The Blackwell companion to social theory - Bryan S. Turner

Edited and introduced by Brian S. Turner, this volume aims not only to chart the many thinkers, schools, and movements within contemporary social theory, but also to identify points of convergence and possibly synthesis, particularly between North American and European traditions.

The principal focus is on post–classical modern social theory, but while major modern thinkers such as Habermas, Lyotard, Luhmann, Foucault, and Derrida are examined, they are situated within the context of a classical tradition which includes Parsons, Garfinkel, Berger, Elais and Mannheim. The 16 chapters of the volume are divided into logically organised sections on the classical foundations, action and system theory, interpretative sociology, post–structuralism and post–comparative sociology, and the problem of the social. There are separate chapters on feminism, world systems theory, ethnomethodology, critical theory, classical sociology, hermenuetics, action theory and cultural sociology.