Social Theory Now
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Social Theory Now
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.
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.
Read the introduction.
416 pages | 2 line drawings | 6 x 9 | © 2017
Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology
Philosophy: Philosophy of Society
Political Science: Political and Social Theory
Sociology: General Sociology, Theory and Sociology of Knowledge
Reviews
Table of Contents
Introduction: Social Theory Now
1 On the Very Idea of Cultural Sociology
2 Varieties of Microsociology
3 Globalizing Gender
4 World Capitalism, World Hegemony, World Empires
5 Postcolonial Thought as Social Theory
6 On the Frontiers of Rational Choice
7 Systems in Social Theory
8 The Patterns in Between: “Field” as a Conceptual Variable
9 Poststructuralism Today
10 Networks and Network Theory: Possible Directions for Unification
11 Actor-Network Theory
12 The Sociology of Conventions and Testing
13 Norms and Mental Imagery
List of Contributors
Index
Claudio E. Benzecry, Monika Krause, and Isaac Ariail Reed
1 On the Very Idea of Cultural Sociology
Isaac Ariail Reed
2 Varieties of Microsociology
Claudio E. Benzecry and Daniel Winchester
3 Globalizing Gender
Dorit Geva
4 World Capitalism, World Hegemony, World Empires
Ho-Fung Hung
5 Postcolonial Thought as Social Theory
Julian Go
6 On the Frontiers of Rational Choice
Ivan Ermakoff
7 Systems in Social Theory
Dirk Baecker
8 The Patterns in Between: “Field” as a Conceptual Variable
Monika Krause
9 Poststructuralism Today
Claire Laurier Decoteau
10 Networks and Network Theory: Possible Directions for Unification
Emily Erikson
11 Actor-Network Theory
Javier Lezaun
12 The Sociology of Conventions and Testing
Jörg Potthast
13 Norms and Mental Imagery
Neil Gross and Zachary Hyde
List of Contributors
Index
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