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Modern Sociological Theory
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Modern Sociological Theory

Eighth Edition

Other Titles in:
Social Theory

March 2017 | 664 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

The authors are proud sponsors of the 2020 SAGE Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award—enabling graduate students and early career faculty to attend the annual ASA pre-conference teaching and learning workshop.

Now with SAGE Publishing, and co-authored by one of the foremost authorities on sociological theory, the Eighth Edition of Modern Sociological Theory by George Ritzer and Jeffrey Stepnisky provides a comprehensive overview of the major theorists and theoretical schools, from the Structural Functionalism of early 20th century through the cutting-edge theories of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The integration of key theories with biographical sketches of theorists and the requisite historical and intellectual context helps students to better understand the original works of contemporary thinkers.

 
PART I Introduction to Sociological Theory
 
CHAPTER 1 A Historical Sketch of Sociological Theory: The Early Years
Introduction

 
Social Forces in the Development of Sociological Theory

 
Intellectual Forces and The Rise of Sociological Theory

 
The Development of French Sociology

 
The Development of German Sociology

 
The Origins of British Sociology

 
The Key Figure in Early Italian Sociology

 
Turn-of-the-Century Developments in European Marxism

 
 
CHAPTER 2 A Historical Sketch of Sociological Theory: The Later Years
Early American Sociological Theory

 
Sociological Theory to Midcentury

 
Sociological Theory From Midcentury

 
Late-Twentieth-Century Developments in Sociological Theory

 
Theories of Modernity and Postmodernity

 
Social Theory in the Twenty-First Century

 
 
PART II Modern Sociological Theory: The Major Schools
 
CHAPTER 3 Structural Functionalism, Neofunctionalism, and Conflict Theory
Structural Functionalism

 
Systems Theory

 
Conflict Theory

 
 
CHAPTER 4 Varieties of Neo-Marxian Theory
Economic Determinism

 
Hegelian Marxism

 
Critical Theory

 
Neo-Marxian Economic Sociology

 
Historically Oriented Marxism

 
Neo-Marxian Spatial Analysis

 
Post-Marxist Theory

 
 
CHAPTER 5 Symbolic Interactionism
The Major Historical Roots

 
The Ideas of George Herbert Mead

 
Symbolic Interactionism: The Basic Principles

 
The Self and the Work of Erving Goffman

 
The Sociology of Emotions

 
Criticisms

 
The Future of Symbolic Interactionism

 
 
CHAPTER 6 Ethnomethodology
Defining Ethnomethodology

 
The Diversification Of Ethnomethodology

 
Some Early Examples

 
Conversation Analysis

 
Studies of Institutions

 
Criticisms of Traditional Sociology

 
Stresses and Strains in Ethnomethodology

 
Synthesis and Integration

 
 
CHAPTER 7 Exchange, Network, and Rational Choice Theories
Exchange Theory

 
Network Theory

 
Network Exchange Theory

 
Rational Choice Theory

 
 
CHAPTER 8 Modern Feminist Theory
Feminism’s Basic Questions

 
Historical Framing: Feminism, Sociology, and Gender

 
Varieties of Contemporary Feminist Theory

 
A Feminist Sociological Theory

 
 
CHAPTER 9 Micro-Macro and Agency-Structure Integration
Micro-Macro Integration

 
Agency-Structure Integration

 
Agency-Structure and Micro-Macro Linkages: Fundamental Differences

 
 
PART III From Modern to Postmodern Social Theory (and Beyond)
 
CHAPTER 10 Contemporary Theories of Modernity
Classical Theorists on Modernity

 
The Juggernaut of Modernity

 
The Risk Society

 
The Holocaust and Liquid Modernity

 
Modernity’s Unfinished Project

 
Self, Society, and Religion

 
Informationalism and the Network Society

 
 
CHAPTER 11 Theories of Race and Colonialism
Fanon and the Colonial Subject

 
Postcolonial Theory

 
Critical Theories of Race and Racism

 
Racial Formation

 
A Systematic Theory of Race

 
Southern Theory and Indigenous Resurgence

 
 
CHAPTER 12 Globalization Theory
Major Contemporary Theorists on Globalization

 
Zygmunt Bauman on the Human Consequences of Globalization

 
Economic Theory

 
Political Theory

 
Neoliberalism

 
Other Theories

 
 
CHAPTER 13 Structuralism, Poststructuralism, and Postmodern Social Theory
Structuralism

 
Poststructuralism

 
Postmodern Social Theory

 
Criticisms and Post-Postmodern Social Theory

 
 
CHAPTER 14 Social Theory the Twenty-first century
Queer Theory

 
Actor-Network Theory, Posthumanism, and Postsociality

 
Affect Theory

 
Prosumption Theory

 
 
References
 
Credits
 
Name Index
 
Subject Index

Supplements

Instructor Site

Password-protected Instructor Resources include the following:

    • A Microsoft® Word test bank, is available containing multiple choice, true/false, and essay questions for each chapter. The test bank provides you with a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity for editing any question and/or inserting your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.
    • Lecture notes summarize key concepts on a chapter-by-chapter basis to help with preparation for lectures and class discussions.

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 5

Chapter 14


For instructors

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ISBN: 9781506325620
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