Talcott Parsons

Erscheinungsjahr 2006
ISBN: 978-0-7546-2482-0
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 200 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 1147 g

Talcott Parsons is probably the most important and influential US sociologist of the twentieth century. His career spanned the early formation of sociology as an academic discipline and he was active during a key period of its institutionalization in the USA in the 1940s and 1950s when his structural-functional theory of social systems was most influential. His approach fell from favour in the 1970s in a political climate more attuned to issues of conflict and change and few sociologists of subsequent generations self-consciously identified themselves with it, although it remained the critical foil against which alternative positions were defined. This collection brings together, for the first time, the leading essays covering the work of Parsons, introduced and contextualized by a detailed essay written by the editor.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Best, Shaun

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents: Introduction: Talcott Parsons: in his time and ours. Parsons and His Theoretical Context: On the divergence of Weber and Durkheim: a critique of Parsons' convergence thesis, Whitney Pope, Jere Cohen and Lawrence Hazelrigg; The making of a method: a historical reinterpretation of the early Parsons. Between 'objectivism' and 'subjectivism', Charles Camic; Bringing men back in, George C. Homans; Parsons' theory of social action, Alfred Schutz. Norms and Action: Towards a re-definition of action theory: paying the cognitive element its due, R. Stephen Warner; The oversocialised conception of man in modern sociology, Dennis Wrong. Conflict and Power: Out of Utopia: toward a re-orientation of sociological theory, Ralf Dahrendorf; 'Power' in the recent writings of Talcott Parsons, Anthony Giddens. System and Action: Talcott Parsons' theoretical metamorphosis from social behaviourism to macro-functionalism, Don C. Martindale; Talcott Parsons, the problem of order in society and the program of an analytical sociology, Thomas Burger; The conceptual dilemma: towards a better understanding of the development in Parsonian action theory, Hans P. Adriaansen. System and Function: Manifest and latent functions, Robert K. Merton; Functionalism and feminism: is estrangement necessary?, Miriam Johnson. System and Contradiction: Reciprocity and autonomy in functional theory, Alvin Gouldner; Social integration and system integration, David Lockwood; Talcott Parsons: problems of theory construction, Jurgen Habermas. Neo-Functionalism: Parsons Revisited and Revisioned: The new theoretical movement, Jeffrey C. Alexander; Parsonian theory today: in search of a new synthesis, Richard Munch; The antinomies of neo-functionalism: a critical essay on Jeffrey Alexander, Hans Joas. Afterword: On building social system theory: a personal history, Talcott Parsons; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

John Holmwood is Professor of Sociology at the University of Birmingham, UK. He was formerly Professor of Sociology and Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. His main research interests are the relation between social theory and explanation and social stratification and inequality.