Understanding Social Theory

Accessible and authoritative, this jargon-free textbook provides an introduction to the central issues in modern social theory. The book offers the reader a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to social theory, with the following key features. It is organised around core dualisms in social theory, focusing on: the individual and society; agency-structure and macro-micro. It includes a balanced account of the contribution of major social theorists, covering the work of Talcott Parsons, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Anthony Giddens, Norbert Elias, Dorothy Smith, Erving Goffman, Jonathan Turner, Randall Collins and Jurgen Habermas. The ideas of individual theorists are explained within the context of different perspectives, including symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, Marxism and feminism