Roland Robertson, one of the world’s leading global sociologists, is largely responsible for the development of global studies, as well as cosmic studies. His particular specialities are religion, culture, and theory.John Simpson contributed to the theoretical and comparative analysis of the resurgence of religion and ethno-nationalism on a global scale following the Iranian Revolution and the transformation of the Soviet Union in the late twentieth century.

"Edward Tiryakian is a searching, iconoclastic theorist and empirical interpreter of modernity. He never loses sight of meaning, and his sensitivity to the sacred is profound. The contributions to this Festschrift do honor to a long and extraordinarily creative intellectual career." —Jeffrey Alexander, Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology, YaleUniversity, USA

• Introduction; 1. The Dynamo and the Diplomat: Tiryakian’s Role in Preserving Sorokin’s Reputation - Alan Sica; 2. Edward Tiryakian and Modernization Theory: A Very Special Relationship - Wolfgang Knöbl; 3. Developmental Path (Entwicklungsform): A Neglected Weberian Concept and its Usefulness in Civilizational Analysis of Islam - Saïd Amir Arjomand; 4. The Existential Sociology of Edward Tiryakian: Toward an Integrated Paradigm - Andrey Melnikov; 5. Comparative Reflections on Sociology and Conservatism: The Contributions of Edward A. Tiryakian - Bryan S. Turner; 6. Contemporary Changes in the Processes of Social Differentiation: Towards an Analytical Version of the Theory - Alfonso Pérez-Agote; 7. Considerations on Global Studies - Roland Robertson; 8. Honoring Edward Tiryakian as a Metasociologist: A Metaconceptual Analysis of Prosumption and Related Concepts - George Ritzer; 9. Dangerous Nouns of Process: Differentiation, Rationalization, Modernization - Hans Joas; 10. Modernization as Social Becoming (Ten Theses on Modernization) - Piotr Sztompka; 11. Religion and Evolution - John Simpson; 12. The “Axial Age” vs. Weber’s Comparative Sociology of the World Religions - John Torpey