On Society (eBook)

Anthony Elliott, Bryan S. Turner (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2013
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-0-7456-6056-1 (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: 26.8.2013
• 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: 0-7456-6056-8 / 0745660568
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-6056-1 / 9780745660561