Summary
Contents
Subject index
What can sociological theory tell us about the basic forces that shape our world? </em>With clarity and authority, leading theorist Jonathan H. Turner seeks to answer this question through a brief, yet in-depth examination of twelve major sociological theories. Readers are given an opportunity to explore the foundational premise of each theory and key elements that make it distinctive. The book draws on biographical background, analysis of important works, historical influences, and other critical insights to help readers make the important connections between these monumental sociological theories and the social world in which we live. This concise resource is a perfect complement to any course that seeks to examine both classic and contemporary sociological theory.
Theoretical Sociology Today
Theoretical Sociology Today
Controversy over what Theoretical Sociology can or should be
Sociology emerged as an explicit discipline in the early 1800s, although people have always thought about the universe around them, including the social universe of their own creation. Auguste Comte,1 the titular founder of sociology, preferred the name social physics for the new discipline because, during his time, the notion of “physics” had not been usurped by the current discipline using this name. Physics back then meant “to study the nature of”; therefore, social physicswas to be a scientific discipline devoted to studying the nature of the social universe created by people's behaviors, interactions, and patterns of social organization. For Comte, explanations in science are developed through theory, and thus, sociological ...
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