities. It offers an absorbing narrative about what we mean by the social, and how we can think about it, weaving in discussions of the personal, the political and social change, along with concepts and vivid contemporary examples, and answering questions such as: What is the scope, history and purpose of sociology? How do we cultivate ways of understanding society and ‘the social'? What is the state of the world we live in today? How do we analyse suffering and inequalities? What are key methods and tools for researching and thinking about society? How has digitalism reshaped sociology and its method? How might sociology help us understand the changes brought about by Covid-19? Does sociology have values? What is the role of sociology in making a better world? In this thoroughly revised and updated Third edition the reader is encouraged to think critically about the structures, meanings, histories and cultures found in the rapidly changing world we live in. With tasks to stimulate the sociological mind and suggestions for further reading both within the text and on an accompanying website, this book is essential reading for all those studying sociology and those with an interest in how the modern world works.

The monograph The Paradigm of Social Interaction presents a paradigmatic synthesis in sociology. This is a reaction to the growing paradigmatic divisions in the discipline and an attempt at fostering the cumulative development of sociological knowledge. The suggested conceptual fusion includes micro-sociological interaction theories, recent theories of organizational interactions and the experience from the study on global trends. The intention is to support the building and explanatory application of middle-range theories in all action spheres and at all micro-, mezzo- and macro-social structural levels. The paradigmatic synthesis is developed around five analytical concepts of the determinants of social interactions: environmental, technological, economic, political and cultural complexes. Another conceptual framework fostering explanations consists of social actors, relations and processes as key parameters of the social interaction paradigm.The book also examines the COVID pandemic as a multidimensional crisis, applying the synthetic paradigm as a heuristic tool and knowledge-organizing framework. It is used in the studies on social innovations, societal transformations and global social trends as well. The book will be of interest to researchers, university teachers and doctoral and master's students in the fields of sociology, social theory, critical sociology, philosophy of social sciences, innovation and societal transformation studies.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781003036159, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.This book examines a variety of subjective spatial experiences and knowledge production practices in order to shed new light on the specifics of contemporary socio-spatial change, driven as it is by inter alia, digitalization, transnationalization, and migration. Considering the ways in which emerging spatial phenomena are conditioned by an increasing interconnectedness, this book asks how spaces are changing as a result of mediatization, increased mobility, globalization, and social dislocation. With attention to questions surrounding the negotiation and (visual) communication of space, it explores the arrangements, spatialities, and materialities that underpin the processes of spatial refiguration by which these changes come about. Bringing together the work of leading scholars from across diverse range disciplines to address questions of socio-spatial transformation, this volume will appeal to sociologists and geographers, as well as scholars and practitioners of urban planning and architecture.

While examining the intersections and engagements between sociology and management education in historical and contemporary terms, this slim volume outlines the agenda of a promising prospective engagement between the two. It specifically foregrounds the Indian experience without being indifferent to the global context that has shaped the unprecedented rise of business schools. Employing a perspective from the Global South, it contextualises the dominance of the US model of management curriculum and disciplinary practices in relation to wider geopolitics of knowledge production. Parenthetically, it presents a critical assessment of Indian scholarly contributions to the field of management studies. This book should be of interest to management educators, administrators, and sociologists besides the students and researchers in the broad area of organisation studies.

Bringing together the work of scholars from across Europe, this book shows how Simmel's categories can be used to explore contemporary issues and further shed light on trends characteristic of global modernity. Thematically organised around the major societal challenges currently faced by developed countries – those of making societies that are inclusive, reflexive and creative, sustainable, and democratic societies – it examines diverse phenomena, such as living in an increasingly multicultural societies, the social exclusion of vulnerable ethnic groups, the increasing concern with cyberbullying, the need to fight climate change, the rise of political populism, and the recruitment of youths from western countries to Islamic religious fundamentalism. Drawing on Simmel's sociological theory and expounding new approaches to research inspired by his work, this volume emphasises the conceptual pillars of Simmelian thought, meanings, processes, and forms. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and social theory with interests in the work of Simmel and its contemporary relevance.

This volume includes an unpublished manuscript and selected portions of five seminars by Harold Garfinkel – the founder of ethnomethodology – on the topic of practices in the natural sciences and mathematics. The volume provides a coherent and sustained account of his program for the study of ordinary and specialized social actions. Presenting broader theoretical and methodological initiatives, as well as discussions and summaries of exemplary studies of social phenomena within and beyond the sciences, this work dates to the period in the 1980s during which the field of Science and Technology Studies was taking shape, with ethnomethodological studies of scientific practice forming a major part of its development at the time. Aside from their historical importance, the manuscript and seminars present a distinctive perspective on the natural and social sciences that remains highly original and pertinent to research on science, social science, and everyday life today. Offering critical insights and proposals relating to developments in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis, this volume will appeal to scholars of Sociology and Science and Technology Studies with interests in the work of Garfinkel.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Black Feminist Sociology offers new writings by established and emerging scholars working in a Black feminist tradition. The book centers Black feminist sociology (BFS) within the sociology canon and widens is to feature Black feminist sociologists both outside the US and the academy. Inspired by a BFS lens, the essays are critical, personal, political and oriented toward social justice. Key themes include the origins of BFS, expositions of BFS orientations to research that extend disciplinary norms, and contradictions of the pleasures and costs of such an approach both academically and personally. Authors explore their own sociological legacy of intellectual development to raise critical questions of intellectual thought and self-reflexivity. The book highlights the dynamism of BFS so future generations of scholars can expand upon and beyond the book's key themes.

Social Theory is more than a reader. Feminists, race theorists, decolonizing leaders, and others are thoughtfully introduced by Charles Lemert's substantial commentaries. Social Theory has always sought to keep up with the new while respecting the old—from Durkheim and Weber to Latinx and LGBTQ pioneers. When the book first appeared it was, as it remains, a collection of selections from those who have changed how we think about social things. Today, as the world is threatened by a global wave of anti-democratic movements, Social Theory adds a new early section to remind us of the origins of democratic values in the 1700s. A new concluding section focuses the theoretical mind on how, in the 2020s, social theorists are rethinking the world in order to better understand and resist the menace of anti-democratic movements.

Sociological Theories of Health and Illness reviews the evolution of theory in medical sociology beginning with the field's origins in medicine and extending to its present-day standing as a major sociological subdiscipline. Sociological theory has an especially important role in the practice of medical sociology because its theories distinguish the subdiscipline from virtually all other scientific fields engaged in the study of health and illness. The focus is on contemporary theory because it applies to contemporary conditions; however, since theory in sociology is often grounded in historical precedents and classical foundations, this material is likewise included as it relates to medical sociology today. This book focuses on the most commonly used sociological theories in the study of health and illness, illustrating their utility in current examples of empirical research on a wide range of topics. The qualitative or quantitative research methods applicable to specific theories are also covered. Distinctions between macro and micro-level levels of analysis and the relevance of the agency-structure dichotomy inherent in all theories in sociology are discussed. Beginning with classical theory (Durkheim, Weber, and Marx) and the neglected founders (Gilman, Martineau, and DuBois), along with symbolic interaction (Mead, Strauss) and labeling theory (Becker), and poststructuralism and postmodernism (Foucault), coverage is extended to contemporary medical sociology. Discussion of the stress process model (Pearlin) is followed by the social construction of gender and race and intersectionality theory (Collins), health lifestyle theory (Cockerham), life course theory (Elder), fundamental cause theory (Link and Phelan), and theories of the medical profession (Freidson), medicalization and biomedicalization (Conrad, Clarke), and social capital (Bourdieu, Putnam, and Lin).

This book brings together the work of public sociologists from across the globe to illuminate possibilities for the practice of public sociology and the potential for international exchange in the field. In addition to sections devoted to the history, theory, methodology and possible future of public sociology, it offers a series of concrete case studies of public sociology practice from experienced scholars and practitioners, addressing core themes including the role of students in public sociology, the production of knowledge by communities and the sharing of knowledge with a view to having an influence on policy. Presenting research that is truly global in scope, The Routledge International Handbook of Public Sociology provides readers with the opportunity to consider the possibilities that exist for international collaboration in their work and reflect on future directions. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in research with public impact.

The Routledge Handbook to Sociology of Music Education is a comprehensive, authoritative and state-of-the-art review of current research in the field. The opening introduction orients the reader to the field, highlights recent developments, and draws together concepts and research methods to be covered. The chapters that follow are written by respected, experienced experts on key issues in their area of specialisation. From separate beginnings in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom in the mid-twentieth century, the field of the sociology of music education has and continues to experience rapid and global development. It could be argued that this Handbook marks its coming of age. The Handbook is dedicated to the exclusive and explicit application of sociological constructs and theories to issues such as globalisation, immigration, post-colonialism, inter-generational musicking, socialisation, inclusion, exclusion, hegemony, symbolic violence, and popular culture. Contexts range from formal compulsory schooling to non-formal communal environments to informal music making and listening. The Handbook is aimed at graduate students, researchers and professionals, but will also be a useful text for undergraduate students in music, education, and cultural studies.

If today students of social theory read Jurgen Habermas, Michael Foucault and Anthony Giddens, then proper regard to the question of culture means that they should also read Raymond Williams, Julia Kristeva and Slavoj Zizek. The second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Social and Cultural Theory is fully revised and updated to provide students, teachers and researchers with a comprehensive, critical guide to the major traditions of thought in social and cultural theory, as well as tracing the complex intellectual connections between these distinct but related approaches to understanding society and culture.The Handbook, edited by acclaimed sociologist Anthony Elliott, develops a powerful argument for bringing together social and cultural theory more systematically than ever before. Key social and cultural theories, ranging from classical approaches to postmodern, psychoanalytic and post-feminist approaches, are drawn together and critically appraised. There are also new chapters on mobilities and migrations, as well as posthumanism.The Handbook, written in a clear and direct style will appeal to a wide audience of students and scholars. The extensive references and sources will direct students to areas of further study.

Flying Aeroplanes and Other Sociological Tales is an introductory textbook for students wishing to learn about sociology and social research methods. Each of the short tales, told by a sociologist, introduces topics and research methods using an engaging storyline. The opening story narrates how the sociologist uses participant observation to understand the work of a commercial pilot, and how he feels about autopilot systems replacing his job of flying aeroplanes. Other tales feature topics such as education, health, crime, and gender. There is also a chapter on ‘lockdown'during the Covid-19 pandemic. One main feature of the book is the ‘back door'approach to teaching research methods, with chapters dedicated to exploring statistics, sampling, visual methods, documents, embodied methods, autoethnographic research and ethics. Traditional textbooks in sociology focus on what novice sociologists should do, but few, if any, comprehensively deal with overcoming problems as they might emerge and explain what to do when things go wrong. The sociological tales written in this book provide examples of when field access is denied, research participants refuse to take part, and when recording equipment has broken down. Each tale raises issues and problems for the sociologist to overcome, such as research design flaws, sampling bias, lack of rapport with research participants, and the problems with breaking ethical codes of conduct. The book provides insight into the role of the sociologist, why sociology matters, and what happens when sociology fails us. Flying Aeroplanes and Other Sociological Tales introduces a unique approach to teaching sociology and social research methods.

Pierre Bourdieu was the most influential sociologist of the late 20th century. The framework he developed continues to inspire countless researchers across the globe and provokes intense debates long after his death. Novel concepts, innovative applications and countless elaborations spring up every day, bulking out and shaping a distinct, if not always entirely consistent, body of work that might be characterised as a recognisable tradition. For those coming to Bourdieu for the first time, therefore, and interested in using his ideas in their own research, it no longer makes sense to confine oneself to the ideas of the man himself. An overview of the varied ways his concepts and arguments have been deepened and updated to make sense of new times or to fill certain gaps, and how insights on seemingly disconnected topics weave together into a bigger picture, is not just desirable but essential.Bourdieu and After aims to provide exactly this overview. Working closely with Bourdieu's own writings, but also covering a wide range of research and literature inspired by him, it aims to guide the reader through the key principles, the major and minor concepts and the concrete findings of Bourdieusian sociology as clearly and comprehensively as possible. It explains the difficult and often overlooked philosophical foundations, walks through the logic of famous terms like ‘field', ‘habitus'and ‘capital'and demonstrates how they have been or can be used to provide powerful accounts of colonialism, the emergence of nation states and the rise of global social relations. It covers topics that Bourdieu was famous for analysing, like class and educational inequality, yet also traverses subjects on which he said little but that others influenced by him have tackled in depth, such as ethnicity, sexuality and family.Along the way Atkinson seeks to undermine some of the common criticisms levelled at Bourdieu while identifying remaining gaps and limitations. Rather than simply recognising the problems, however, Atkinson proposes possible solutions too – solutions that are facilitated, he argues, by characterising Bourdieusian sociology as what he calls ‘relational phenomenology'.

Comprehensive and engaging, this textbook introduces students not only to foundational sociological work, but also to insights from contemporary sociological theory and research. This combined approach ensures that students become familiar with the core of sociology: key concepts, theories, perspectives, methods, and findings. Students will acquire the ability to think like a sociologist, investigate and understand complex social phenomena.This text presents a complete sociological toolkit, guiding students in the art of asking good sociological questions, devising a sophisticated theory and developing methodologies to observe social phenomena. The chapters of this book build cumulatively to equip students with the tools to quickly understand any new sociological topic or contemporary social problem.The textbook also applies the sociological toolkit to selected key sociological issues, showing how specific sociological topics can be easily investigated and understood using this approach. Taking a global and comparative perspective, the book covers a rich diversity of sociological topics and social problems, such as crime, immigration, race and ethnicity, media, education, family, organizations, gender, poverty, modernization and religion.The book presents a range of helpful pedagogical features throughout, such as: Chapter overview and learning goals summaries at the start of every chapter; Thinking like a sociologist boxes, encouraging students to reflect critically on learning points; Principle boxes, summarizing key sociological principles; Theory schema boxes, presenting sociological theories in a clear, understandable manner; Stylized facts highlighting key empirical findings and patterns; Key concepts and summary sections at the end of every chapter; and Companion website providing additional material for every chapter for both instructors and students, including PowerPoint lecture notes, discussion questions and answers, multiple-choice questions, further reading and a full glossary of terms. This clear and accessible text is essential reading for students taking introductory courses in sociology. It will also be useful for undergraduate and graduate courses in other social science disciplines, such as psychology, economics, human geography, demography, communication studies, education sciences, political science and criminology.

Social Bridges and Contexts in Criminology and Sociology brings together leading scholars to commemorate the illustrious career and enduring contributions of Professor James F. Short, Jr., to the social sciences. Although Professor Short is best known as a gang scholar, he was a bridging figure who advanced the study of human behavior across multiple domains.Individual chapters document Professor Short's intellectual development and highlight the significance of his theoretical and empirical work in a range of specialty areas, including suicide and homicide, criminological theory, field and self-report survey research methodologies, white-collar crime, hazards and risks, levels of explanation, microsocial group processes, and the etiology of gang violence and delinquency. A special feature of this book is the collection of brief personal reflection essays appearing after the main chapters. Authored by Professor Short's students, colleagues, collaborators, and friends, these essays provide powerful testimonials of the influence of his intellectual legacy as well as his generous spirit and commitment to mentorship.Written in a clear and direct style, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology and sociology, and all those interested in the important contributions of Professor James F. Short, Jr., to these subject areas.

First published in This volume grew out of concerns raised by the contributors and a few others over the current status of human ecology within the field of sociology. Stemming from conferences and subsequent discussions by a group of sociologist-demographers on recent developments in sociological human ecology which started at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America in 1976, the original essays contained in this book are designed to review and assess the current state of knowledge in the field.

While highly respected among evolutionary scholars, the sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher Edward Westermarck is now largely forgotten in the social sciences. This book is the first full study of his moral and social theory, focusing on the key elements of his theory of moral emotions as presented in The Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas and summarised in Ethical Relativity. Examining Westermarck's evolutionary approach to the human mind, the author introduces important new themes to scholarship on Westermarck, including the pivotal role of emotions in human reciprocity, the evolutionary origins of human society, social solidarity, the emergence and maintenance of moral norms and moral responsibility. With attention to Westermarck's debt to David Hume and Adam Smith, whose views on human nature, moral sentiments and sympathy Westermarck combined with Darwinian evolutionary thinking, Morality Made Visible highlights the importance of the theory of sympathy that lies at the heart of Westermarck's work, which proves to be crucial to his understanding of morality and human social life. A rigorous examination of Westermarck's moral and social theory in its intellectual context, this volume connects Westermarck's work on morality to classical sociology, to the history of evolutionism in the social and behavioural sciences, and to the sociological study of morality and emotions, showing him to be the forerunner of modern evolutionary psychology and anthropology. In revealing the lasting value of his work in understanding and explaining a wide range of moral phenomena, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology and psychology with interests in social theory, morality and intellectual history.

The complete collected works of Georg Simmel are now available. Yet, the standing of Simmel's sociological theory is still a subject of controversy. Is Simmel only a brilliant impressionist, a flâneur in the territories of modernity?Providing an illuminating and coherent presentation of Simmel's sociological theory, The Challenge of Modernity seeks to demonstrate how Simmel contributed a structured sociological theory that fits the criteria of a ‘sociological grand theory'. Indeed, starting by the theory of modernity and its dimensions of social differentiation, monetarisation, culture reification and urbanisation; it reconstructs the architecture of Simmel's sociological epistemology. Particular attention is dedicated to the theory of ‘qualitative societal differentiation'that Simmel develops within his cultural sociology, with the late work being presented as a double contribution to the foundation of sociological anthropology and to the social ethics of complex societies.Presenting the entirety of Simmel's manifold oeuvre from the viewpoint of its relevance for sociology, this comprehensive volume will appeal to scholars and advanced students who wish to understand Simmel's relevance for socio-political thought and become acquainted with his contribution to sociological theory. It will also be of interest to the wider public who seek a critical assessment of our age in theoretical terms.

One of the longest standing traditions in sociology, interactionism is concerned with studying human interaction and showing how society to a large part is constituted by patterns of interaction. In spite of the work of figures such as Robert E. Park, Everett C. Hughes, Erving Goffman, Herbert Blumer, Norman K. Denzin and Gary Alan Fine, interactionism – perhaps owing to its association with the perspective of symbolic interactionism – remains something of an odd man out in mainstream sociology. This book seeks to rectify this apparent neglect by bringing together critical social theories and microsociological approaches to research, thus revealing the critical and cultural potentials in interactionism – the chapters arguing that far from being oriented towards the status quo, interactionism in fact contains a critical and cultural edge. Presenting the latest work from some of the leading figures in interactionist thought to show recent developments in the field and offer an overview of some of the most potent and prominent ideas within critical and cultural criminology, Critical and Cultural Interactionism will appeal to scholars of sociology with interests in interactionism, social theory research methods and criminology.

While Erving Goffman's books are among the most widely read sociological works, covering issues including the presentation of the self, total institutions, interaction order to frame analysis, they are in fact guided by a single theme: the analysis of the form of interaction in social situations and the role that individuals play in it. This book stresses Goffman's central role as a sociological theorist, exploring the potentials of his work and uncovering the recondite layers of his oeuvre. In opening a path to understanding the complexity of his writings, it offers new directions for social theory and empirical research.

This is the second of Raymond Aron's classic two-volume survey of the sociological tradition – arguably the definitive work of its kind. Aron explores the work of three figures who profoundly shaped sociology as it entered the twentieth century: Émile Durkheim, who continued Auguste Comte's quest for a science of society and a scientific validation of morality; Vilfredo Pareto, the Italian'neo-Machiavellian'who emphasized the oligarchic or elitist character of all societies; and the German sociologist Max Weber, who reflected critically on the prospects for human freedom in an age marked by bureaucratization and rationalization. Aron presents rich portraits of these three thinkers, drawing out the enduring insights that remain in their work. At the same time he reflects critically on Durkheim's project for a science of society, Pareto's critique of humanitarianism, and Weber's tragic pessimism. Above all the book is remarkable for demonstrating Aron's lifelong indebtedness to and divergence from the thought of Max Weber, the sociologist par excellence, in Aron's view.This Routledge Classics edition includes an introduction by Daniel J. Mahoney and Brian C. Anderson.

This collection brings together Daniel Bell's best work in essay form. It deals with a variety of topics: technology and culture, religion and personal identity, intellectuals and their societies, and the uses and abuses of doctrines of social class. The Winding Passage demonstrates the author's continuing concern with the salient issues of our times, while its inspiration draws upon an older, humanistic sociological tradition.

This book, first published in 1947, presents the then-new subject of sociology of religion in systematic and historical theology and in the science of religion, in political theory and the social sciences, in philosophy and psychology, in philology and anthropology. Its intention is to bridge the gulf between the study of religion and the social sciences, an exercise that draws strongly upon cultural anthropology.

This book explores the contemporary relevance of Charles H. Cooley's thought, bringing together scholars from the US, Europe and Australia to reflect on Cooley's theory and legacy. Offering an up-to-date analysis of Cooley's reception in the history of the social sciences, an examination of epistemological and methodological advances on his work, critical assessments and novel articulations of his major ideas, and a consideration of new directions in scholarship that draws on Cooley's thought, Updating Charles H. Cooley will appeal to sociologists with interests in social theory, interactionism, the history of sociology, social psychology, and the sociology of emotions.

My Sociology reconceptualizes intro sociology for the changing demographics in today's higher education environment. Concise and student-focused, My Sociology captures students'attention with engaging stories and a focus on non-dominant populations. Rather than introducing students to theory and history at the beginning of the text, the book integrates the necessary information throughout to keep students engaged.

This book arouses discussion about the place of Ludwig Gumplowicz in the history of sociology. It offers an overview of Gumplowicz'main ideas in general, particularly those expressed in his other major work, Der Rassenkampf, and an examination of the men and movements in sociology.

This book examines the nature of unmasking in social theory, in revolutionary movements and in popular culture. Unmasking is not the same as scientific refutation or principled disagreement. When people unmask, they claim to rip off a disguise, revealing the true beneath the feigned. The author distinguishes two basic types of unmasking. The first, aimed at persons or groups, exposes hypocrisy and enmity, and is a staple of revolutionary movements. The second, aimed at ideas, exposes illusions and ideologies, and is characteristic of radical social theory since the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. The Unmasking Style in Social Theory charts the intellectual origins of unmasking, its shifting priorities, and its specific techniques in social theory. It also explores sociology's relationship to the concept of unmasking through an analysis of writers who embrace, adapt or reshape its meaning. Such sociologists include Vilfredo Pareto, Karl Mannheim, Raymond Aron, Peter Berger, Pierre Bourdieu, Luc Boltanski and Christian Smith. Finally, taking conspiracy theories, accusations of social phobia and new concepts such as micro-aggression as examples of unmasking techniques, the author shows how unmasking contributes to the polarization and bitterness of much public discussion. Demonstrating how unmasking is baked into modern culture, yet arguing that alternatives to it are still possible, this book is, in sum, a compelling study of unmasking and its impact upon modern political life and social theory.