The Classical Roots of Ethnomethodology: Durkheim, Weber, and Garfinkel [Paperback]

Richard A. Hilbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2001

Hilbert demonstrates the historical connection between the nineteenth-century theory of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, in which sociology had its origins, and the ethnomethodological approach articulated in the 1960s by Harold Garfinkel. The author rejects the conventional view that draws radical distinctions between the two systems and at the same time provides an intellectual genealogy of ethnomethodology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

What Hilbert does is provide historical justification for taking ethnomethodology seriously on its own terms as sociology.
(Charles Lemert, Wesleyan University)

A fresh, provocative, and profound interpretation of a significant segment of twentieth-century sociological theory.
(Melvin Pollner, University of California, Los Angeles)

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (February 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807849529
• ISBN-13: 978-0807849521
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,042,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars on the recovery of lost themes from classical social theory., May 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Classical Roots of Ethnomethodology: Durkheim, Weber, and Garfinkel (Paperback)

In this well-written and important book, Hilbert demonstrates how key themes in classical social theory were lost or 'inverted' by Talcott Parsons. Hilbert goes on to show how Garfinkel's 'Studies in Ethnomethodology' (1967), and related work by other early ethnomethodologists generated a body of knowledge regarding actual social practices that stood Parsons on his head, thereby unintentionally 'recovering' some of the key insights lost to American Sociology through Parson's interpretation of Durkheim and Weber. A thought-provoking book whose insights can fuel further empirical work explicating the actual processes of the social world.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the recovery of lost themes from classical social theory, May 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Classical Roots of Ethnomethodology: Durkheim, Weber, and Garfinkel (Hardcover)

In this well-written and important book, Hilbert demonstrates how key themes in classical social theory were lost or 'inverted' by Talcott Parsons. Hilbert goes on to show how Garfinkel's 'Studies in Ethnomethodology' (1967), and related work by other early ethnomethodologists generated a body of knowledge regarding actual social practices that stood Parsons on his head, thereby unintentionally 'recovering' some of the key insights lost to American Sociology through Parson's interpretation of Durkheim and Weber. A thought-provoking book whose insights can fuel further empirical work explicating the actual processes of the social world.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on sociology ever written, August 15, 2005

By 

Paul D. Sellers "psell2flat" (Mendota, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Classical Roots of Ethnomethodology: Durkheim, Weber, and Garfinkel (Paperback)

I took classes from Prof. Hilbert in College. He is incredibly brilliant. If you can pick up just two or three main points from this book, it will be worth every penny you spent. One of the top 5 books ever written. If you like sociology and want to have your world rocked, pick this up.