This book presents a critical analysis of the relation between sociological theory and recent debates in cultural studies. A distinctive sociological perspective is developed based on the work of Marx, Weber, Bourdieu and Bakhtin. The book examines the problems of theorising issues such as modernity, mass culture and postmodernity by advocating a historical and context-based approach.

This book presents a critical analysis of the relation between sociological theory and recent debates in cultural studies. A distinctive sociological perspective is developed based on the work of Marx, Weber, Bourdieu and Bakhtin. The book examines the problems of theorising issues such as modernity, mass culture and postmodernity by advocating a historical and context-based approach.

This lucidly written, jargon-free text offers an account of the rise of sociological thought from its origins in the eighteenth century. Beginning with the classical sociology of Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Simmel, it goes on to examine the modern paradigms of functionalism, interactionism, structuralism and critical Marxism, and ends by discussing salient contemporary sociological theory, including the theories of Foucault, Baudrillard, Giddens, Habermas and others. Systematic and comprehensive, this is a text that critically engages with sociological theory throughout its development, offering students a path through competing traditions and perspectives that brings out the distinctive value and limitations of these.

This book presents a critical analysis of the relation between sociological theory and recent debates in cultural studies. A distinctive sociological perspective is developed based on the work of Marx, Weber, Bourdieu and Bakhtin. The book examines the problems of theorising issues such as modernity, mass culture and postmodernity by advocating a historical and context-based approach.

This book presents a critical analysis of the relation between sociological theory and recent debates in cultural studies. A distinctive sociological perspective is developed based on the work of Marx, Weber, Bourdieu and Bakhtin. The book examines the problems of theorising issues such as modernity, mass culture and postmodernity by advocating a historical and context-based approach.

This lucidly written, jargon-free text offers an account of the rise of sociological thought from its origins in the eighteenth century. Beginning with the classical sociology of Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Simmel, it goes on to examine the modern paradigms of functionalism, interactionism, structuralism and critical Marxism, and ends by discussing salient contemporary sociological theory, including the theories of Foucault, Baudrillard, Giddens, Habermas and others. Systematic and comprehensive, this is a text that critically engages with sociological theory throughout its development, offering students a path through competing traditions and perspectives that brings out the distinctive value and limitations of these.