Classical Sociological Theory

Steven Loyal is an Associate Professor in Sociology at University College DublinSinisa Malesevic is Professor and Head/Chair of UCD School of Sociology. Previously, he held research and teaching appointments at the Institute for International Relations (Zagreb), the Centre for the Study of Nationalism, CEU (Prague) and at the National University of Ireland, Galway. He also held visiting research fellowships at the London School of Economics and the Institute for Human Sciences (Vienna). He is also a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Professor Malesevic is a comparative historical and political sociologist whose main research interests include the study of war and organized violence, ethnicity and nationalism, ideology, as well as sociological theory.  He has authored six books and has edited or co-edited another five volumes. He has also authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

I can enthusiastically recommend this thoughtful new survey of classical theorists. Many Western sociologists have argued for broadening the traditional Eurocentric masculine canon: Loyal and Maleševic have actually acted on this. They have addressed those Ancient and Modern writers whose historical context led them to analyse in depth the nature of social reality. Here the great tradition is intriguingly extended - to Confucius, Aristotle and Ibn Khaldun, de Tocqueville, Harriet Martineau and W.E.B. Du Bois - their master ideas being conveyed succinctly, without once lapsing into vulgarisation.

• Plato and AristotleConfucius and Ibn KhaldunTocqueville and MartineauHegelMarxWeberDurkheimSimmelPareto, Mosca and MichelsHintze, Gumplowicz, Ratzenhofer, Ward and SmallDu BoisMead