Customer Reviews

Contemporary Sociological Theory (Blackwell Readers in Sociology)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This "Reader in Sociology" is a really good introduction to the field of Contemporary Sociological Theory.

In my opinion, a college level textbook with materials being assembled by six editors only adds up to the diversity and expansiveness of the numerous topics related to the study of Sociology.

This book is a great start-up volume for every students interested to discover the intellectual richness and complexity of Contemporary Sociological Theory. The materials included here should be read as a worthy guide to expand one's knowledge in the field....

Lets keep in mind that in the vast field of scholarship that includes Sociology, you will have to eventually read a lot of exiting texts by really challenging authors.

This collection is a worthy reading choice, if only as a starting point to cover all bases in the studies of society !

Is this a case of too many cooks in the kitchen? This book has six editors, which, it seems to me, results in this book lacking a clear sense of direction. Many of the selections are questionable. The section on "Exchange and Rationality" suggests that these topics are more important in *contemporary* sociological theory than they really are (we simply skipped over this section on my theory class). The section on "Modernity and Postmodernity", simply put, is inadequate for getting a grasp on this (possible) shift. Many of the particular selections are not well edited. Some of the readings for Bourdieu and Giddens, for example, although they take up only 10 or so pages in the book, are culled from much larger selections in the original texts. (A paragraph from here, a paragraph from there.) This results in more confusion than clarity. I think it would be much better if each selection were complete, or nearly so. Surely most of these thinkers have essays or presentations short enough to be included without severe editing?