Charles Turner – författare

This rich and assured book is a major contribution to the growing Weber industry. It reveals Weber's theory of modernity in a new and unexpected light.

This rich and assured book is a major contribution to the growing Weber industry. It reveals Weber's theory of modernity in a new and unexpected light.

The European Union and European identity were until recently the objects of separate branches of scholarship and inquiry. With the entry of Central and Eastern European members into the EU, it has become clear that the future of the European Union can no longer be considered in isolation from the future of European identity. Taking Jürgen Habermas's plea for a European constitution and a normative foundation for the European Union as its starting point, this volume brings together the ideas of distinguished scholars in philosophy, political science, sociology, history, law and theology in order to address the shifting relationship between constitutionality, political culture, history and collective identity. The book argues that the future shape of Europe will not only result from external processes of globalisation but from the interaction between these social spheres within Europe.

The European Union and European identity were until recently the objects of separate branches of scholarship and inquiry. With the entry of Central and Eastern European members into the EU, it has become clear that the future of the European Union can no longer be considered in isolation from the future of European identity. Taking Jürgen Habermas's plea for a European constitution and a normative foundation for the European Union as its starting point, this volume brings together the ideas of distinguished scholars in philosophy, political science, sociology, history, law and theology in order to address the shifting relationship between constitutionality, political culture, history and collective identity. The book argues that the future shape of Europe will not only result from external processes of globalisation but from the interaction between these social spheres within Europe.

Wilhelm 'Gi' Baldamus (1908-1991) was one of the most distinctive voices in British sociology in the second half of the twentieth century. He made major contributions to both industrial sociology and sociological theory, yet many of his central concerns remain under-explored. This volume is the first of its kind to engage with these questions and Baldamus’ responses, in combination with the publication of two of Baldamus's own later writings never before printed in English. A substantial biographical introduction by the editors situates this work within the context of Baldamus’s life both before and after his exile from Nazi Germany, adding background to the exploration of his concerns that research should be underpinned by meticulous theoretical and conceptual work. It will be of interest to sociologists, social theorists, intellectual historians, and those working in the field of social science research methods.'

Wilhelm 'Gi' Baldamus (1908-1991) was one of the most distinctive voices in British sociology in the second half of the twentieth century. He made major contributions to both industrial sociology and sociological theory, yet many of his central concerns remain under-explored. This volume is the first of its kind to engage with these questions and Baldamus’ responses, in combination with the publication of two of Baldamus's own later writings never before printed in English. A substantial biographical introduction by the editors situates this work within the context of Baldamus’s life both before and after his exile from Nazi Germany, adding background to the exploration of his concerns that research should be underpinned by meticulous theoretical and conceptual work. It will be of interest to sociologists, social theorists, intellectual historians, and those working in the field of social science research methods.'

‘Secularization’ sounds simple, a decline in the power of religion. Yet, the history of the term is controversial and multi-faceted; it has been useful to both religious believers and non-believers and has been deployed by scholars to make sense of a variety of aspects of cultural and social change. This book will introduce the reader to this variety and show how secularization bears on the contemporary politics of religion. Secularization addresses the sociological classics’ ambivalent accounts of the future of religion, later and more robust sociological claims about religious decline, and the most influential philosophical secularization thesis, which says that the dominant ideas of modern thought are in fact religious ones in a secularized form. The book outlines some shortcomings of these accounts in the light of historical inquiry and comparative sociology; examines claims that some religions are ‘resistant to secularization’; and analyzes controversies in the politics of religion, in particular over the relationship between Christianity and Islam and over the implicitly religious character of some modern political movements. By giving equal attention to both sociological and philosophical accounts of secularization, and equal weight to ideas, institutions, and practices, this book introduces complicated ideas in a digestible format. It will appeal to students and scholars interested in making unusual connections within sociology, anthropology, philosophy, theology, and political theory.

‘Secularization’ sounds simple, a decline in the power of religion. Yet, the history of the term is controversial and multi-faceted; it has been useful to both religious believers and non-believers and has been deployed by scholars to make sense of a variety of aspects of cultural and social change. This book will introduce the reader to this variety and show how secularization bears on the contemporary politics of religion. Secularization addresses the sociological classics’ ambivalent accounts of the future of religion, later and more robust sociological claims about religious decline, and the most influential philosophical secularization thesis, which says that the dominant ideas of modern thought are in fact religious ones in a secularized form. The book outlines some shortcomings of these accounts in the light of historical inquiry and comparative sociology; examines claims that some religions are ‘resistant to secularization’; and analyzes controversies in the politics of religion, in particular over the relationship between Christianity and Islam and over the implicitly religious character of some modern political movements. By giving equal attention to both sociological and philosophical accounts of secularization, and equal weight to ideas, institutions, and practices, this book introduces complicated ideas in a digestible format. It will appeal to students and scholars interested in making unusual connections within sociology, anthropology, philosophy, theology, and political theory.

'This book is not an encyclopaedic survey of the most influential or important sociological theories of the 20th century; nor is it an institutional history of sociological theory; it is not a textbook, a distillation of the accumulated knowledge of a particular discipline; nor is it a crib, a set of ready-made and easily-remembered answers to imagined examination questions. It is more of a reader's guide, a series of hints and suggestions for those who, whether students or teachers, believe that sociology is a profession and a discipline but also something more...' - Charles Turner in the introduction to 'Investigating Sociological Theory'

This is an accessible, enlivening introductory book that provides a shot in the arm for all those who maintain the relevance of sociology for understanding the modern world.

It will inspire discussion in classes, and provide teachers with an opportunity to discuss the big questions in theory, history, social order and social change.

Turner provides a wealth of concrete examples which demonstrate what a sociological perspective can do to unpack and illuminate everyday life. The book allows students to understand sociological theory from the inside. It moves effortlessly beyond the mere parade of great names and core ideas to introduce concepts that can be used to understand the social world in which we live, where this world has come from and where it might be heading.

Original, informed, and deftly written with the needs of students in mind this book is an antidote to arid theorising and the dull recitation of the grand sociological tradition.

'This book is not an encyclopaedic survey of the most influential or important sociological theories of the 20th century; nor is it an institutional history of sociological theory; it is not a textbook, a distillation of the accumulated knowledge of a particular discipline; nor is it a crib, a set of ready-made and easily-remembered answers to imagined examination questions. It is more of a reader's guide, a series of hints and suggestions for those who, whether students or teachers, believe that sociology is a profession and a discipline but also something more...' - Charles Turner in the introduction to 'Investigating Sociological Theory'

This is an accessible, enlivening introductory book that provides a shot in the arm for all those who maintain the relevance of sociology for understanding the modern world.

It will inspire discussion in classes, and provide teachers with an opportunity to discuss the big questions in theory, history, social order and social change.

Turner provides a wealth of concrete examples which demonstrate what a sociological perspective can do to unpack and illuminate everyday life. The book allows students to understand sociological theory from the inside. It moves effortlessly beyond the mere parade of great names and core ideas to introduce concepts that can be used to understand the social world in which we live, where this world has come from and where it might be heading.

Original, informed, and deftly written with the needs of students in mind this book is an antidote to arid theorising and the dull recitation of the grand sociological tradition.

These papers show how new research in the classic areas and Germany, but particularly in Eastern Europe, is radically altering views of the stratigraphy and palaeocology of the early-middle Pleistocene period, showing that major glaciations did not begin only in the late- middle Pleistocene.