Changing Theories: New Directions in Sociology

by Roberta Garner, Black Hawk Hancock

Overview

Influenced by Thomas Kuhn's work on paradigm shifts in the social sciences, this overview of contemporary theory identifies major themes, charts the impact of social change on theories, acquaints readers with a sample of individual theorists (the "transitional giants" who shaped contemporary theories), explores the impact of contemporary theories on various areas of sociology, and traces how the great social theories of the past are being reinterpreted and incorporated into new theories. The result is an original interpretation of the important role that theory plays both in the real world and in the shaping of an academic discipline.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802096821
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division
Publication date:	03/28/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Roberta Garner is Professor of Sociology at DePaul University in Chicago. She is the author of The Joy of Stats: A Short Guide to Introductory Statistics in the Social Sciences, Second Edition (2010). She teaches courses on theory, research design, statistics, and Greek mythology.

Black Hawk Hancock is Associate Professor of Sociology at DePaul University in Chicago. He is the co-author with Roberta Garner of Changing Theories: New Directions in Sociology (2009) and author of American Allegory: Lindy Hop and the Racial Imagination (2013).

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction: What is Theory and Why Does it Change?

Periods of Social Theory

The Organization of the Book

Part I: Changes

Chapter 1: 1968-2009: What Happened?

Why 1968?

A New Global Order: Globalization, Neoliberalism and Market Expansion, and Hyper-Industrialization

Issues without Borders: Population Growth, Urbanization, Health and Environmental Problems, and Regional Conflicts

The Emerging Distribution of Economic Inequality

Cultural Consequences: Postmodern Culture and Ironic Hopelessness

How and Why Did All These Changes Happen?

Conclusion

Chapter 2: Changes in Theory

Introduction: Making Theories

How and Why Have Sociological Theories Changed in the Past Forty Years?

Toward Contemporary Theories

Conclusion

Part II: Transitional Giants

Chapter 3: Erving Goffman (1922-1982)

Major Works, Ideas, and Concepts

Total Institutions and Labels

Interaction Order and Behavior

Frames of Reference and Discourse

The Politics and Feeling-Tone of Goffman's Work

Rupture and Continuity: Goffman as a Transitional Giant and Postmodernist

Chapter 4: Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

Major Works, Ideas, and Concepts

Foucault and the Traditions of Social Theory

Foucault's Impact and Method

Foucault's Politics

Conclusion: Foucault and the Transition to Contemporary Theory

Chapter 5: Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002)

The Craft of Sociology

Habitus, Body, Practice

Symbolic Power, Symbolic Violence, and Misrecognition

Fields, Spaces, and Capitals

Taste, Distinction, and Naturalized Categories

Public Intellectuals and Politics

The Critique of Neoliberalism

Conclusion: A Note on Foucault and Bourdieu

Chapter 6: Stuart Hall (1932- )

Hegemony

Ideology

Articulation

Overdetermination

False Consciousness

The Function of Common Sense

Interpellation and Ideological Subjects

Hegemony, Ideology, and Societies Structured in Dominance

Race: The Floating Signifier

Media: The Politics of Representation

Critical Politics of Contesting Images

Culture as the Arena of Struggle

Identity

The Move to Ethnicity

Thinking about Multiculturalism

Intellectual Labor and Politics of Resistance

Conclusion

Conclusion

The Uneven Impact of Contemporary Theory on Sociology

Legacies, Reinterpretations, and New Paradigms

Beyond Legacies: What's New?

What Will Happen Next?

References and Suggestions for Further Reading

Note to Readers

General Theoretical References (with Jose Soltero)

References and Reading Suggestions for the Transitional Giants

Erving Goffman

Michel Foucault

Pierre Bourdieu

Stuart Hall

Two Specialized Areas: References and Reading Suggestions

Theoretical Development in the Sociology of Families (prepared by Tait Runnfeldt Medina and Julie Artis)

Sociology of Health (prepared by Grace Budrys)

Index

What People are Saying About This

Ron Mize

This is exactly what we need for contemporary theory courses. Hancock and Garner brilliantly dissect the four most eminent theorists who will continue to define the future of sociological theory well into the twenty-first century.

Gianpaolo Baiocchi

A terrific book that should leave a significant imprint on the way we teach and think about social theory. The authors have crafted a text that offers an accessible introduction to the subject while making a bold argument about the nature of theory itself.

David Yamane

The ideas presented in Changing Theories are rich and subtle enough to challenge graduate students, but the presentation is straightforward and accessible enough for undergraduates. This book could be used as the core text in a contemporary theory course, but the idea of 'transitional giants' makes this book uniquely suitable for those of us who want to create a systematic analytical bridge between classical theory and theory as it is practiced today. In the end, the best thing I can say about Hancock and Garner's work is that it makes me want to get into the classroom and teach.

Editorial Reviews

Changing Theories makes for a warm and engaging read. The authors have given us a good history and summation of some of the most important contemporary theories in the discipline. [...] Changing Theories would make a strong contribution to the critically engaged contemporary theory course as well as graduate courses on the history of sociology and the sociology of knowledge.

Teaching Sociology

The authors manage effectively to paint the bigger picture for their readers, exploring the difficulties of theory and cementing it in the real world, and that's an achievement of which they should be proud. Changing Theories could be an indispensable tool for encouraging new students to engage with theory. More importantly, it could also go a long way to break misconceptions about the inaccessibility of theory.

Times Higher Education