Founding Sociology? Talcott Parsons and the Idea of General Theory.

Founding Sociology? Talcott Parsons and the Idea of General Theory. PDF

Author: John Holmwood

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-09-25

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1317887549

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The theories of Talcott Parsons' are enjoying a revival in the world of sociology. Rather than following closely the complex original prose in an effort to explain the theory in its minutiae, Holmwood presents a highly readable non-technical critique of several of the strongest underlying sociological themes and shows how, although flawed in many respects, these themes have been recurring, in different forms, in the theories of those critical of his work.

After Parsons

After Parsons PDF

Author: Renee C. Fox

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 2005-08-25

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 1610442156

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Esteemed twentieth-century sociologist Talcott Parsons sought to develop a comprehensive and coherent scheme for sociology that could be applied to every society and historical epoch, and address every aspect of human social organization and culture. His theory of social action has exerted enormous influence across a wide range of social science disciplines. After Parsons, edited by Renée Fox, Victor Lidz, and Harold Bershady, provides a critical reexamination of Parsons' theory in light of historical changes in the world and advances in sociological thought since his death. After Parsons is a fresh examination of Parsons' theoretical undertaking, its significance for social scientific thought, and its implications for present-day empirical research. The book is divided into four parts: Social Institutions and Social Processes; Societal Community and Modernization; Sociology and Culture; and the Human Condition. The chapters deal with Parsons' notions of societal community, societal evolution, and modernization and modernity. After Parsons addresses major themes of enduring relevance, including social differentiation and cultural diversity, social solidarity, universalism and particularism, and trust and affect in social life. The contributors explore these topics in a wide range of social institutions—family and kinship, economy, polity, the law, medicine, art, and religion—and within the context of contemporary developments such as globalization, the power of the United States as an "empireless empire," the emergence of forms of fundamentalism, the upsurge of racial, tribal, and ethnic conflicts, and the increasing occurence of deterministic and positivistic thought. Rather than simply celebrating Parsons and his accomplishments, the contributors to After Parsons rethink and reformulate his ideas to place them on more solid foundations, extend their scope, and strengthen their empirical insights. After Parsons constitutes the work of a distinguished roster of American and European sociologists who find Parsons' theory of action a valuable resource for addressing contemporary issues in sociological theory. All of the essays in this volume take elements of Parsons' theory and critique, adapt, refine, or extend them to gain fresh purchase on problems that confront sociologists today.

The Social Thought of Talcott Parsons

The Social Thought of Talcott Parsons PDF

Author: Uta Gerhardt

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-02-17

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 1317015525

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The Social Thought of Talcott Parsons offers an insightful new reading of the work of Talcott Parsons, keeping in view at once the important influences of Max Weber on his sociology and the central place occupied by methodology - which enables us to better understand the relationship between American and European social theory. Revealing American democracy and its nemesis, National Socialism in Germany as the basis of his theory of society, this book explores the debates in which Parsons was engaged throughout his life, with the Frankfurt School, C. Wright Mills and the young radicals among the "disobedient" student generation, as well as economism and utilitarianism in social theory; the opponents that Parsons confronted in the interests of humanism. In addition to revisiting Parsons' extensive oeuvre, Uta Gerhardt takes up themes in current research and theory - including social inequality, civic culture, and globalization - offering a fascinating demonstration of what the conceptual approaches of Parsons can accomplish today. Revealing methodology and the American ethos to be the cornerstones of Parsons' social thought, this book will appeal not only to those with interests in classical sociology - and who wish to fully understand what this 'classic' has to offer - but also to those who wish to make sociology answer to the problems of the society of the present.

Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons PDF

Author: Uta Gerhardt

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002-10-10

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780521810227

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Table of contents

Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons PDF

Author: Shaun Best

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-01

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1317046927

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This is not a conventional biography but an attempt to explore the motives and intentions that underpin Talcott Parsons’ published work by exploring the reasoning Parsons shares with his readers in the pages of his many published works and the possible links between Parsons’ academic outputs and the social, economic and political situations in which Parsons found himself during the course of his life. Shaun Best brings together biography and the sociology of knowledge to demonstrate that there are links between the phases of Parsons theorizing the political, economic and social problems facing the United States; the circumstances in which he found himself and the intellectual decisions he made about what to publish. The assumption which underpins Parsons’ work is that knowledge is produced by people in particular historical conditions, grounded in sensory experience, exercising choice, judgment and reflection on those experiences. Thus, this book explores and evaluates Parsons’ ideas and arguments in relation to developments in social theory since the 1970s.

Talcott Parsons Today

Talcott Parsons Today PDF

Author: A. Javier Treviño

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 9780742509580

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These ten essays reassess and continue Parson's work in sociology, weighing in on the controversies which continue to surround his thought. Topics include scientific paradigms and organizational culture, Weber's influence, complexity theory, functionalism, generalized symbolic media, the social community, and normative dilemmas. Contributors include scholars of sociology, communications, and behavioral science, from the North America, Europe, and Australia. c. Book News Inc.

The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies

The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies PDF

Author: A. Javier Treviño

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-22

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1000475166

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Talcott Parsons was the leading theorist in American sociology—and perhaps in world sociology—from the 1940s to the 1970s. He created the dominant school of thought that made "Parsonian" a standard description of a theoretical attempt to unify social science, as reflected in the fact that his contributions to the discipline cover a range of issues, including medicine, the family, religion, law, the economy, race relations, and politics—to name but a few. This volume brings together leading scholars working in the field of "Parsonian Studies" to explore the background of Parsons’s work, the content of his oeuvre, and his subsequent influence. Thematically organized, it covers Parsons’s contributions and impacts in areas including the philosophy and methodology of the social sciences; cultural sociology; personality, mental illness, and psychoanalysis; and economics and political and economic sociology. In addition, it considers his influence in different areas of the world and on particular students, and offers insights into the Parsonian tradition’s practical application to contemporary social issues. An authoritative, comprehensive, and in-depth critical assessment of the Parsonian legacy, The Routledge International Handbook of Talcott Parsons Studies will appeal to scholars across the social sciences and in sociology and social theory in particular, with interests in the history of sociology and the enduring relevance of Talcott Parsons.

Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons PDF

Author: Dr Shaun Best

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published: 2015-12-28

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1472467442

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This is not a conventional biography but an attempt to explore the motives and intentions that underpin Talcott Parsons’ published work. The book explores the reasoning Parsons shares with his readers in the pages of his many published works and the possible links between Parsons’ academic outputs and the social, economic and political situations in which Parsons found himself during the course of his life.