Advances in Social Theory and Methodology

Advances in Social Theory and Methodology
Author: Karin Knorr Cetina
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2014-08-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317652614

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After a period in which sociology was torn apart by the polarized claims of micro- and macro-methodology, an increasing number of sociologists are now attempting a fusion of the two approaches. In this volume, some of the most distinguished sociologists set out possible resolutions of the debate. Each of the chapters, placed in perspective by the editors’ prologue, approaches the problem from a unique angle. Aaron Cicourel argues for a macro-basis of social interaction; Randall Collins shows how the macro consists of an aggregate of micro-episodes; Troy Duster presents a methodological model for generating a systematic data base across different contexts of social action through his examination of the procedures governing screening for inherited disorders. Rom Harré launches a philosophical attack on what he sees as a spurious bifurcation of micro- and macro-levels. Anthony Giddens explores the problem of unintended consequences, and Gilles Fauconnier, through a depiction of Jesuitical casuistry, shows how vital clues to macro-structure can be elicited from the micro-phenomenon of language. Victor Lidz continues the language theme in his chapter on the implications of advances in linguistic theory for macro-systems theory. Niklas Luhmann illustrates the micro-macro problem by the communication about law in interaction systems. The theory of historical materialism is reassessed by Jürgen Habermas. Taking the example of Renault and electric vehicles, Michel Callon and Bruno Latour investigate how micro-actor status is attained and the sociologist’s involvement in this transformation. Finally, Pierre Bourdieu, writing on men and machines, analyses the historical imperatives that create the complex relation between man and his environment.

Advances in Social Theory and Methodology

Advances in Social Theory and Methodology
Author: Karin Knorr-Cetina
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9781315763880

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After a period in which sociology was torn apart by the polarized claims of micro- and macro-methodology, an increasing number of sociologists are now attempting a fusion of the two approaches. In this volume, some of the most distinguished sociologists set out possible resolutions of the debate. Each of the chapters, placed in perspective by the editors' prologue, approaches the problem from a unique angle. Aaron Cicourel argues for a macro-basis of social interaction; Randall Collins shows how the macro consists of an aggregate of micro-episodes; Troy Duster presents a methodological model for generating a systematic data base across different contexts of social action through his examination of the procedures governing screening for inherited disorders. Rom Harré launches a philosophical attack on what he sees as a spurious bifurcation of micro- and macro-levels. Anthony Giddens explores the problem of unintended consequences, and Gilles Fauconnier, through a depiction of Jesuitical casuistry, shows how vital clues to macro-structure can be elicited from the micro-phenomenon of language. Victor Lidz continues the language theme in his chapter on the implications of advances in linguistic theory for macro-systems theory. Niklas Luhmann illustrates the micro-macro problem by the communication about law in interaction systems. The theory of historical materialism is reassessed by Jürgen Habermas. Taking the example of Renault and electric vehicles, Michel Callon and Bruno Latour investigate how micro-actor status is attained and the sociologist's involvement in this transformation. Finally, Pierre Bourdieu, writing on men and machines, analyses the historical imperatives that create the complex relation between man and his environment.

Using Social Theory

Using Social Theory
Author: Michael Pryke
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2003-08-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1847876684

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`If there is a single question that presses upon the intellect of the current generation of social scientists, it is surely: "what do the great insights of social theory imply for the way we conduct research and write about the social world?". Until now there has been no single text to turn to that explores the epistemological complexities of field work, the problems of writing and language, and of the logics of inquiry that link theory, method and evidence. Using Social Theory is a magisterial effort to open up the black-box of research methods, and to provide students, in a way that no other comparable text has done, with a road map for the practice of the contemporary human sciences′ - Michael Watts, Chancellor′s Professor of Geography and Director Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley `From "theory talk to making it walk", Using Social Theory is one of the most useful and interesting books on the market. The authors demonstrate how to use philosophy and social theory as an indispensable toolkit for passionate and rigorous research. Essential reading for students and teachers in the social sciences and humanities′ - Professor Elspeth Probyn, Department of Gender Studies, University of Sydney Have you ever stopped to wonder about the influences that underpin research? If you are thinking about doing a piece of research, what difference might it make to the question you ask, to your approach to empirical work, analysis and writing of research, if you are influenced by one theoretical approach rather than another? The chapters in this innovative guide share a common belief that thinking alongside ideas, philosophical persuasions, is an integral part of the research process; it is not an optional extra. It sets out ways to encourage the researcher to think through three key moments of the research process: the production of a research question; fieldwork; and analysis and writing. As the authors demonstrate, research is not simply `done′: it has to be thought about and thought through. The book′s accessible style makes it suitable for anyone wishing to engage ideas in research in the social sciences and humanities.

Methods for Social Theory

Methods for Social Theory
Author: Jan Ch. Karlsson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2016-12-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317096991

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This book constitutes a practical guide to the important skills of both theorizing and writing in social scientific scholarship, focusing on the importance of identifying relations between concepts that are useful for explaining social entities and of producing a text that convincingly advances the theory that has been constructed. Taking as its point of departure the distinction between the research process and the reporting process – between clarifying one’s ideas to oneself and writing to express these ideas clearly to others – this volume concentrates on writing when theorizing as a way of thinking, emphasizing the series of relations that exist between ontology, epistemology and rhetoric upon which successful theoretical writing depends. Richly illustrated with practical examples, the book is divided into two parts, the first of which presents techniques for theorizing based upon visualized and logical connections of ideas, concepts and empirical patterns in both free and systematic ways, and the second part providing techniques for structuring and presenting arguments in essays, papers, articles or books.As such, Methods for Social Theory offers a toolbox for the development and presentation of social thought, which will prove essential for students and teachers across the social sciences.

Social Theory and Methodology

Social Theory and Methodology
Author: Leslie Sklair
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1998
Genre:
ISBN: 9780415175456

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Actions and Structure

Actions and Structure
Author: Nigel Fielding
Publisher: SAGE Publications Limited
Total Pages: 216
Release: 1988-10
Genre: Reference
ISBN:

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Social scientists have always recognised a divergence between approaches which emphasise the constraining power of social structure and those which interpret society through the cumulative effects of actions of individuals. In recent years there has been renewed interest in the latter through the micro-sociology of everyday life. Social scientists are now taking stock of the implications of micro-sociological research for the analysis of structure and the macro-level theory of society. In Actions and Structure the value of micro-sociological research for the analysis of social order is assessed. Individual chapters evaluate new research approaches from discourse and conversational analysis, mathematical, interactionist and phenomenol

The Micro-macro Link

The Micro-macro Link
Author: Jeffrey C. Alexander
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 420
Release: 1987-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780520057869

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The work of fifteen nationally and internationally known theorists in sociology, this volume demonstrates an exciting new trend in sociological thinking. Each essay proposes a link between the two distinguishable traditions of sociological theory--the microscopic, which stresses the self and the interaction among persons, and the macroscopic, which concentrates on the institutional, cultural, and societal levels. Each mode of analysis has had its champions, and the proponents of each have often taken positions of polemic opposition to one another.

The Social Universe

The Social Universe
Author: Bruno Oliveira
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2021-03-18
Genre:
ISBN:

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One social universe, one innovative language to fully describe and explain it, breaking free from the "multiple paradigmastasis" of mainstream social science. A general, long range social theory assigned to the service of social science as a whole must be capable of making all social phenomena intelligible through one unique, cogent and standardized framework of concepts and tenets for explanation-generation, thus finally enabling all research purposes to ultimately benefit from the same theoretical devices. That is precisely what this book ultimately delivers, in a powerful heuristic manner, allowing for thorough scientific investigation and deep understanding of empirical events and trends, satisfying even the most demanding curiosities and encompassing Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science as a strong and coherent backbone for those disciplines. The eminent English sociologist T. Bottomore, capturing the spirit of time experienced by the social sciences at the end of the 20th century, said that there is "a pervasive dissatisfaction with the continuing divisions and fragmentation" within those sciences. He asserted that it remains an "open question whether a more unified and intellectually coherent discipline will eventually emerge, fulfilling some part of the original hope and promise of a simple paradigmatic science of society". Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, a proposal appears compatible with what he foresaw through this book. The Social Universe offers a groundbreaking and pioneering outlook and has the purpose of positing exactly what a new Grand Theory for the social sciences might consist of. Social action, social order, social change and culture are here theoretically integrated like never before. Unafraid to tackle controversial matters of epistemology, the author conclusively addresses classic problems of social theory and philosophy, arguably transcending them entirely, including the micro / macro link and the agency / structure question. Proper social ontology is established in a solid manner and the barriers between scientific disciplines clearly restored, with a pipeline of communicating vessels running throughout the social sciences. To battle onto-epistemic confusion, pluriperspectivism and heteroglossia, the author advances what may be a true theoretical panacea, named the General Social Theory of Compromises (G-STOC). This volume is an invaluable sourcebook for students and social science faculty interested in a new, powerful and foundational social theory.

Social Mechanisms

Social Mechanisms
Author: Peter Hedström
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1998-01-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780521596879

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The advancement of social theory requires an analytical approach that systematically seeks to explicate the social mechanisms that generate and explain observed associations between events. These essays, written by prominent social scientists, advance criticisms of current trends in social theory and suggest alternative approaches. The mechanism approach calls attention to an intermediary level of analysis in between pure description and story-telling, on the one hand, and grand theorizing and universal social laws, on the other. For social theory to be of use for the working social scientist, it must attain a high level of precision and provide a toolbox from which middle range theories can be constructed.