Overview

Theorising in the social sciences today is in disarray. A disarray marked by the relative disconnection between theory and empirical research, the subordination of sociological to philosophical theorising, the abolition of boundaries between social science disciplines and subdisciplines and the conflation of their internal logics. Sociological Theory: What Went Wrong? is a compelling analysis of the central problems of sociological theory and the means to resolve them. By examining critically a variety of developments in post-Parsonian theorising (various micro-sociological approaches, Gidden's structuration theory, Elias's figurational sociology, Bourdieu's theory of practice, neo-functionalism, post-structuralism), the author both attempts to provide a diagnosis of what went wrong in the development of sociological theory and to offer suggestions of how to overcome the present impasse. The latter is done by the elaboration of a set of concepts - derived mainly but not exclusively from the Marxist and Parsonian traditions - which help us to view under a new light on-going debates on the nature of functionalist explanations, the agency/structure distinction, micro-macro linkages, the social versus sociological theory controversy and so on. Sociological Theory: What Went Wrong? will be essential reading for all concerned with the state of theorising in social sciences today.

Full Product Details

Author:   Nicos Mouzelis
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.600kg
ISBN:  

9780415127202

ISBN 10:   0415127203
Pages:   232
Publication Date:   20 July 1995
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1 Theory as tool and theory as end-product 2 The rise and fall of modem sociological theory 3 Conceptual pragmatism Part I Diagnosis 1 IMPASSES OF MICRO-SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIZING: OVERREACTION TO PARSONS 2 RATIONAL-CHOICE THEORIES: FROM MICRO FOUNDATIONS TO REDUCTIONISM 3 POST-STRUCTURALISM: THE DEMISE OF BOUNDARIES Part II Tentative Remedies 4 INSTITUTIONAL AND FIGURATIONAL STRUCTURES: PARSONS AND ELIAS 5 ON THE ARTICULATION BETWEEN INSTITUTIONAL AND FIGURATIONAL STRUCTURES: BRINGING PARSONIAN AND MARXIST SOCIOLOGIES CLOSER TOGETHER 6 THE ‘PARTICIPANT-SOCIAL WHOLE’ ISSUE: PARSONS, BOURDIEU, GIDDENS 7 SYNTHESIS AND APPLICATION: A SOCIOLOGICAL RECONSIDERATION OF FUNCTIONALISM CONCLUSION Appendix to the Conclusion: tentative guidelines

Reviews

Nicos Mouzselis is...known for his work in development studies as well as on sociological theory. This book is his critique of some key ideas and trends in a certain genre of sociological theory since the 1950s.... The commentary is informative, and the work could well serve as an introduction to these issues for students or others considering them for the first time. <br>-Contemporary Sociology <br>

Author Information

Nicos Mouzelis is Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics.

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