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Author: Arthur Brittan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000155862
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
Meanings and Situations is an account of the ‘interactionist’ position. It is a committed account in the sense that it sees the central concerns of social psychology and sociology as being located in an interpretative and humanistic framework. At the same time, it argues for a bio-social image of man which does not do violence to the way in which men in interaction continuously construct and renegotiate ‘meaning’. This is in contrast to some of the highly fashionable ‘exchange’ and ‘game’ models of interaction which dominate the thinking of proponents of ‘respectable’ behavioural science. Hence, so the author urges, the current upsurge of interest in social phenomenology, ethnomethodology and symbolic interactionism is more than a reaction to the reigning paradigm in behavioural science. Arthur Brittan believes this new interest is essentially a return to the humanistic sources of these disciplines which have been in constant danger of being overwhelmed by the ‘behavioural ideology’.
Author: Arthur Brittan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000155862
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 316
Get Book Here
Book Description
Meanings and Situations is an account of the ‘interactionist’ position. It is a committed account in the sense that it sees the central concerns of social psychology and sociology as being located in an interpretative and humanistic framework. At the same time, it argues for a bio-social image of man which does not do violence to the way in which men in interaction continuously construct and renegotiate ‘meaning’. This is in contrast to some of the highly fashionable ‘exchange’ and ‘game’ models of interaction which dominate the thinking of proponents of ‘respectable’ behavioural science. Hence, so the author urges, the current upsurge of interest in social phenomenology, ethnomethodology and symbolic interactionism is more than a reaction to the reigning paradigm in behavioural science. Arthur Brittan believes this new interest is essentially a return to the humanistic sources of these disciplines which have been in constant danger of being overwhelmed by the ‘behavioural ideology’.
Author: Derek Layder
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650662
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
A central problem in contemporary social theory is that of providing an account of social interaction that does justice both to the self-monitoring capacities of the individuals involved and to the society that ‘frames’ the interaction. This book attempts to resolve this problem, arguing for an objectivist or ‘structuralist’ account which does not undervalue the importance of the indexical and negotiated aspects of interaction, and which takes seriously the Marxist-rationalist critique of empiricism and humanism and the associated idea that society should be treated as a supra-individual, preconstituted and constraining object of scientific analysis. First, Dr Layder pinpoints certain of the strengths and weaknesses of various schools of thought: social psychology (scrutinized in both its sociological and psychological forms), sociology, the Marxist-rationalist approach. Whilst rejecting the mechanistic or naively deterministic theories which are often associated with an objectivist stance, he argues that the productive activities of situated actors must be understood as existing in an articulated relationship with, and within, sets of preconstituted contextual constraints. This thesis is illustrated conceptually by the development of a framework which distinguishes two types and levels of social structure, with different modes of production and reproduction, and empirically by an analysis of aspects of interaction in the occupation of acting.
Author: John Rex
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317652525
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279
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Book Description
These essays, commissioned by John Rex, reflect the state of sociology in Britain today. Leading representatives of the diverse ‘schools’ provide lucid accounts of their own particular approaches to this complex discipline and in doing so demonstrate the techniques described. Topics covered include the empirical study of stratification, social evolution, survey techniques, mathematical sociology, systems theory, phenomenological approaches, Weberian sociology, structuralism, contemporary Marxism, and the development of theory after Talcott Parsons.
Author: Bryan S. Turner
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317652258
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 136
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Book Description
'In this remarkable collection of essays, Holton and Turner demonstrate that Parsonian sociology addresses the most central problems of our time – issues of sickness and health, power and inequality, the nature of capitalism and its possible alternatives. They develop a mature and original perspective on Parsons as the only classical theorist who avoided crippling nostalgia. Holton and Turner not only talk about Parsonian sociology in a profound and insightful way, they do it, and do it well. As sociology moves away from the rigid dichotomies of earlier debate, this book will help point the way.' – Jeffrey Alexander, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology, UCLA
Author: Kenneth Menzies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317657187
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255
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Book Description
Central to most sociologists’ self-image is the claim that their theories are based on research. However, using a random sample of 680 articles appearing in major American, British and Canadian journals, Dr Menzies shows that in some areas of sociology the wide gap between theory and research means that much of sociological theory is virtually untested. He explains how theory is embodied in eight particular types of research, critically examines these research theories, and contrasts them with the positions of modern theorists. The sample of journal articles also permits a comparison of British, American and Canadian sociology. By contrasting on how researchers us theories, Dr Menzies is able to reassess several theories. For instance, symbolic interactionist research uses embedded causal claims and stands in a dialectical relationship to other sociological research, while the research version of conflict theory depends on external causes to explain social change. The implications of using statistical techniques like factor analysis and regression are also considered in relation to the form of explanation.
Author: Gunter Werner Remmling
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 100015579X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472
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Book Description
The sociology of knowledge is an area of social scientific investigation with major emphasis on the relations between social life and intellectual activity. It is now an area central to most graduate and undergraduate courses in sociology. The present collection of readings explains the origins, systematic development, present state and possible future direction of the discipline. The major statements in the field were developed early in the twentieth century by Durkheim, Scheler and Mannheim, but the sociology of knowledge continues to engage the theoretical and empirical interests of contemporary sociologists who desire to penetrate the surface level of social existence. This book, with its carefully selected contributions and an introduction which relates the selections to the developmental pattern of the discipline, provides guidance and insight for the reader concerned with the topical issues raised by sociologists of knowledge.
Author: James B. Wilbur
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650492
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169
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Book Description
The annual Conferences on Value Inquiry bring together philosophers, scientists and humanists to discuss the many facets of the problem of value in the experience of the individual and in contemporary society. One of the criteria in choosing papers for the Conference is the ability to stimulate discussion and clarification. The papers in the present volumes show deep concern with the problems and responsibilities in making choices of value.
Author: Hans P.M. Adriaansens
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650581
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 211
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Book Description
This systematic analysis of the nature and development of Talcott Parson’s theory of action offers first an introduction to the conceptual paradigm upon which this theory is based – an introduction, that is, which will make Parson’s writing more easily accessible. Second, the book gives an explanation of the development which the action theory has undergone during the half-century of Parson’s career. Using a scheme of four theory-levels, the author indicates the crucial premises that can be distilled from Parson’s early works. He argues that Parsons, from the very start of his career, was trying to translate abstract premises into a systematically constructed conceptual scheme. The first conceptual translation, however, turned out to be vague and inconsistent in many respects, and this study offers a very specific explanation of the inadequacy of this first (structural-functional) version of the theory of action. Dr Adriaansens argues that it was not until Parsons had found his way out of this ‘conceptual dilemma’ that the premises of the action theory could be adequately translated into a conceptual paradigm.
Author: Ian C. Jarvie
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317652029
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233
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Book Description
The main concern of Dr Jarvie’s book is the relation of belief to action. He argues that people act in society because of beliefs, because of ‘the way they see things’. There is the world of physical and social conditioning – where fixed roles, tropisms, adaptations seem to operate; there is the world of mind – where action, alternatively, seems to originate; but then there is Karl Popper’s ‘third world’ – where dwell the objects of thought (ideals, theories, beliefs, values) which ‘directly affect how people act, and thus affect the way the world is’. Reform, change, improvement, modification, all proceed from the competitive interaction between our private beliefs about the world, and their ‘third world’ brothers. Jarvie contends that the struggle of privately held beliefs to realize themselves in the world through the actions of their believers is a fundamental force behind social change.
Author: John Rex
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650751
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 277
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Book Description
Professor Rex’s controversial book concerns not only those who are professional sociologists but all thinking people who live in the modern world. One of the objects of sociology is to give ‘power to the people’, to make a contribution to the understanding of political problems. Rex writes from a deep conviction that sociology is a subject whose insights should be made available to the great mass of the people, so that they may liberate themselves from the mystification of social reality that is continually and routinely presented to them through the media, by those who exercise power and by those who have influence. The book is dedicated to St Augustine and Franz Fanon, both of whom, Rex points out, were conscious of living in an age which was embarking on a new barbarism, but had the courage to use their intellects to help understand the possibility of a better future. Rex continues in this tradition, and his main preoccupations are reflected in the present book. It includes a discussion of the problem of social knowledge, an analysis of the basic problems of theory building, and, with the aid of concepts derived from Max Weber, an attempt to understand the major problems of the first, second and third worlds. The author also looks at social structures and moral perspectives, and discusses the vocation of a sociologist in a collapsing civilisation. The book is certain to stimulate debate, both in sociological and political fields and more generally, and is also a serious contribution to the discussion of the methodology and purposes of sociology.
