Overview

Capitalism and Classical Sociological Theory, written specifically for one-semester courses, provides a solid foundation for understanding contemporary debates on social theory. This authoritative text provides in-depth coverage of the classical works of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber and selectively extends that coverage by examining the important works of Georg Simmel and early feminist social writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Jane Addams. It explains how classical sociological theory emerged through debates about social transformation and European Enlightenment, offering a balanced coverage of the most significant contributions by the canonical theorists. Extended passages from the original texts allow for a fuller historical context, and every attempt is made to make the classical canon relevant to capitalism in the twenty-first century by drawing upon issues related to contemporary debates about globalization, culture, and the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

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9780802096814

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Reviews

The authors are successful in achieving their goal of creating a text that 'encourages the reader to reflect upon capitalism in the early 21st century, contemporary society and on their own life experiences, and to evaluate the relevance of classical sociological theory for our times.' Capitalism and Classical Sociological Theory is a clear illustration that theory 'written in a distant epoch' still has the power to speak to the present. -- Canadian Review of Sociology

The authors are successful in achieving their goal of creating a text that 'encourages the reader to reflect upon capitalism in the early 21st century, contemporary society and on their own life experiences, and to evaluate the relevance of classical sociological theory for our times.' Capitalism and Classical Sociological Theory is a clear illustration that theory 'written in a distant epoch' still has the power to speak to the present. -- Canadian Review of Sociology This book offers an interesting discussion of the development of sociological theory, with a specific emphasis on the ways that capitalism shaped the field of sociology during its early years. [...] Its presentation of the social, historical, and economic context from which early sociological theory emerged is exemplary: detailed, thorough, and compelling. -- Teaching Sociology

Author Information

John Bratton is Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Work and Community Studies at Athabasca University, Canada, and a Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland. He has taught a variety of sociology courses, including classical social theory, over a career of 30 years. He is the author of Japanization at Work and co-author of Workplace Learning: A Critical Introduction with Jean C. Helms Mills, Timothy Pyrch, and Peter Sawchuk; Work and Organizational Behaviour with Militza Callinan, Martin Corbett, Carolyn Forshaw, and Peter Sawchuk; and Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, now in its fifth edition, with Jeff Gold. David Denham is an Honourary Research Fellow at Wolverhampton University, England, where he taught a wide variety of sociology courses, including classical social theory, over a career of 35 years. He has published articles on the sociology of law, criminology, and the sociology of sport and is co-author with Lorraine Wolhuter and Neil Olley of Victimology: Victimization and Victims? Rights. Linda Deutschmann was Professor Emerita at Thompson Rivers University. Her research interest was in aspects of social control in the ""risk society"" such as penal politics, social exclusion, and innovative restorative justice. She is the author of Deviance and Social Control (2007), now going into its fifth edition, and Triumph of the Will (1991).

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