Classical Sociological Theory : A Reader

by McIntosh, Ian

• ISBN13: 9780814755747
• ISBN10: 0814755747
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-06-01
• Publisher: Ingram Pub Services
• More Book Details

Summary

Over the years, many textbooks have been written about the troika of sociological geniuses, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. Too often, however, these works have been mere distillations of the views of the great thinkers. They did not intend nor could they hope to capture the subtleties and nuances of the original texts.With the publication of Ian McIntosh'sClassical Sociological Theory: A Reader, extracts of the most relevant and noteworthy works of the classical sociological thinkers are available for the first time in a single volume. Here we find lengthy excerpts from Marx'sCommunist Manifesto and The German Ideology, Weber'sProtestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Durkheim'sThe Division of Labour in Society and Suicide: A Study in Sociology. Generous portions of fifteen other texts are included here, as well as selected correspondence of Karl Marx.Each extract is prefaced by an introduction which provides the reader with essential background information on each author's Weltanschauung, without telling the student what to think or encapsulating the excerpt to follow. Brief biographies of the principals and guides for further reading provide the student with a frame of reference for the texts.Classical Sociological Theory: A Readeris not a replacement for the full texts in the original. It is, however, an enticement, whetting the appetite for further exploration of the masters of sociological thought.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements and Note on the Texts
Introduction: 'Marx, Weber and Durkheim: Why Bother?'	p. 1
Guide to Further Reading: General	p. 9
Karl Marx
Karl Marx: A Brief Biography	p. 13
Alienated Labour	p. 15
The Theses on Feuerbach	p. 24
The German Ideology and Historical Materialism	p. 26
The Communist Manifesto	p. 39
Wage Labour and Capital	p. 48
The Preface to A Critique of Political Economy	p. 66
The Fetishism of Commodities	p. 68
The So-called Primitive Accumulation	p. 72
Selected Correspondence: Letter to Annenkov; Letter to Weydemyer; Letter to Mikhailovski	p. 106
Guide to Further Reading	p. 109
Max Weber
Max Weber: A Brief Biography	p. 113
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism	p. 115
Class, Status and Party	p. 132
Bureaucracy	p. 142
Science as a Vocation	p. 154
Definitions of Sociology and Social Action	p. 157
Legitimacy and Authority	p. 165
Guide to Further Reading	p. 175
Emile Durkheim
Emile Durkheim: A Brief Biography	p. 179
The Division of Labour in Society: Introduction	p. 181
Sanctions and Mechanical and Organic Solidarity	p. 185
The Division of Labour: Causes and Abnormal Forms	p. 194
The Rules of Sociological Method	p. 207
Suicide: A Study in Sociology	p. 212
Religion and Society	p. 232
Guide to Further Reading	p. 248
Copyright Acknowledgements	p. 249
Index	p. 251
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.