Covering a wide area of political sociology and social and political theory, this Reader offers a selection of extracts incorporating both primary and secondary readings. As well as a general introduction to the concept of social theory, each section is prefaced by an introduction to the relevant theorist(s) and each reading is accompanied by a short explanatory introduction. Including a broad range of texts, the book offers a general introduction to the main writings of political sociology and social theory. While other texts tend to focus either on either traditional or contemporary figures, this Reader is unique in tracing a connecting strand from the work of Marx, Weber and Durkheim to more contemporary social theorists. And by focusing on the theories of social conflict, cohesion and consent it also acts as a guide to issues in sociological, political and cultural analysis.
Includes sections on: *Marx and Engels *Gramsci *Durkheim and Parsons *Weber *The Frankfurt School (Adorno and Horkheimer; Marcuse; Habermas) *Foucault Introduces core social concepts and key features of modern society: *Structure and Agency *Ideology *Discourse and Legitimation *The State *Economy *Civil Society Key Features *Covers the main social thinkers and the most important concepts *Focues on how writers contribute to our understanding of social conflict, cohesion and consent *Substantial introductions to each part place the readings in context
Introduction; Section 1: Marx and Engels: Conflict and Consent; Introduction; MARX Preface to 'A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy'; MARX 'The Fetishism of the Commodity and its Secret' from Capital volume 1; MARX AND ENGELS 'The Communist Manifesto'; MARX 'The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte'; MARX 'Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts'; BOB JESSOP 'Recent Theories of the Capitalist State'; Section 2: Antonio Gramsci: Theorist of Hegemony; Introduction; GRAMSCI 'The Modern Prince - Brief Notes on Machiavelli's Politics'*; GRAMSCI 'The Modern Price - Analysis of Situations. Relations of Force'*; GRAMSCI 'State and Civil Society'*; GRAMSCI 'The Intellectuals'*; GRAMSCI 'Americanism and Fordism'*; PERRY ANDERSON 'Origins of the Present Crisis'; * all from Gramsci's Prison Notebooks; Section 3: Durkheim and Functionalism; Introduction; DURKHEIM from Elementary forms of the Religious Life; DURKHEIM from The Division of Labour inI Society; DURKHEIM from Suicide; IAN CRAIB 'Parsons: Theory as a Filing System' from Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas; Section 4: Max Weber and Rationalism; Introduction; WEBER 'Politics as a Vocation'; WEBER 'Bureaucracy'; WEBER 'Class, Status, Party'; DEREK SAYER 'Without Regard for Persons' from Capitalism and Modernity: An Excursus on Marx and Weber; Section 5: Culture and Communication in the Frankfurt School; Introduction; ADORNO AND HORKHEIMER 'The Concept of Enlightenment' from Dialectic of Enlightenment; ADORNO AND HORKHEIMER 'The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception' from Dialectic of Enlightenment; MARCUSE 'The New Forms of Control' from One-Dimensional Man; HABERMAS extracts from Theory of Communicative Action vol.2; Section 6: Michel Foucault: Discourse, Power and Regulation; Introduction; FOUCAULT 'The Carceral' from Discipline and Punish; FOUCAULT 'Method' from History of Sexuality Volume One; ANDREW BARRY, THOMAS OSBORNE AND NIKOLAS ROSE 'Writing the History of the Present' from Barry, Thomas and Rose (eds) Foucault and Political Reason; Bibliography; Further Reading.
