Description:
A group of renowned sociological theorists analyze why the attempts to make sociological theory formal in the 1960s and early 1970s failed. This becomes not only an unusual and interesting analysis in the sociology of knowledge, but several of the articles move to the level of analyzing the entire discipline, explaining why positivism did not take hold and what are the distinctive characteristics of sociology as a discipline. Anyone interested in sociology as a discipline and more specifically sociological theory will find interesting analytical models.
Brief description: Jerald Hage is at the Center for Innovation in the Department of Sociology at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Review Quotes:
"This volume exhibits the best current writing by some of the best scholars in sociology, including most all of the best formal theorists." -- Kenneth D. Bailey, University of California, Los Angeles
"Every sociologist should read this book, not only to understand the 'crisis in theory' that is being talked about today but, more importantly, as a challenge for their own research. Given the stature of the authors included in the book and the articulation of the major debates, this volume represents the best overview of where theory in sociology is today. While many of the authors have expressed their views in their own books and articles, I know of nowhere else where these ideas are collected in one source." -- Helen Rose Ebaugh, University of Houston