Customer Reviews

Perspectives in Sociology

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I read this 1998 4th paperback edition as part of an independent study course, Principles of Sociology, given by the London School of Economics. There's no instructor in these courses, just a study guide, so the textbooks have to be clear. Perspectives in Sociology is just that.

Despite the confusing and overlapping nature of the subject matter, the authors do a great job in describing and dissecting each point of view. Special-use terms are clearly explained in boxes intermixed in the text. The chapters create a historical progression through the development of sociological theory, from founders Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, up through post-structuralists and synthesists.

Each theorist is presented impartially and objectively. (Incuding those theorists who say objectivity is impossible because we're all prisoners of language, lol.) The main criticisms of each theory are also presented. So, frequently, I found myself thinking that a theory made a lot of sense -- and then on reading the criticism or on reading the next theorist, I underwent an oh-yeah reaction, realizing that the theory failed to explain major phenomena.

In the book's final concluding chapter, the authors note that the term Perspectives is a bit obsolete. Their original intention was to present the varied points of view in sociological theory. Then came the poststructuralists and postmodernists who think the whole concept of sociological theory is incorrect. Nonetheless, I think Perspectives is still a good description of the subject matter.

There is now a fifth edition available which is likely even more useful, though a used 4th edition is currently quite a bit cheaper.

A sidenote: there are a number of neuroscience books now out that describe how much of human behavior and "thinking" is unconscious. This ties well into many sociological theories.

I would have to say that the book was really good. The item came quickly. The only let down was so many highlighted pages!