On Society (eBook)

Anthony Elliott, Bryan S. Turner (Autoren)

eBook Download: PDF

2013
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-0-7456-7581-7 (ISBN)

Infos

'Society' is one of the most frequently used words in public
life; it is also a foundational term in the social sciences. In our
own time, however, the idea has never been so much in dispute and
so little understood. For some critics, society is simply too
consensual for a world of intensive discord. For others, the idea
of 'society' is oppressive - the very notion, so some argue,
is dismissive of the infinite social differences that shape global
realities.

In this erudite and original book, two of the world's leading
social theorists focus on unravelling the different meanings of
society as a way of introducing the reader to contemporary debates
in social theory. The authors argue provocatively that all ideas of
society can be assigned to one of three analytical categories, or
some combination of these - structure, solidarity or creation - and
develop a fresh characterization of the nature of the social as a
means of understanding global transformations.

By integrating abstract problems of social theory with empirical
examples and political analysis, On Society provides lucid
interpretations of classical and contemporary social theory. The
book also critiques recent social theories that simply equate the
demise of society with globalization, the communications revolution
or multiculturalism, and in so doing provides an original insight
into today's world.

Autor

Anthony Elliott is Professor of Sociology at Flinders University and Visiting Professor of Sociology at the Open University. Bryan S. Turner is Presidential Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center, CUNY and Professor of Social and Political Thought at the University of Western Sydney.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1 Society as Structure
2 Society as Solidarity
3 Society as Creation
Conclusion: From Feral to Catastrophic Societies
Notes

Rezensionen

'The individual writings of Elliott and Turner have long been at
the forward boundaries of social theory. Here they turn to an axial
concept of social thought to explain why it has never quite done
what it was meant to, even while it haunts the collective
consciousness. Students will devour, teachers will admire, scholars
will quibble, all will be amazed by the brilliant creativity packed
into a small book of voluminous achievement.'

Charles C. Lemert, Yale University

'It is rare to find such a combination of lucidity and
erudition. Many different readers will find much to engage them
here, from first-year students to experienced academics.
Tremendous.'

John Urry, Lancaster University

'We all need be thankful to Anthony Elliott and Bryan Turner,
two acknowledged masters of conceptual analysis and the art of
sociological theorizing, for joining forces to scrutinize the
meaning of "society". One could not acquit oneself from such a
challenge better than they - nor could readers of their study find
more illumination, clarity, and persuasive answers to queries in
any other sociological treatise.'

Zygmunt Bauman, University of Leeds

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.4.2013
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Allgemeine Soziologie
• Schlagworte: Gesellschaftstheorie • Social Theory • social theory, social structure, agency, strcuture • Sociology • Soziologie
• ISBN-10: 0-7456-7581-6 / 0745675816
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7581-7 / 9780745675817