Full Description
Key Ideas in Sociology is the only compact and portable book for undergraduate readers that links issues regarding post-modern society to the ideas and individuals that gave rise to sociological thinking in the late 19th century. This is the ideal text for idea and history oriented introductory sociology courses.
Contents
Preface Chapter 1 - Key Ideas About the Social World Conceptualizing Contemporary Society Careers of Ideas Key Ideas and the Field of Sociology Tools for Understanding Social Trends Chapter 2 - Industrial Society: From the Satanic Mills to the Computer Age The Industrial Revolution Karl Marx: The Permanent Exile Marxism After Marx Counterimages of Capitalist Industrial Society: Shifts in the Class Structure Daniel Bell on the Advent of Postindustrial Society Summary Chapter 3 - Democracy: From the Fall of the Bastille to the Fall of the Berlin Wall Max Weber: Prophet, Pessimist, and Realist Talcott Parsons on the Democratic Prospect Capitalism Versus Democracy? Lipset and Beyond Critical Theory of Jurgen Habermas Summary Chapter 4 - Individualism: The Tension Between Me and Us Alexis de Tocqueville on Individualism Ferdinand Toennies on Community Emile Durkheim and the Quest for Community Durkheim in America Summary Chapter 5 - Modernity: From the Promise of Modern Society to Postmodern Suspicions Modernity and Postmodernity: Provisional Definitions The Ambiguous Legacy of Georg Simmel Robert E. Park and the Chicago School Postmodernism and Sociological Theory Anthony Giddens and the Late Modern Age Summary Chapter 6 - Globalization: Key Ideas in a Global Framework The Need to Think Globally The Lasting Impact of the Sociological Tradition References Index
