Rethinking Contemporary Social Theory

Roberta Garner, Black Hawk Hancock, Grace Budrys

“This book provides a clear summary of how postmodern approaches are becoming more entrenched within sociology, and it is a good textbook for teachers interested in this topic. Further, it demonstrates that if sociology is to be true to its calling, it must be able to understand the profound changes of the contemporary era, and radically transform its theoretical self-understanding if need be.” –International Review of Modern Sociology "Garner, Hancock and Budrys change the game in social-theory pedagogy and research by ‘discovering’ a major new paradigm—conflict constructionism. This is indeed a paradigm shift as they blend traditional conflict theory with social constructionism to explain and explore all manner of phenomena, including discourse, body politics, the microlevels of everyday life, discipline and domination. It is important to understand conflict and coercion as done "to" people but also to understand that people have a hand in their own liberation. In my own teaching, I have been looking for a way to put critical theory, feminist theory and cultural studies on the same page—or in the same week!—and now I have it. Rethinking Contemporary Social Theory will instantly become part of the sociological canon." -Ben Agger, author of Critical Social Theories

• Part I Paradigms; Chapter 1 Paradigms in Sociology; Chapter 2 Conflict Constructionism; Chapter 3 History of a Paradigm; Part II Paradigm Change in Selected Subfields; Deep Impact: The New Paradigm Becomes Dominant; Chapter 4 Constructing Difference and Dominance; Chapter 5 Culture in an Era of Globalization, José Soltero; Chapter 6 Media in the Information Age; Chapter 7 Sociology of the Self; Paradigms in Play; Chapter 8 Political Sociology and the Analysis of Collective Action; Chapter 9 Urban Sociology and Spatial Analysis; Chapter 10 Disruptions in the Field Formerly Known as Sociology of Deviance, Greg Scott, Julian Thompson; Paradigm Limited; Chapter 11 Social Class and Socioeconomic Inequality; Chapter 12 Contemporary Theories of Family Life, Tait Runnfeldt Medina, Julie E. Artis; Paradigms Reconstituted in a Transdisciplinary Field; Chapter 13 The Sociology of Health, Illness, and Medical Practice, Grace Budrys; conclusion Conclusion;