Social theory as a vocation : genres of theory work in sociology

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Social theory as a vocation : genres of theory work in sociology

Donald N. Levine

Transaction Publishers, c2015

  • : hard
  • : pbk

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Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: pbk ISBN 9781138514799

Description

In this unprecedented collection, Donald N. Levine rejuvenates the field of social theory in the face of lagging institutional support. The work canvasses the universe of types of theory work in sociology and offers probing examples from his array of scholarly investigations. Social Theory as a Vocation throws fresh light on the texts of classic authors (Comte, Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Park, Parsons, and Merton). Ranging widely, its substantive chapters deal with the sociology of strangers and the somatic dimensions of social conflict; the social functions of ambiguity and the use of metaphors in science; contemporary dilemmas of Ethiopian society; logical tensions in the ideas of freedom and reason; and the meaning of nationhood in our global era. The book includes Levine's transformative analysis of the field of Ethiopian studies, and his acclaimed interpretation of the discontents of modernity. It makes the bold move to merge philosophically informed analyses with empirical work. Finally, Levine focuses on what he views as the contemporary crisis of liberal education, and offers suggestions for ways to stimulate new efforts in teaching and learning to do social theory. This book is an integral contribution to social science collections and should be read by all interested in the future of the social sciences.

Table of Contents

List of FiguresPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPrologue: Social Theory as a VocationPart I Custodial Theory Work1 Note on Park, The Crowd and the Public 2 Max Weber's 1908 Note Regarding Simmel 3 Review of the Variorum Edition of Max Weber's Economy and Society 4 Taking the Measure of Auguste Comte 5 emile Durkheim, Univocalist Manque 6 Robert K. Merton On and In Ambivalence 7 Revisiting Georg Simmel 8 Simmel's Stranger and His Followers 9 Simmel and Parsons ReconstructedPart II Heuristic Theory Work: Internal to the Discipline10 The Concept of Cultural Integration 11 The Organism Metaphor in Sociology 12 The Concept of Rationality: From Kant to Weber 13 Rationality and Freedom, Weber and Beyond 14 Putting Voluntarism Back into a Voluntaristic Theory of Action 15 Ambiguity and Modernity: Engaging a Serendipitous Problem 16 Somatic Elements in Social Conflict 17 Reconfiguring Ethiopia's Nationhood in a Global EraPart III Heuristic Theory Work External to the Discipline18 Simmel as a Resource for Sociological Metatheory 19 Sociology after MacIntyre 20 Images and Assumptions in a Scholarly Domain: Ethiopian Studies 21 Missed Opportunities as a Diagnostic Issue:Ethiopia, 1960-2005 22 A Problem of Collective Identity 23 Modernity and Its Endless Discontents 24 Crises in Liberal EducationAppendixesA Syllabus: American Sociological Theory, 1900-1980 B Syllabus: Perspectives on Modern Social Theory C Syllabus: The Forms and Functions of Social Knowledge D Syllabus: Organizations of the Social Sciences E Organizing a Practicum in Social TheoryReferencesIndex
Volume

: hard ISBN 9781412855020

Description

In this unprecedented collection, Donald N. Levine rejuvenates the field of social theory in the face of lagging institutional support. The work canvasses the universe of types of theory work in sociology and offers probing examples from his array of scholarly investigations. Social Theory as a Vocation throws fresh light on the texts of classic authors (Comte, Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Park, Parsons, and Merton). Ranging widely, its substantive chapters deal with the sociology of strangers and the somatic dimensions of social conflict; the social functions of ambiguity and the use of metaphors in science; contemporary dilemmas of Ethiopian society; logical tensions in the ideas of freedom and reason; and the meaning of nationhood in our global era. The book includes Levine's transformative analysis of the field of Ethiopian studies, and his acclaimed interpretation of the discontents of modernity. It makes the bold move to merge philosophically informed analyses with empirical work. Finally, Levine focuses on what he views as the contemporary crisis of liberal education, and offers suggestions for ways to stimulate new efforts in teaching and learning to do social theory. This book is an integral contribution to social science collections and should be read by all interested in the future of the social sciences.

Table of Contents

List of Figures Preface Acknowledgments Prologue: Social Theory as a Vocation Part I Custodial Theory Work 1 Note on Park, The Crowd and the Public 2 Max Weber's 1908 Note Regarding Simmel 3 Review of the Variorum Edition of Max Weber's Economy and Society 4 Taking the Measure of Auguste Comte 5 emile Durkheim, Univocalist Manque 6 Robert K. Merton On and In Ambivalence 7 Revisiting Georg Simmel 8 Simmel's Stranger and His Followers 9 Simmel and Parsons Reconstructed Part II Heuristic Theory Work: Internal to the Discipline 10 The Concept of Cultural Integration 11 The Organism Metaphor in Sociology 12 The Concept of Rationality: From Kant to Weber 13 Rationality and Freedom, Weber and Beyond 14 Putting Voluntarism Back into a Voluntaristic Theory of Action 15 "Ambiguity and Modernity": Engaging a Serendipitous Problem 16 Somatic Elements in Social Conflict 17 Reconfiguring Ethiopia's Nationhood in a Global Era Part III Heuristic Theory Work External to the Discipline 18 Simmel as a Resource for Sociological Metatheory 19 Sociology after MacIntyre 20 Images and Assumptions in a Scholarly Domain: Ethiopian Studies 21 Missed Opportunities as a Diagnostic Issue:Ethiopia, 1960-2005 22 A Problem of Collective Identity 23 Modernity and Its Endless Discontents 24 Crises in Liberal Education Appendixes A Syllabus: American Sociological Theory, 1900-1980 B Syllabus: Perspectives on Modern Social Theory C Syllabus: The Forms and Functions of Social Knowledge D Syllabus: Organizations of the Social Sciences E Organizing a Practicum in Social Theory References Index

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