“The strengths of this text are the breadth of theories covered; the integration of gender-related topics— family, work, religion; the use of substantial quotes from primary texts; the consistent inclusion of methodological issues…. I have no doubt that it will find a solid position in the field of theory texts.”

--Kathleen Slobin, North Dakota State University

A concise, yet surprisingly comprehensive theory text, given the range of ideas, historical context, and theorists discussed. Unlike other books of the type, Contemporary Sociological Theory focuses on how the pivotal theories contributed not only to the development of the field, but also to the evolution of ideas concerning social life.

Mid-Twentieth-Century Sociology

Mid-twentieth-century sociology

The late 1950s and 1960s have been regarded, in historical hindsight, as significant years of momentous changes in the social and cultural life of most Western societies. From Elvis and an explosion of popular culture to a proliferation of experimental transformations in the arts in general; from mechanical worlds to the wired worlds of media and microchip; from love and marriage connected like a horse and carriage to “free,” experimental, and cosmic love and later, with the prevalence of AIDS, dangerous love; from political reformism/conformity to the politics of protest and violence; from “father knows best” to the rise of the feminist movement—the period was marked by critical changes, most especially in embodying a general “crisis of authority” and “movements of dissent” ...

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