Contemporary Sociological Thinkers and Theories

In this volume Sandro Segre provides a comprehensive overview of the major theoretical perspectives in contemporary sociology. The perspectives are divided into four sections: Interpretative Sociology; Structuralist Sociology; Micro and Macrosociological Perspectives; and Historical and Philosophical Perspectives. An introduction to each section provides a detailed overview of the key concepts and figures who contributed to the perspectives. An analysis of their reception in the secondary literature and a balanced evaluation of each perspective derived from extant critical literature are also provided.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the major theoretical perspectives in contemporary sociology, covering schools of thought or intellectual movements within the discipline, as well as the work of individual scholars. The author provides not only a rigorous exposition of each theory, but also an examination of the scholarly reception of the approach in question, considering both critical responses and defences in order to reach a balanced evaluation. Chapters cover the following theorists and perspectives: ¢ Alexander ¢ Bourdieu ¢ Ethnomethodology ¢ Exchange Theory ¢ Foucault ¢ Giddens ¢ Goffman ¢ Habermas ¢ Luhmann ¢ Merton ¢ Network and Social Capital Theory ¢ Parsons ¢ Rational Choice Theory ¢ Schutz and Phenomenalism ¢ Structuralism ¢ Symbolic Interactionism An accessible and informative treatment of the central approaches in sociology over the course of the last century, this volume marks a significant contribution to sociological theory and constitutes an essential addition to library collections in the areas of the history of sociology and contemporary social theory.