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Understanding Social Theory
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Understanding Social Theory

Second Edition

Other Titles in:
Social Theory

December 2005 | 336 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
"This is a robust text - challenging and provocative and one which students will benefit from reading. Layder guides the reader through a large body of relevant literature. He draws attention to the strengths and weaknesses of particular approaches as he sees them and he is not afraid to offer his own judgements on the issues and problems he addresses."
 - Professor John Eldridge, University of Glasgow

 "One of the most comprehensive, incisive and readable treatments of the macro-micro problem now available."
- Professor Paul Colomy, University of Denver

This is a revised, updated and enlarged version of the accessible, authoritative first edition - a jargon-free textbook that provides an introduction to the core issues in social theory. It includes:
  • Chapter previews, summaries and a glossary of key terms.
  • A 'problem focus' that encourages students to acquire skills of argument and discussion.
  • A concluding chapter relating theory to social domains.
  • Relevant examples from everyday life to illustrate key theoretical issues. 
It is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of social and sociological theory. 
 
A Map of the Terrain
 
PART ONE: THE VIEW FROM ON HIGH
 
The Legacy of Talcott Parsons
 
Varieties of Marxism
 
PART TWO: WHERE THE ACTION IS
 
Meanings, Situations and Experience
 
Perceiving and Accomplishing
 
PART THREE: BREAKING FREE AND BURNING BRIDGES
 
Foucault and the Postmodern Turn
 
Beyond Micro and Macro: Abandoning False Problems
 
Gidden's Structuration Theory
 
PART FOUR: ONLY CONNECT: FORGING LINKS
 
Linking Agency and Structure and Macro and Micro
 
Habermas's Lifeworld and System
 
Varieties of Dualism
 
New Directions: The Theory of Social Domains

A good book to start
from, it gives a good insight to the ideas and theories.

Mrs Marcia Louise Dewar
health and social science, Bradford College
October 3, 2015

An extremely useful text for supporting developing thinking surrounding social theory. Very useful for tutors and students alike in both undergraduate and post-graduate levels of study.

Mrs Sharon Colilles
Carnegie Faculty of Sports & Education, Leeds Beckett University
February 4, 2015

This book makes complex sociological theories highly accessible to the reader and is highly recommended for anyone undertaking a social research

Mr Simon Moralee
Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, De Montfort University
September 13, 2013

I am not teaching this course this semester.

Dr Vince Montes
Sociology Dept, San Jose State University
May 31, 2013

Useful MA text

Dr Donna Woodhouse
HWB, Sheffield Hallam University
July 2, 2012

An excellent overview of the copious body of theory. Very useful for tutors and students alike in both undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Mr Michael Mahadeo
Dept of Sociology & Appl'd Soc Studies, Ulster University
May 9, 2012

An accessible introduction to Social Theory and a popular book with both first and second year undergraduates.

Dr Liz Bradbury
Dept of Humanities and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University
July 16, 2010

this text is a useful resource for developing student thinking.

Dr Caroline Lohmann-Hancock
ESSI, Trinity College Carmarthen
January 21, 2010

For instructors

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Paperback
ISBN: 9780761944508
£51.00

Hardcover
ISBN: 9780761944492
£147.00

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