Charles Turner 
Investigating Sociological 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.

表中的内容

Introduction

Classic and Canon

Description

Categories

Metaphors

Diagrams

Cynicism and Scepticism: Two Intellectual Styles

Sociological Theory and the Art of Living

Conclusion

关于作者

Charles Turner is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Warwick. He is author of Modernity and Politics in the Work of Max Weber (1992), Investigating Sociological Theory (2010), and Secularization (2019).