Includes bibliographic references and index

in English

Introduction -- Part I. Classical social theory. Hegel on dialectics, the state, and society -- Marx and Engels on social class and class struggle -- Durkheim on society and social order -- Weber on bureaucracy, power, and social status -- Pareto, Mosca, and Michels on elites and masses -- Simmel on social relations and group affiliations -- Cooley and Mead on human nature and society -- Freud on the development of society and civilization -- Adams and early women social theorists -- Veblen on the leisure class and conspicuous consumption -- Karl Mannheim and the sociology of knowledge -- Gramsci and Lenin on ideology, the state, and revolution -- Kollontai on class, gender, and patriarchy -- Du Bois and Frazier on race, class, and social emancipation -- Part II. Contemporary social theory. Parsons, Merton, and functionalist theory -- Mills on the power elite -- Domhoff on the power structure and the governing class -- Althusser, Poulantzas, and Miliband on politics and the state -- Trimberger, Block, and Skocpol and neo-Weberian theorizing -- Homans on social exchange -- The Frankfurt School of Critical Theory -- Goffman and Garfinkel on dramaturgy, ethnomethodology, and everyday life -- Wilson and Willie on race, class, and poverty -- Feminist theory : yesterday and today -- Wallerstein and world-systems theory -- Theories of globalization -- Therborn and Szymanski on contemporary Marxist theory -- Foucault on the diffusion of power -- Harvey and Callinicos on postmodernism and its critique -- Social movements and transformation -- Conclusion.

"Social Theory provides a sophisticated yet highly accessible introduction to classical and contemporary social theories. The author`s concise presentation allows students and instructors to focus on central themes. The text lets theorists speak for themselves, presenting key passages from each theorist`s corpus, bringing theory to life. The approach allows instructors the opportunity to help students learn to unpack sometimes complex prose, just as it offers inroads to class discussion. Chapters on Addams and early feminism, on Habermas and the Frankfurt School, on Foucault, and on globalization and social movements round out contemporary coverage. The book presents and explains key theories, just as it provides an introduction to central debates about them."--Publisher description.

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