Download or read book Reconstructing Sociology written by Douglas V. Porpora and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-09-03 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A general critique of sociology, particularly sociology in the United States, from a critical realist perspective.

Download or read book Realism and Sociology written by Justin Cruickshank and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2007-01-24 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, methodological debates in the social sciences have increasingly focused on issues relating to epistemology. Realism and Sociology makes an original contribution to the debate, charting a middle ground between postmodernism and positivism. Critics often hold that realism tries to assume some definitive account of reality. Against this it is argued throughout the book that realism can combine a strong definition of social reality with an anti-foundational approach to knowledge. The position of realist anti-foundationalism that is argued for is developed and defended via the use of immanent critiques. These deal primarily with post-Wittgensteinian positions that seek to define knowledge and social reality in terms of 'rule-following practices' within different 'forms of life' and 'language games'. Specifically, the argument engages with Rorty's neo-pragmatism and the structuration theory of Giddens. The philosophy of Popper is also drawn upon in a critically appreciative way. While the positions of Rorty and Giddens seek to deflate the claims of 'grand theory', albeit in different ways, they both end up with definitive claims about knowledge and reality that preclude social research. By avoiding the general deflationary approach that relies on reference to 'practices', realism is able to combine a strong social ontology with an anti-foundational epistemology, and thus act as an underlabourer for empirical research.

Download or read book Sociological Realism written by Andrea Maccarini and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2011-03-28 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sociological Realism presents a clear and updated discussion of the main tenets and issues of social theory, written by some of the top scholars within the critical realist and relational approach. It connects such approaches systematically to other strands of thought that are central in contemporary sociology, like systems theory and rational choice theory. Divided into three parts, social ontology, sociological theory, and methodology, each part includes a systematic presentation, a comment, and a wider discussion by the editors, thereby taking on the form of a dialogue among experts. This book is a uniquely blended and consistent conversation showing the convergence of European social theory on a critical realist and relational way of thinking. This volume is extremely important both for teaching purposes and for all those scholars who wish to get a fresh perspective on some deep dynamics of contemporary sociology.

Download or read book Realism and Social Science written by R. Andrew Sayer and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2000-02-11 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Realism and Social Science offers an authoritative guide to critical realism and an assessment of its virtues in comparison with other leading traditions in social science. It is illustrated throughout with relevant and accessible examples.

Download or read book Critical Realism for Marxist Sociology of Education written by Grant Banfield and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-09-16 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a critical realist intervention into the field of Marxist Sociology of Education. Critical realism, as developed by British philosopher Roy Bhaskar, is known for its capacity to serve as a conceptual underlabourer to applied fields like education. Indeed, its success in clarifying and resolving thorny issues of educational theory and practice is now well established. Given critical realism’s sympathetic Marxist origins, its productive and critical engagement with Marxism has an even longer history. To date there has been little sustained attention given to the application of critical realism to Marxist educational praxis. The book addresses this gap in existing scholarship. Its conceptual ground clearing of the field of Marxist Sociology of Education centres on two problematics well-known in the social sciences: naturalism and the structure-agency relation. Marxist theory from the days of Marx to the present is shown to also be haunted by these problematics. This has resulted in considerable tension around the meaning and nature of, for example, reform, revolution, class determinism and class struggle. With its emergence in the 1970s as a child of Western Marxism, the field continues to be an expression of these tensions that seriously limit its transformative potential. Addressing these issues and offering conceptual clarification in the interests of revolutionary educational practice, Critical Realism for Marxist Sociology of Education provides a new perspective on education which will be of interest to students, scholars and practitioners alike.

Download or read book Social Realism Knowledge and the Sociology of Education written by Karl Maton and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-11-03 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume covers issues in the sociology of knowledge, the educational system and policy, professional autonomy, vocational education, educational research and teaching, as well as the nature of such disciplines as cultural studies, English, science and the arts. The chapters also directly address the nature of sociology of education itself.The realist position developed in the book challenges two major currents of thought that have for a long time been prominent and influential in sociology and education: postmodernism and progressivism/constructivism. This well-edited collection of papers is provocative and original in that it represents a sustained, collective critique that offers a genuine alternative to these current orthodoxies.

Download or read book Realism and Racism written by Bob Carter and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book surveys ways in which social scientists have attempted to come to terms with issues of race, before developing an alternative approach based on recent work by realist authors.

Download or read book Magical Realist Sociologies of Belonging and Becoming written by Rodanthi Tzanelli and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the bottom of the sea, freedivers find that the world bestows humans with the magic of bodily and mental freedom, binding them in small communities of play, affect and respect for nature. On land, rational human interests dissolve this magic into prescriptive formulas of belonging to a profession, a nation and an acceptable modernity. The magical exploration is morphed by such multiple interventions successively from a pilgrimage, to a cinematic and digital articulation of an anarchic project, to an exercise in national citizenship and finally, a projection of post-imperial cosmopolitan belonging. This is the story of an embodied, relational and affective journey: the making of the explorer of worlds. At its heart stands a clash between individual and collective desires to belong, aspirations to create and the pragmatics of becoming recognised by others. The primary empirical context in which this is played is the contemporary margins of European modernity: the post-troika Greece. With the project of a freediving artist, who stages an Underwater Gallery outside the iconic island of Amorgos, as a sociological spyglass, it examines the networks of mobility that both individuals and nations have to enter to achieve international recognition, often at the expense of personal freedom and alternative pathways to modernity. Inspired by fusions of cultural pragmatics, phenomenology, phanerology, the morphogenetic approach, feminist posthumanism and especially postcolonial theories of magical realism, this study examines interconnected variations of identity and subjectivity in contexts of contemporary mobility (digital and embodied travel/tourism). As a study of cultural emergism, the book will be of interest to students and scholars in critical theory, cultural, postcolonial and decolonial studies, and tourism/pilgrimage theory.

Download or read book Real World Decision Making written by Morris Altman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-06-23 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first and only encyclopedia to focus on the economic and financial behaviors of consumers, investors, and organizations, including an exploration of how people make good—and bad—economic decisions. Traditional economic theories speculate how and when people should spend money. But consumers don't always behave as expected and often adopt strategies that might appear unorthodox yet are, at times, more effective than the rule prescribed by conventional wisdom. This groundbreaking text examines the ways in which people make financial decisions, whether it is because they are smart but atypical in their choices ... or just irrational decision makers. A leading authority on behavioral economics, Morris Altman and more than 150 expert contributors delve into key concepts in behavioral economics, economic psychology, behavioral finance, neuroeconomics, experimental economics, and institutional economics to help inform economic models based on reality, not theory. Through 250 informative entries, the book explores various aspects of the subject including decision making, economic analysis, and public policy. In addition to introducing concepts to readers new to the subject, the book sheds light on more advanced financial topics in a manner that is objective, comprehensive, and accessible.

Download or read book Phenomenological Sociology written by Harvie Ferguson and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2006-03-21 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary society constitutes a different form of modernity and Ferguson′s innovative and thoughtful analysis calling for a return to phenomenology demonstrates that a relatively neglected perspective within contemporary sociological thought continues to provide significant insights into modern experiences′ - Barry Smart, Portsmouth University This may very well be the most thorough and authoritative analysis of phenomenological sociology ever achieved." - W.P. Nye , Hollins University What is phenomenological sociology? Why is it significant? This innovative and thought-provoking book argues that phenomenology was the most significant, wide-ranging and influential philosophy to emerge in the twentieth century. The social character of phenomenology is explored in its relation to the concern in twentieth century sociology with questions of modern experience. Phenomenology and sociology come together as ′ethnographies of the present′. As such, they break free of the self-imposed limitations of each to establish a new, critical understanding of contemporary life. By reading phenomenology sociologically and sociology phenomenologically, this book reconstructs a phenomenological sociology of modern experience. Erudite and assured, this book opens up a series of new questions for contemporary social theory that theorists and students of theory can ill-afford to ignore. The text contains a treasure trove of insights and propositions that will stimulate debate and research in both sociology and philosophy.

Download or read book Dissidents of Law written by Jirí Pribán and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-16 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2003: The problem of legitimacy and legality is one of the key issues of modern thought and nowhere more intensely debated than in the countries of the former Soviet bloc. Under the communist system, symbols of modern government had been supplemented and changed in order to serve the totalitarian domination of the Party and all spheres of life, including law, were subsumed within this framework of ideological legitimation. Following the anti-communist revolutions of 1989, former communist societies started the historically unprecedented process of transformation from the totalitarian into liberal democratic society, a transformation which has produced much soul-searching and heated debate. In this book, the author sets out to prove that concern with legitimacy belongs neither exclusively to the legal system nor to a political system separated and distanced from the legal system. The topic of legitimacy and legitimation is inseparable from legality and every legitimation eventually looks for its transformation into legal legitimacy.

Download or read book A Short History of Sociology written by Heinz Maus and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-02-25 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in English in 1962, this book presents in clear language an account of the growth of sociology from its earliest roots in the Enlightenment, through the 19th century philosophers in Germany, positivists in France, social workers in England, the theorists in America, through the pioneering days of the early and middle part of the 20th century.

Download or read book Economics and Sociology written by Adolf Löwe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguing that the disciplines of economics and sociology are inter-related and vitally important to each other, this book discusses major issues such as the effects of urbanization, population growth, and the growth of various forms of nationalism from both economic and socio-political viewpoints. In addition the significance and limits of pure economics are examined, as are the sociological factors in modern economic theory, as well as power and economic law.

Download or read book Sociological Dilemmas written by Piotr Sztompka and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2013-09-11 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sociological Dilemmas: Toward a Dialectic Paradigm aims to build a new paradigm in sociological theory by using the method of dialectical critique, patterned on the approach utilized by Karl Marx. The book explores the sociological heritage, with the theoretical works of Karl Marx as the primary basis of exposition and analysis. Chapters are devoted to the discussion of the theoretical crisis of sociology; the division of sociology between two opposing methodologies; dissociation of sociology from the prescientific traditions of social thought; and the conclusion reached by the author after an extensive analysis of sociological theories presented in the book. The book will be of value to sociologists, teachers, and students of the social sciences.

Download or read book Explaining Society written by Berth Danermark and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2001-11-22 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book will be immensely valuable for students and researchers in social science, sociology and philosophy in that it connects methodology, theory and empirical research. It provides an innovative picture of what society and social science is, along with the methods used to study and explain social phenomena.

Download or read book Discourse on Applied Sociology Theoretical perspectives written by Samir Dasgupta and published by Anthem Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This engaging two-volume study pursues a balance between theoretical and practical sociology. The authors are aware of the impasse often deliberately created by the self-conscious language of sociological theory. The primary concern of the applied sociologist is to adapt theoretical knowledge to actual human situations, using it to formulate social policy, investigate domestic and international social problems and create a pragmatic 'sociology of possibility'. Volume I, subtitled 'Theoretical Perspectives', focuses on the problems and prospects of applied sociology in an era of globalization. The essays emphasize the close association of applied sociology with altruism, identity formation, race and ethnicity. They evaluate the empirical 'truths' of sociological theories and examine their relevance for contemporary research, poverty, demographic issues and social policies. The authors agree that the ultimate test of theory is the extent to which it can produce knowledge that 'works'.

Download or read book Economics 4 volumes written by David A. Dieterle and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 1971 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive four-volume resource that explains more than 800 topics within the foundations of economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and global economics, all presented in an easy-to-read format. As the global economy becomes increasingly complex, interconnected, and therefore relevant to each individual, in every country, it becomes more important to be economically literate—to gain an understanding of how things work beyond the microcosm of the economic needs of a single individual or family unit. This expansive reference set serves to establish basic economic literacy of students and researchers, providing more than 800 objective and factually driven entries on all the major themes and topics in economics. Written by leading scholars and practitioners, the set provides readers with a framework for understanding economics as mentioned and debated in the public forum and media. Each of the volumes includes coverage of important events throughout economic history, biographies of the major economists who have shaped the world of economics, and highlights of the legislative acts that have shaped the U.S. economy throughout history. The extensive explanations of major economic concepts combined with selected key historical primary source documents and a glossary will endow readers with a fuller comprehension of our economic world.