The Person in the Sight of Sociology (RLE Social Theory)

The Person in the Sight of Sociology (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Colin Fletcher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317651472
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
Sociology is about society, but what about people? The person in the sight of sociology is all too often a matchstick being. In this original and stimulating book the person is characterized by what is inherent in a social being, and the result is a rich narrative, the story of the person told through events in life. The author holds that for sociological purposes, the person must be seen as perfect: perfectible, perfecting and perfect. He outlines the ‘trialectical’ nature of such a theory, offers a test of it in the making of madness and claims that such a change in vision is appropriate for the sociologist’s critical engagement in the world. It may be claimed that Colin Fletcher has created a new realm of theorizing and a piece of literature for sociology. And, perhaps as important, the reader may catch the rare experience of being spoken with as a person by another person.

The Person in the Sight of Sociology (RLE Social Theory)

The Person in the Sight of Sociology (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Colin Fletcher
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317651472
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 116

Get Book Here

Book Description
Sociology is about society, but what about people? The person in the sight of sociology is all too often a matchstick being. In this original and stimulating book the person is characterized by what is inherent in a social being, and the result is a rich narrative, the story of the person told through events in life. The author holds that for sociological purposes, the person must be seen as perfect: perfectible, perfecting and perfect. He outlines the ‘trialectical’ nature of such a theory, offers a test of it in the making of madness and claims that such a change in vision is appropriate for the sociologist’s critical engagement in the world. It may be claimed that Colin Fletcher has created a new realm of theorizing and a piece of literature for sociology. And, perhaps as important, the reader may catch the rare experience of being spoken with as a person by another person.

Sociological Theory in Use (RLE Social Theory)

Sociological Theory in Use (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Kenneth Menzies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317657195
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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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.

Sociology and the Demystification of the Modern World (RLE Social Theory)

Sociology and the Demystification of the Modern World (RLE Social Theory) PDF 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.

Approaches to Sociology (RLE Social Theory)

Approaches to Sociology (RLE Social Theory) PDF 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.

Towards the Sociology of Knowledge (RLE Social Theory)

Towards the Sociology of Knowledge (RLE Social Theory) PDF 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.

Sociological Theory in Use (RLE Social Theory)

Sociological Theory in Use (RLE Social Theory) PDF 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.

The Normative Structure of Sociology (RLE Social Theory)

The Normative Structure of Sociology (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Hermann Strasser
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317652320
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
In this provocative analysis of the central issues and developments in modern social theory, Dr Strasser contends that enquiry into the function, tasks and mission of sociology as a discipline can be understood only in relation to the subject's historical development. He believes that a discussion of the origin and intention of sociology, particularly in relation to the established social order, enables us to grasp fully the nature of sociological theory, both past and present. He maintains that a sociologist's own position in society, and consequently his views on its development and his way of expressing those views, will affect the theoretical position he takes up.

Sociological Theory in Transition (RLE Social Theory)

Sociological Theory in Transition (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Mark Wardell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650999
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Current sociological theories appear to have lost their general persuasiveness in part because, unlike the theories of the ‘classical era’, they fail to maintain an integrated stance toward society, and the practical role that sociology plays in society. The authors explore various facets of this failure and possibilities for reconstructing sociological theories as integrated wholes capable of conveying a moral and political immediacy. They discuss the evolution of several concepts (for example, the social, structure, and self) and address the significant disputes (for example, structuralism versus humanism, and individual versus society) that have dominated twentieth-century sociological thought. Their ideas and analyses are directed towards an audience of students and theorists who are coming to terms with the project of sociological theory, and its relationship with moral discourses and political practice. The authors of these essays are sociological theorists from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. They are all established, but not ‘establishment’ authors. The book contains no orthodoxies, and no answers. However, the essays do contribute to identifying the range of issues that will constitute the agenda for the next generation of sociological theorists.

Sociology and Social Research (RLE Social Theory)

Sociology and Social Research (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Geoff Payne
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650840
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
A social science which has become so remote from the society which pays for its upkeep is ultimately doomed, threatened less by repression than by intellectual contempt and financial neglect. This is the message of the authors of this book in this reassessment of the evolution and present state of British sociology. Their investigation analyses the discipline as a social institution, whose product is inexorably shaped by the everyday circumstances of its producers; it is the concrete outcome of people’s work, rather than a body of abstract ideas. Drawing upon their varied experience as teachers and researchers, they identify three major trends in contemporary sociology. First, that the discipline’s rapid expansion has led to a retreat from rigorous research into Utopian and introspective theorising. Second, that the concept of sociological research is being taught in a totally false way because of this, and encourages ‘research’ within a wholly academic environment. Third, that the current unpopularity of sociology with academics, prospective students and politicians is no coincidence, but a reflection of the conditions under which sociology is now produced and practised. In Sociology and Social Research the authors suggest substantial changes in sociological research, the way in which it is carried out and the conditions under which it is undertaken. Their book is a timely warning to fellow sociologists when the profession is under attack as a result of public expenditure cuts.

Talcott Parsons and the Social Image of Man (RLE Social Theory)

Talcott Parsons and the Social Image of Man (RLE Social Theory) PDF Author: Ken Menzies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317650557
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
This account of Talcott Parsons’s work clarifies his basic concepts and sets out their correlation. Dr Menzies believes that the philosophy of science working within the confines of the analytic-synthetic distinction tends to provide a rigid, static and sterile account of theories. He presents a more dynamic account of the scientific enterprise in order to come to grips with the amorphous nature of theory, and to provide the basic framework for his analysis of Parsons. Menzies argues that Parsons’s central problematic in The Structure of Social Action is utilitarianism in general and the classical economists’ account of the rise of capitalism in particular, and as such the book is not a reconciliation of positivistic and idealistic elements and these run throughout his subsequent work. Two major strands in Parsons’s work – the social action theory and the systems theory (structural-functionalism) – are separated and examined individually.