SOCIAL THEORY：TWENTY INTRODUCTORY LECTURES.pdf

Social theory is the theoretical core of the social sciences, clearly distin-guishable from political theory and cultural analysis. Th is book off ers a unique overview of the development of social theory from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the present day. Spanning the literature in English, French and German, it provides an excellent background to the most important social theorists and theories in contemporary socio-logical thought, with crisp summaries of the main books, arguments and controversies. It also deals with newly emerging schools from rational choice to symbolic interactionism, with new ambitious approaches (Habermas, Luhmann, Giddens, Bourdieu), structuralism and anti-structuralism, critical revisions of modernization theory, feminism and neo-pragmatism. Written by two of the world s leading sociologists and based on their extensive academic teaching, this unrivalled work is ideal both for students in the social sciences and humanities and for anyone interested in contemporary theoretical debates. h a n s joa s is the Max Weber Professor and Director of the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt. He is also Professor of Sociology and a member of the Committee on Social Th ought at the University of Chicago. wol f g a ng k nbl is Professor of Sociology at the University of Gttingen . SO CI A L T H EORY SOCI A L T H EORY T W E N T Y I N T RODUC TORY L EC T U R E S H A NS JOA S A N D WOL FGA NG K NBL Translated by A L E X SK I N N E R CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521690881 Originally published in German as Sozialtheorie. Zwanzig einfhrende Vorlesungen by Suhrkamp 2004, Suhrkamp 2004 First published in English by Cambridge University Press 2009 as Social Th eory: Twenty Introductory Lectures Hans Joas and Wolfgang Knbl 2009 English translation Cambridge University Press 2009 Th is publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. Printed A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Joas, Hans, 1948Sozialtheorie. English Social theory : twenty introductory lectures / Hans Joas, Wolfgang Knbl, Alex Skinner. p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-521-87063-4 (hardback) 1. Social sciencesPhilosophyHistory20th century. 2. SociologyPhilosophyHistory20th century.I. Knbl, Wolfgang, 1963 II. Skinner, Alex. III. Title. H61.15.J6313 2009300.1dc22 2009015141 ISBN 978-0-521-87063-4 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. i2013ngin the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc. ISBN 978-0-521-69088-1 Paperback First published 2009University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United KingdomPublished in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.It furthers the Universitys mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest i nternational levels of e xcellence.7th printiCAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESSvii Introduction page viii I What is theory? 1 II Th e classical attempt at synthesis: Talcott Parsons 20 III Parsons on the road to normativist functionalism 43 IV Parsons and the elaboration of normativist functionalism 68 V Neo-utilitarianism 94 VI Interpretive approaches (1): symbolic interactionism 123 VII Interpretive approaches (2): ethnomethodology 150 VIII Confl ict sociology and confl ict theory 174 IX Habermas and critical theory 199 X Habermas theory of communicative action 222 XI Niklas Luhmann s radicalization of functionalism 249 XII Anthony Giddens theory of structuration and the new British sociology of power 281 XIII Th e renewal of Parsonianism and modernization theory 308 XIV Structuralism and poststructuralism 339 XV Between structuralism and theory of practice: Th e cultural sociology of Pierre Bourdieu 371 XVI French anti-structuralists (Cornelius Castoriadis, Alain Touraine and Paul Ricoeur) 401 XVII Feminist social theories 432 XVIII A crisis of modernity? New diagnoses (Ulrich Beck, Zygmunt Bauman, Robert Bellah, and the debate between liberals and communitarians) 463 XIX Neo-pragmatism 500 XX How things stand 529 Bibliography 561 Author index 592 Subject index 599 CONTENTS 09:09 BST 2014.viii Th is book is based on lectures originally conceived by one of the authors (Hans Joas) for a visiting professorship at the University of Chicago in 1985 and which he has held regularly since then. Th e fi rst attendees, towards the e