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The Emergence of Sociological Theory
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The Emergence of Sociological Theory

Seventh Edition


November 2011 | 520 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

This scholarly text covers the first one hundred years of sociological theorizing, from 1830 to 1930, focusing primarily on Comte, Spencer, Marx, Weber, Simmel, Durkheim, and Mead. The authors provide an in-depth examination of these early sociological theorists with biographical background, analysis of key works, major influences, and critical insights. They answer the question, "What do these ideas tell us about the basic forces that shape the social world?" Posing this question for each theorist adds a unique perspective to the text and distinguishes it from other sociological theory books. In addition, it also includes material on the enduring models and principles of the theorists' work that continue to inform sociological theory today.


 
1 The Rise of Theoretical Sociology
The Enlightenment and New Ways of Thinking

 
Early Sociological Theory, 1830-1930

 
The First Masters

 
Conclusion

 
 
2 The Origin and Context of Auguste Comte’s Sociology
The Strange Biography of Auguste Comte

 
The Intellectual Origins of Comte’s Thought

 
Conclusion

 
 
3 The Sociology of Auguste Comte
Comte’s Early Essays

 
Comte’s Course of Positive Philosophy

 
Critical Conclusions

 
 
4 The Origin and Context of Herbert Spencer’s Thought
Biographical Influences on Spencerian Sociology

 
The Political Economy of ­Nineteenth-Century England

 
The Scientific Milieu of Spencer’s England

 
Spencer’s Synthetic Philosophy and the Sociology of Comte

 
Why Read Spencer?

 
 
5 The Sociology of Herbert Spencer
Spencer’s Moral Philosophy: Social Statics and Principles of Ethics

 
Spencer’s First Principles

 
Spencer’s The Study of Sociology

 
A Note on Spencer’s Descriptive Sociology

 
Spencer’s Principles of Sociology

 
The Analysis of Societal Institutions

 
Critical Conclusions

 
 
6 The Origin and Context of Karl Marx’s Thought
Biographical Influences on Marx’s Thought

 
G. W. F. Hegel and Karl Marx

 
Ludwig Feuerbach and Karl Marx

 
Adam Smith and Karl Marx

 
Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx

 
 
7 The Sociology of Karl Marx
The German Ideology

 
The Communist Manifesto

 
Capital

 
Critical Conclusions

 
 
8 The Origin and Context of Max Weber’s Thought
Biographical Influences on Weber’s Thought

 
The Early Years

 
Karl Marx and Max Weber

 
The Methodenstreit and Max Weber

 
Wilhelm Dilthey and Max Weber

 
Heinrich Rickert and Max Weber

 
Weber’s Theoretical Synthesis

 
 
9 The Sociology of Max Weber
Weber’s Methodology of the Social Sciences

 
Weber’s Image of Social Organization

 
Weber’s Analysis of Domination

 
Weber on Capitalism and Rationalization

 
Weber’s Study of Religion

 
Weber’s Outline of the Social System

 
Critical Conclusions

 
 
10 The Origin and Context of Georg Simmel’s Thought
Biographical Influences on Simmel’s Thought

 
Intellectual Influences on Simmel’s Thought

 
The Enigmatic Simmel

 
 
11 The Sociology of Georg Simmel
Simmel’s Methodological Approach to the Study of Society

 
The Web of Group Affiliations

 
Conflict

 
The Philosophy of Money

 
Critical Conclusions

 
 
12 The Origin and Context of Émile Durkheim’s Thought
Biographical Influences on Durkheim’s Thought

 
Charles Montesquieu and Durkheim

 
Jean Jacques Rousseau and Durkheim

 
Auguste Comte and Durkheim

 
Alexis de Tocqueville and Durkheim

 
Herbert Spencer and Durkheim

 
Karl Marx and Durkheim

 
Anticipating Durkheimian Sociology

 
 
13 The Sociology of Émile Durkheim
The Division of Labor in Society

 
The Rules of the Sociological Method

 
Suicide

 
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life

 
A Science of “Morality”

 
Critical Conclusions

 
 
14 The Origin and Context of George Herbert Mead’s Thought
Biographical Influences on Mead’s Thought

 
Mead’s Synthesis of Schools of Thought

 
Wilhelm Wundt and Mead

 
William James and Mead

 
Charles Horton Cooley and Mead

 
 
John Dewey and Mead
Mead’s Synthesis

 
 
15 The Sociology of George Herbert Mead
Mead’s Broader Philosophy

 
Mind, Self, and Society

 
The Philosophy of the Act

 
Critical Conclusions

 
 
16 The Emergence of Contemporary Theoretical Perspective
Nine Theoretical Traditions and Perspectives

 
Conclusion

 

I did not receive this book

Mr Michael Donaldson
Care Humatities and sport, North Glasgow Collge
August 15, 2019

It's a Ph.D. course and the book is for undergraduated courses.

Dr Jacques-Bernard Gauthier
Administration, Université du Québec en Outaouais
November 14, 2013

Well-written. Ideas clearly communicated. Seemed accessible to students, even if they have little or no background in theory.

Dr Sharon Placide
The Honors College, Florida International University - Miami
January 10, 2013

Insightful, covered from old essential thinker and its contribution to enrich social sciences that cross to humanities studies to the current theorist and approach on learning. The sense of this book was delectation so it can discover theoretical grave to be light and meaningful.

Dr Abdullah Sumrahadi
COLGIS, Northern University of Malaysia (UUM)
November 1, 2012
Key features

Now published by SAGE, this impactful text is newly available in its Seventh Edition, printed in paperback format and at an affordable price!

Key Features & Benefits

  • Provides a comprehensive, in-depth examination of the early sociological theorists, including biographical background and an analysis of each theorist's key works
  • Portrays the historical context, Renaissance Europe to the Industrial Age, providing insight into how and why sociological theory emerged when it did
  • Covers all major developments in sociological theory from the Enlightenment to George Herbert Mead
  • Includes diagrams throughout the text to illustrate the connections and flow of the central elements of each theorist's contribution
  • Designed with a modular construction to allow flexibility in teaching, allowing professors to pick and choose any of the following areas of emphasis for their course: historical context of a theorist's ideas; the major works of each theorist; or the enduring models and principles that can be extracted from a theorists' work

For instructors

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