The Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory

This ambitious two-volume handbook of social theory is both current and will stand the test of time.

Peter Kivisto (Edited by)

9781107162648, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 December 2020

464 pages
26 x 18.1 x 2.8 cm, 0.99 kg

'Social theory is a fascinating intellectual maze. The Cambridge Handbook of Social Theory provides all of us with a reliable map, a remarkable achievement. Systematic, precise and ecumenical, this is the guide we were waiting for.' Giuseppe Sciortino, Università di Trento

This ambitious two-volume handbook of social theory consists of forty original contributions. The researchers take stock of the state of social theory and its relationship to the canon, exploring such topics as the nature, purpose, and meaning of social theory; the significance of the classics; the impact of specific individual and theory schools; and more. Both volumes reflect a mixture of what intellectual historian Morton White distinguished as the 'annalist of ideas' and the 'analyst of ideas,' locating theoretical thought within the larger socio-historical context that shaped it - within the terrain of the sociology of knowledge. Exploring the contemporary relevance of theories in a manner that is historically situated and sensitive, this impressive and comprehensive set will likely stand the test of time.

1. The emergence of social theory Johan Heilbron
2. 'What is a classic?' Variations on an ancient theme Alan Sica
3. Karl Marx Kevin B. Anderson
4. The Marxist legacy Peter Beilharz
5. Émile Durkheim: theorist of solidarity Peter Kivisto
6. What's in a name? The sacred, science, and the collège de sociologie Simonetta Falasca-Zamponi
7. Max Weber Lawrence A. Scaff
8. Weberian social theory Austin Harrington
9. Georg Simmel and the metropolitization of social life Vincenzo Mele
10. Pounding on Parsons: how criticism undermined the reputation of sociology's incurable theorist A. Javier Treviño
11. Symbolic interactionism Lawrence T. Nichols
12. Erving Goffman and dramaturgical sociology Philip Manning
13. Structuralism Sandro Segre.

Subject Areas: Social theory [JHBA], Sociology [JHB], Sociology & anthropology [JH]