Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Part I. Modernity and the Sociological Response 1. Sociology, Theory, and the Modern Agenda 2. The Evolution of Society: Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) 3. Contradictions in Capitalism: Karl Marx (1818-1883) 4. The Irrationality of Rationality: Max Weber (1864-1920) 5. The Problem With Diversity: Emile Durkheim (1885-1917) 6. The Modern Person: George Herbert Mead and Georg Simmel George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) Georg Simmel (1858-1918) 7. The Challenges of Gender and Race: Charlotte Perkins Gilman and W. E. B. Du Bois Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) Part II. Mid-Twentieth Century Sociological Theory 8. Structural Functionalism: Talcott Parsons and Robert K. Merton Analytical Functionalism: Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) Empirical Functionalism: Robert K. Merton (1910-2003) 9. Conflict Theory: Lewis Coser, Ralf Dahrendorf, and Randall Collins The Functional Consequences of Conflict: Lewis Coser (1913-2003) Power and Dialectical Change: Ralf Dahrendorf (1929-) Emotion and the World in Conflict: Randall Collins (1941-) 10. Structures of Racial and Gender Inequality: William Julius Wilson and Janet Saltzman Chafetz The Declining Significance of Race: William Julius Wilson (1935-) Structures of Gender Inequality: Janet Saltzman Chafetz (1942-2006) 11. Exchange Theory: George Homans, Peter Blau, and Randall Collins Elementary Forms of Social Behavior: George Homans (1910 - 1989) Social Exchanges and Power: Peter Blau (1918-2002) Ritualized Exchanges: Randall Collins (1941-) 12. The Late Modern Person and the Situation: Erving Goffman, Harold Garfinkel, and R. S. Perinbanayagam Performing the Self: Erving Goffman (1922-1982) Organizing Ordinary Life:Harold Garfinkel (1917-) The Language and Reality of the Self: R. S. Perinbanayagam (1934-) 13. Critical Theory: Jurgen Habermas (1929-) Part III: Contemporary New Visions and Critiques 14. Toward a New Vision of Society: Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu Structuration and Modernity: Anthony Giddens (1938-) Constructivist Structuralism and Class: Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) 15. Globalizing Systems: Immanuel Wallerstein and Manuel Castells Global Capitalism: Immanuel Wallerstein (1930-) The Network Society: Manuel Castells (1942-) 16. Upsetting Reality: Michel Foucault and Jean Baudrillard Defining the Possible and Impossible: Michael Foucault (1926-1984) The End of Everything: Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) 17. Politics of Identity: Dorothy E. Smith, Patricia Hill Collins, and Cornel West Gendered Consciousness: Dorothy E. Smith (1926-) Race and Matrices of Domination: Patricia Hill Collins (1948-) Race and Democracy: Cornel West (1953-) Glossary References Index About the Author

About the Author

Kenneth Allan received his PhD in sociology from the University of California, Riverside (1995), and is currently professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Before moving to UNCG, he directed the Teaching Assistant Development Program at the University of California, Riverside, and coedited Training Teaching Assistants, 2nd Edition (1997), published by the American Sociological Association. In addition to teaching classical and contemporary theory at UNCG, Allan also supervised UNCG's sociology iSchool program, which offered online introduction to sociology classes to high school students across North Carolina, has designed several online courses for both the college and department, and has regularly taught graduate pedagogy courses. Allan's research areas include theory, culture, and the self. He has authored several works in the area of theory, including multiple textbooks covering classical and contemporary theory, as well as The Meaning of Culture: Moving the Postmodern Critique Forward, and A Primer in Social and Sociological Theory: Toward a Sociology of Citizenship. His current projects include a social history of American individualism, a sociological analysis of consciousness and self, as well as a novel based in early 20th century American life.

Reviews

"This textbook's tone invites the student reader in to explore with the author each new chapter of uncovered ground... Allan also encourages students to think beyond the theory on the page to its implications for global society by providing what he calls 'theory you can use' ... a fresh, new and bold approach to the theory textbook." -- Barbara J. Denison TEACHING SOCIOLOGY 20100708