Douglas V. Porpora is a Professor of Sociology at Drexel University, Philadelphia. His previous publications include Post-Ethical Society: The Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, and the Moral Failure of the Secular (2013).

'American sociology badly needs to learn critical realism and to rethink its assumptions, practices, and standards in realist terms. Doug Porpora here provides an easy but smart on-ramp into critical realism for sociology that I hope serves as an introduction to realism that many students and scholars use to gain a new perspective on our discipline.' Christian Smith, Wm. R. Kenan, Jr Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, and author of To Flourish or Destruct: A Personalist Theory of Human Goods, Motivations, Failure, and Evil

• 1. Seven myths of American sociology; 2. Do realists run regressions?; 3. What is truth?; 4. Whatever happened to social structure?; 5. Are we not men – or, rather, persons?; 6. What and where is culture?; 7. Do we need critical realism?; 8. So what do we do with it?

Douglas V. Porpora is a Professor of Sociology at Drexel University, Philadelphia. His previous publications include Post-Ethical Society: The Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, and the Moral Failure of the Secular (2013).

'American sociology badly needs to learn critical realism and to rethink its assumptions, practices, and standards in realist terms. Doug Porpora here provides an easy but smart on-ramp into critical realism for sociology that I hope serves as an introduction to realism that many students and scholars use to gain a new perspective on our discipline.' Christian Smith, Wm. R. Kenan, Jr Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, and author of To Flourish or Destruct: A Personalist Theory of Human Goods, Motivations, Failure, and Evil

• 1. Seven myths of American sociology; 2. Do realists run regressions?; 3. What is truth?; 4. Whatever happened to social structure?; 5. Are we not men – or, rather, persons?; 6. What and where is culture?; 7. Do we need critical realism?; 8. So what do we do with it?

Douglas V. Porpora is a Professor of Sociology at Drexel University, Philadelphia. His previous publications include Post-Ethical Society: The Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, and the Moral Failure of the Secular (2013).

'American sociology badly needs to learn critical realism and to rethink its assumptions, practices, and standards in realist terms. Doug Porpora here provides an easy but smart on-ramp into critical realism for sociology that I hope serves as an introduction to realism that many students and scholars use to gain a new perspective on our discipline.' Christian Smith, Wm. R. Kenan, Jr Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame, and author of To Flourish or Destruct: A Personalist Theory of Human Goods, Motivations, Failure, and Evil

• 1. Seven myths of American sociology; 2. Do realists run regressions?; 3. What is truth?; 4. Whatever happened to social structure?; 5. Are we not men – or, rather, persons?; 6. What and where is culture?; 7. Do we need critical realism?; 8. So what do we do with it?