Understanding Social Theory

'This is a robust text - challenging and provocative and one which students will benefit from reading. Layder guides the reader through a large body of relevant literature. He draws attention to the strengths and weaknesses of particular approaches as he sees them and he is not afraid to offer his own judgements on the issues and problems he addresses' - Professor John Eldridge, University of Glasgow

'One of the most comprehensive, incisive and readable treatments of the macro-micro problem now available' - Professor Paul Colomy, University of Denver

This is a revised, updated and enlarged version of the accessible, authoritative first edition - a jargon-free textbook that provides an introduction to the core issues in social theory. It includes:

chapter previews, summaries and a glossary of key terms;

a 'problem focus' that encourages students to acquire skills of argument and discussion

new material on recent developments in social theory

an entirely new concluding chapter which relates theory to social domains

relevant examples from everyday life to illustrate key theoretical issues.

(SAGE Publications)

Bli först med att recensera och betygsätt boken Understanding Social Theory - du kan vinna 200 kr varje månad i tävlingen "Månadens recension".

In the area of social theory I am interested in how agency and structure combine in social life. In relation to this I have developed the 'theory of social domains' which represents my own attempt to deal with the agency-structure problem. I have also developed a methodological approach called 'adaptive theory'. This attempts to harness the creative synergy between 'received' (or 'preconceived') and 'emergent' theory, but also depends on a close connection between the construction of explanatory theory and the collection of empirical data. My ongoing interests are in drawing out the links between the 'theory of social domains' and 'adaptive theory' in the context of empirical research. With these objectives in mind I have recently completed studies of self-identity, emotion, intimacy, and power and control in social life.

(SAGE Publications)

A Map of the Terrain: The Organization of the Book; PART ONE: THE VIEW FROM ON HIGH; The Legacy of Talcott Parsons; Varieties of Marxism; PART TWO: WHERE THE ACTION IS; Meanings, Situations and Experience; Perceiving and Accomplishing; PART THREE: BREAKING FREE AND BURNING BRIDGES; Foucault and the Postmodern Turn; Beyond Micro and Macro: Abandoning False Problems; Gidden's Structuration Theory; PART FOUR: ONLY CONNECT: FORGING LINKS; Linking Agency and Structure and Macro and Micro; Habermas's Lifeworld and System; Varieties of Dualism; New Directions: The Theory of Social.

(SAGE Publications)