Basic Sociological Concepts Research Articles

Kurangnya Pemahaman Tentang Konsep Dasar Ilmu Sosial Di Jenjang Sekolah Menengah

Lack of understanding of basic social science concepts at secondary school level is a serious challenge in developing students' knowledge and skills in society, nation and state. The basic concepts of social science, which include aspects such as social processes, social interaction, and social contact, are an important foundation in Social Sciences (IPS) in schools. The interdisciplinary approach to social studies covers various points of study, such as basic concepts of sociology, history, geography, economics, anthropology and political science. However, along with the complexity of the material, there are factors that cause students' lack of understanding of basic social science concepts at the secondary school level. Causative factors include teaching methods that are less effective, such as using only discussion methods without adequate explanation of the material.

Social Conformity and Universal across cultures

The development of social psychology presents a complex situation, and behind many current social phenomena, there are shadows of basic sociological concepts and theories. This article is based on understanding the basic concepts of sociology, starting with research experiments on social conformity psychology by multiple sociologists. In response to existing social phenomena in life, it analyzes the underlying sociological principles: the main factors that affect social conformity and the possible consequences of conformity. And the cross-cultural research on the phenomenon of social conformity. This article better reveals the development causes of social conformity and the degree of conformity in different cultures, providing a theoretical basis for us to better understand certain social phenomena.

Механизм моральной квалификации действий как условие использования искусственного интеллекта в сфере образования

The article is focused on the problem of using artificial intelligence (AI) in various spheres of human activity, including pedagogical practice. The author notes the ambiguity of the concept of “artificial intelligence”, the imperfection of its definitions in modern sociological science and the limitations of the existing basic sociological concepts of its study. The main problem of theoretical understanding of artificial intelligence in sociology is that by its nature it is a mechanism for reproducing social reality (that is, it ensures the functioning of the autopoiesis function in the modern world) with the help of a system of “smart things”, and on the other hand it is one of the sources of change in modern society. This problem raises the question of the limits and boundaries of the use of artificial intelligence in human activity. In this context, the main question that the article attempts to answer is whether artificial intelligence can be used in pedagogical practice, provided that it has no mechanism of moral qualification of its actions.

Paradigm of Islamic sociology

This research shows that the first school of sociology during several centuries of the evolution of social thought has finally been introduced to human society as a product of Islamic civilization. The root of Islamic sociology is the comprehensive and profound teachings of the Qur'an on social issues. The Qur'an has made man, society, and history sources of knowledge and has invited to the science of anthropology and the knowledge of human societies and history. A verse from the Qur'an is considered a universal sociological manifesto that refers only to the concept of change and its interconnected human-divine mechanism in the individual and human societies. Since the seventeenth century, the Qur'an has been considered in Europe and American Orientalist scientific circles as a useful work in sociology. After the Qur'an, Ali's first teachings are theoretical materials of social analysis that have analyzed and explained man in terms of behaviour and social relations. Farabi, the founder of Islamic sociology, Farabi's theory of urban and citizenship theory, presented the first classical analysis and explanation of the individual and society. He is the mine of sociology for all ages and all nations. His work Thoughts on the Case of the Good City is a secular work describing the individual and society and depicting the changes of the individual and society. Ibn Khaldun's work is a complete example of a specialized school and school of Islamic sociology. The initiative of this founder of humanities is to talk about the social phenomenon in the language of formula, which is mentioned in this article for the first time as Ibn Khaldun coefficient. Ibn khaldun founded the school of classical sociology at the end of the middle Ages by presenting a formula for depicting the changing societies. He is the result of the evolution of sociology in Islamic civilization. And shows that the Qur'an is the main source of Ibn Khaldun's social thought and the basic concepts of sociology can be clearly traced and scientifically categorized through the study of the Qur'an and is useful in the sociological analysis of the problems of contemporary societies.

Penerapan Model Pembelajaran Learning Cycle Untuk Meningkatkan Tanggung Jawab Mahasiswa Pgsd Fkip Universitas Bengkulu

This study aims to improve the attitude of student responsibility in the Basic Concepts of Sociology, Anthropology, and History lectures by applying the Learning Cycle Model at PGSD FKIP UNIB. The method used is Classroom Action Research (CAR). CAR stages are planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The results showed that the application of the Learning Cycle model in the Basic Concepts of Sociology, Anthropology, and History lectures could increase students' attitudes of responsibility. The suggestion given is that other researchers are advised to examine attitudes other than responsibility, so that the development of student attitudes can be monitored periodically.

Personality and Institution - Reflections on paradigmatic structures in Max Weber’s thinking

The structure of scientific revolutions - if we follow Thomas Kuhn - is characterized by crises of knowledge and chances by changes of paradigm, a term that is mostly outside the natural sciences only used metaphorically. But also, in sociology, there are something like paradigmatic premises, questioning, research strategies, conceptual structures and perspectives of research in the competition between successful major theories. At least that could be said of Talcott Parsons’s system theory in the period after the Second World War, maybe also of the Critical Theory or later of the approaches of Niklas Luhmann or Pierre Bourdieu. Against this background, the publishers of the Max Weber complete edition, especially Wolfgang Schluchter and his students, were concerned with establishing a “Weber paradigm” more than half a century after the death of this “Myth of Heidelberg”. The essay proposes a combination of Weber’s concept of action with the development of (institutional) forms of order and their enforcement. The prerequisites of the Weber Renaissance since the 1970s are discussed and then a systematization of Weber’s questions based on its “basic sociological concepts” and their logic of grading are proposed. Aspects of a Weber Paradigm are developed from a presentation of the basic principles of the “Theory and Analysis of Institutional Mechanisms”, because the institutional analytical method was proven in various research contexts, especially in the interdisciplinary research of historians and social scientists.

The implications of nostalgia in German modern sociology

In this article, I deal with nostalgia as an implicit category in the 19th-century German sociological discourses. I draw on the approaches that argue that sociology can be seen as a nostalgic social science since the sociologists? discourses were focused on the issues of causes, characteristics, and consequences of the modern age for individuals and society. Trying to explicate modern society, usually by comparing it to the premodern forms of social order, modern sociologists shaped dichotomous categories that were used for the definition of basic sociological concepts, one of the typical ones being the dichotomy between modern society and traditional communities. I here argue that modern sociologists constructed their theories in relation to the idea of a lack or loss, i.e. in relation to the question of what the modern society left behind during its growth: community, spirit or freedom. An alternative, a solution, or simply a utopian object for making comparison are found exactly in the object that is lost - in the nostalgic reflection on those aspects of humanity that were no longer possible in the modern age. Hence, I argue that modern sociology can be defined as a certain discourse on social loss. This will be elaborated on the examples of theories of Ferdinand Tonnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel.

FUNCTIONS AND CONCEPT-CATEGORY APPARATUS OF SOCIOLOGY OF SOCIAL WORK

Sociology of social work as a scientific branch is still quite young and is in the stage of its formation. It undergoes the process of defining and refinement of the content of basic essential features and characteristics of the concept category apparatus describing this branch of sociological knowledge. The separating of sociology of social work into the special sociological theory of the middle level is conditioned by the actualisation of social phenomenon of «social work» and the growth of the role of sociological knowledge in its study and theoretical substantiation. The purpose of the article: to reveal the main functions of sociology of social work. Methods of research: analysis and systematization of scientific and educational-methodical literature in order to determine the state and theoretical substantiation of the problem under research. Each independent science has its own categories, patterns, principles and methods of research. Of course, the categories of social work are those that are used by other sciences: for example, psychosocial work, structural social work, social rehabilitation, social well-being, etc. The main functions of sociology of social work are: cognitive, practical, theoretical, narrative, informational, prognostic, managerial, humanistic, ideological, and socialisation. Sociological categories are the basic and most general concepts of sociology, reflecting the objective social reality in a generalised form, in its formation, development and consolidation, and, moreover, they act as «steps» of sociological science and sociological knowledge. They form the basis of the process of thinking about social reality, about the phenomena and processes occurring in one or another social organism.

Conflict, Order and Societal Change in Max Weber's Ancient Judaism: Substantive and Methodological Implications

Although Max Weber never formulated a theory of societal change, his study of Ancient Judaism was primarily concerned with understanding and explaining such change; especially the development of a disenchanted, this-worldly monotheistic faith having significant social and characterological consequences. Implicit in Weber's understanding of societal change is a dialectical relation between conflict and an order in which each serves both to reinforce and to transform the other. Conflict among Israelite social strata forms a consistent theme throughout Weber's discussion in Ancient Judaism, particularly the conflict between the patrimonial Israelite kings and the charismatic Hebrew prophets. This dynamic focus on conflict and change has methodological consequences which Weber illustrated with particular clarity in Ancient Judaism, especially in his application of the ideal types of traditional, charismatic, and legal Herrschaft. Presented in ‘Basic Sociological Concepts’ as terminologically precise and logically distinct, the flexibility and adaptability evident in Weber's application of these types to the empirical context of ancient Israel shows that he considered them to be profoundly interrelated.

Интерсекциональность как способ концептуализации гендерного и классового неравенства

Татьяна Владимировна Гаврилюк – к. c.н., доцент, старший научный сотрудник Центра перспективных исследований и инновационных разработок, Тюменский индустриальный университет, Тюмень, Россия. Электронная почта: tv_gavrilyuk@mail.ru
 Владислав Юрьевич Бочаров – к. с.н., доцент кафедры социологии и культурологии, Самарский национальный исследовательский университет, Самара, Россия; ассоциированный научный сотрудник СИ РАН, Санкт-Петербург, Россия. Электронная почта: vlad.bocharov@gmail.com
 Статья представляет аналитический обзор теоретических и социальных предпосылок, базовых положений и методологических возможностей теории интерсекциональности в её трактовке классового и гендерного неравенства. Долгое время гендер и класс как базовые понятия современной социологии производили два параллельно существующих научных дискурса. С одной стороны, конвенциальный классовый анализ оставался гендерно нечувствительным, вплоть до середины 1980-х гг. защищая собственные предпосылки под натиском феминистской критики. С другой – гендерная теория и women studies игнорировали значение различий, порожденных социальным происхождением и классом. Постмодернистская критика 1990-х гг. и «культуральный поворот» поставили под сомнение релевантность использования данных подходов, подчеркнув их социально сконструированную природу, неустойчивость и фрагментарность. Вместе с тем последствия глобальной капиталистической трансформации, затронувшие большие социальные группы, продемонстрировали концептуальную недостаточность конструктивистского подхода. Одним из ответов на вызов постмодерна, позволившим учитывать как влияние дискурса, производящего социальные различия и барьеры, так и реально существующие властные диспозиции, становится теория интерсекциональности. Данный методологический фрейм концентрируется на изучении того, как социально сконструированные и исторически укорененные системы власти и доминирования оказывают влияние на формирование индивидуальной субъектности. Постулируется и обосновывается, как взаимное наложение нескольких стигматизирующих социальных категорий порождает множественные негативные эффекты для дискриминируемых групп. В статье представлен обзор зарубежных интерсекциональных исследований, рассматривающих способы производства различных версий гендера и сексуальной нормативности, стратегии комбинирования семейных и профессиональных ролей в рамках классовых культур. Приводятся аргументы интерсекционального подхода в отношении того, как пересечение категорий класса и гендера с другими системами подавления производит барьеры между группами и порождает новые формы неравенства на индивидуальном и институциальном уровне, влияя как на повседневную жизнь людей, так и на государственные стратегии в области социальной политики.

European Identity and Citizenship in Estonia: Analyses of Textbooks and Theoretical Developments

Purpose: This article aims at elaboration of a relevant framework for European identity and citizenship. On this basis, comparative studies like ICSS, Estonian curricula, civic syllabuses and textbooks will be critically reviewed. Methods: The framework relies on former studies on democracy and education. The work also draws on normative materials for European citizenship, comparative empirical and critical studies. The conceptual system relies on the literature on basic sociological and semiotic concepts. This framework is used for analyses of the Estonian civic education system. Findings: The most general concepts like individual, society, culture, social actors and structures are defined as mutually inclusive. This has enabled to address complex and controversial social issues and achieve the aims of European identity and active citizenship. The Estonian curricula, civic syllabuses and textbooks herald democratic ideals, but fail to provide for them relevant concepts. They focus on empirical and normative descriptions of main political institutions. The books hardly describe how could active citizens evaluate and influence these institutions. Their content avoids complex and controversial issues like hierarchical power relations and social inequality and fails to describe both the hierarchical public administration and the system for public participation in Estonia. All this rather hinders students’ political literacy, critical thinking and active participation.

Postcolonial Feminisms and Introducing Sociology in the Imperium

This article addresses the limits of teaching sociology as a Eurocentric modernist discipline in the context of the postcolonial present. Living in a transnational and globalized world makes the most basic and fundamental sociological concepts woefully delimiting, since they are ahistoricized and universalized terms rooted in a very specific modernist life-world. Words such as ‘individual,’ ‘self,’ ‘society,’ and ‘social’ are used routinely in everyday parlance as if their meanings are self-evident. This is not surprising given that scholarship and undergraduate teaching in the United States have also rendered them as generic, self-evident words without unraveling them reflectively as concepts, much like the ways in which ‘nation,’ ‘state,’ ‘gender,’ ‘race,’ ‘ethnicity,’ ‘sexuality,’ ‘citizen,’ ‘immigrant,’ ‘migrant,’ and ‘other,’ have been shown to reflect particular modern, liberal understandings. What scholarly, disciplinary and pedagogical challenges are faced when notions such as the ‘individual’ and ‘self’ are interrogated in the classroom from transnational and postcolonial perspectives? Writing from the standpoint of an immigrant feminist sociologist teaching in liberal arts colleges in northeast United States, I reflect on strategies that draw students toward a critical engagement with sociology while coming to grips with subject positions and political and cultural histories that shape such engagements.

Basic sociological concepts, attitude, perception and effects on propagating the message of HIV and AIDS prevention and control on engineering student of some selected tertiary institutions in Ekiti State, Nigeria

This study centres on the basic sociological concepts, attitudes, perception and its effects on propagating the message of the dreaded disease called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention and control using engineering student from selected tertiary institution in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. HIV and AIDS prevention was examined prior and after HIV and AIDS education programme. It was discovered that majority of the students were aware of this deadly disease, but larger proportion of this class of students did not believe in necessity for the propagating the message of HIV and AIDS prevention due to either misconception or lack of proper awareness about the virus. This study revealed that HIV and AIDS education is essential to correct the students’ opinion, attitudes and perception about propagating the message of its prevention. The students’ levels of academic and awareness about the disease are also significant factors that could enhance their willingness to participate in propagating the message. Key words: Attitude, perception, propagation, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), control.

Gender, Race, and Homicide: Precarious Gesture and Bringing the Generalized Other Back In

Work on homicide has increasingly moved to cultural analysis that reframes basic sociological concepts like structure and value. In addition, symbolic interactionist work has increasingly focused on cultural structures. This study contributes to both efforts, framing homicide as variation in performances for group boundary production, that is, for the social distribution of prestige. Does gender and race identity represent different ways of performing homicide? The study uses Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2009 of the Unified Crime Reports data that the US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation prepares. The study examines four direct effects of boundary production, namely black male, black female, white male, and white female statuses. It includes five performance regularities, gender and race, age, relationship to victim, condition of the homicide, and weapon used. The cross-classified analyses show cultural boundaries that associate with gender and race statuses. The study tests urban and southern residences of homicidal offenders using enter hierarchical logistic regressions and finds support for the hypothesis that cultural performances produce boundaries for geo-economic and geo-historical identifications.

Generally Intended Meaning, the 'Average' Actor, and Max Weber's Interpretive Sociology

Max Weber's concept of the 'subjectively intended meaning' of social action is often taken to refer to that meaning in terms of which a real, 'concrete' individual understands his or her own action. Weber's interpretive sociology, however, was typological. The actor to whom Weber referred in his sociological work was almost always an ideal type, usually the 'average' member of a sociologically significant social stratum. The subjective meaning of the action Weber assigned when constructing such an ideal type was the 'generally intended meaning' the action typically has for members of such strata. By examining Weber's methodological and substantive writings, particularly 'Basic Sociological Concepts', some implications of his typological approach for understanding his concept of subjective meaning, of the individual actor, and of interpretive sociology are discussed, including a critique of the view that Weber was a methodological individualist.

Max Webers "Wissenschaftslehre" in English

[MWS 12.2 (2012) 259-271] ISSN 1470-8078 Max Webers Wissenschaftslehre in English: Review essay of H.H. Bruun and S. Whimster (eds.), Max Weber, Collected Methodological Writings (London: Routledge, 2012), 563pp. Hardback ISBN 978-0-415-47898-4. £70.00. Hubert Treiber1 The recently-published edition of Max Weber's Collected Methodolog ical Writings is an impressive piece of work: 563 large pages, a great deal of work for the very experienced H.H. Bruun, the editor largely responsible for the translation. There are several ways in which this text stands out. 1. Neither the selection of texts nor the title of the existing Gesam melte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaflslehre stem from Max Weber, but this careful and reader-friendly translation reproduces that selection, with some exceptions. Left out on the one hand are 'The Three Pure Types of Legitimate Rule' and 'Basic Sociological Concepts'; put in, on the other, are the 'Geleitwort' (pp. 95ff.), the review of Adolf Weber's Tasks of Economic Theory as a Science (1907) (pp. 269ff.), and the 'Declaration' (p. 302). Omissions and additions are governed by the criterion of whether the texts in question are of a 'methodolog ical' nature. It can be objected that the 'Geleitwort', drafted on the occasion of the relaunch of the Archivßr Sozialwissenschaft und Sozi alpolitik in 1904 and long assumed to have been written by Weber, was very probably mostly written by Sombart, as Peter Ghosh has recently argued.2 Its inclusion here relates to the fact that Weber was one of the joint signatories, but mainly that the text provides an important indication of what Weber understands as Togico methodological' (p. 98). Indeed, in 1919 Weber did speak to Siebeck 1. I would like to thank Stefan Breuer (Hamburg) and Peter Ghosh (Oxford) for helpful criticism, and Keith Tribe for the translation. 2. Peter Ghosh, 'Max Weber, Werner Sombart and the Archiv für Sozialwissen schaft: The authorship of the "Geleitwort" (1904)', History of European Ideas 36 (2010): 71-100.© Max Weber Studies 2012, Clifton House, 17 Malvern Road, London, E8 3LP. 260 Max Weber Studies about publishing a 'collection of logico-methodological essays', among which he included this piece.3 When towards the end of the 'Geleitwort' it is stated that 'no journal today would be able to serve social theory in a manner corresponding to the demands of strict sci entific rigour [Wissenschaftlichkeit], which did not also bring about fundamental clarity regarding the relationship between theoretical and conceptual structures and reality, by means of epistemological methodological discussion' (p. 98), then this logico-methodological formulation, intended as an explanation, points to neo-Kantianism, with which Bruun as co-editor and translator has studied long and intensively.4 One could also argue over whether it would have been better to leave out the second of the two Archiv essays of 1907 and 1917 and insert instead the 'remarks relating mostly to method' (MWG 1/11/ p. 246) from Weber's 1908-1909 'Zur Psychophysik der industriellen Arbeit' (MWG 1/11, pp. 246-49). I will discuss this below. It is however of great help to the reader that, at the end of every text, the source is given, together with additional refer ences involving, among other things, the background to the gene sis of the text in question. But the considerable effort made to render this translation as clear and accurate as possible by the inclusion of explanatory additions in square brackets goes at times too far. 2. Following the section of the book including those texts previ ously included in the Wissenschaftslehre, there is a section (pp. 355ff.) which, with one exception (the report to the first meeting of German sociologists in 1910), contains those contributions to discussions made by Weber at that meeting and at the meetings of the Verein für Sozialpolitik in 1905 and 1909, in each case as extracts with the source given. These texts, together with the letters presented in the next section, raise the question of the extent to which the separation of these fragments from their original context is defensible; but given the already great volume of the book it is plausible to argue that oth...

Media Review: Sociology and Music Education

Wright, Ruth, ed. and Music Education. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2010. xv + 299 pp. Index, hardback. ISBN 978-0-75466-801-5, $99.95 and Music edited by Ruth Wright, is a collection of works encompassing a broad range of issues. Wright assembled an expert international panel of contributors--both researchers and practitioners--that includes pioneers in the field Lucy Green and Christopher Small. Published by the Society for Music, and Psychology (SEMPRE) as a component of the SEMPRE Studies in the Psychology of Music series, and Music Education is intended to fill a gap in the literature; its application is to contexts outside of North America. Beginning with an exceptional introductory chapter by Wright and a seminal work by Lucy Green, what follows is an exploration of music education and sociology connections illustrated with basic and applied research. first chapter, Sociology and Music Education, begins with a compelling explanation of sociology as a lens for viewing music education. Wright provides a primer on sociology--its roots and historical underpinnings--and reviews briefly several sociological theories. In the second half of the chapter, Wright connects sociology and music education by stating that culture, power, and pedagogy have become key themes (p. 16). This chapter offers essential information for those new to sociological thought and an apt refresher for those with more familiarity. A reprint of a 1999 Green work comprises the second chapter, Research in the of Music Education: Some Introductory Concepts. Green introduces basic sociological concepts and their application to music, mainly groups (social class, ethnicity, gender) and practices (production, distribution, and consumption). Green then proceeds to outline her view of musical meaning and musical experience, deftly connecting the various ideas to question how schools participate in reproducing the social organization of music through history (p. 28). Green concludes with research suggestions for academics and practitioners. From the first two chapters emerge several main concepts that form a foundation for the remainder of the book--curriculum, pedagogy, agency, and the reinforcement of societal norms. Within these four concepts are several subthemes: curriculum development, children's agency, advantaged and disadvantaged groups, and application of specific sociological theories to music education. Not every contribution can be neatly sorted into one of these subthemes, as often several subthemes are present within one chapter, but they provide a useful organizer for analyzing the book. Chris Philpott critiques curriculum development in England in chapter 6, The Sociological Critique of Curricular Music in England: Is Radical Change Really Possible? He examines the English music curriculum utilizing the sociological theory of structuration--the relationship between structure and human agency. Wright and Brian Davies employ a broader lens by looking at the National Curriculum for Music in the United Kingdom in chapter 3, Class, Power, Culture and the Music Curriculum. Using the ideas of sociologists Bourdieu and Bernstein, Wright and Davies discuss the differing codes of policy makers, music teachers, and students, and pose thoughtful arguments for music teaching in any setting. In the final chapter, Democracy, Social Exclusion, and Music Education: Possibilities for Change, Wright turns again to Bernstein and his ideas of democracy as a call to change, leaving the reader with looming questions about democratic music education. Children's agency and ownership receives attention from several researchers. In chapter 8, Panagiotis Kanellopoulos primes the reader for subsequent chapters by summarizing music education research on children's creative music making and suggests research directions that include sociologically informed music education perspectives on children's creative musical practice (p. …

Max Weber, charisma and nationalist leadership1

One of Max Weber's most well-known achievements was the formulation of three concepts of legitimate authority: traditional, legal-rational and charismatic. However, there are particular problems with the last of these, which is not historically grounded in the manner of the other two concepts. The charisma concept originated with Weber's sociology of religion, was pressed into service in pre-war writing on the sociology of domination, shifted focus in his wartime political writings and changed meaning again in his post-war writing on basic sociological concepts. To use the concept in historical-political analysis, I argue, one must distinguish between a pre-modern and modern form of charismatic domination. I argue that doing this enables us to understand features of the leadership of colonial nationalist and fascist movements. © ASEN/Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2011.

Max Weber lesen by Stephen Kalberg Max Weber: Eine Einführung in sein Werk by Hans-Peter Müller Weber: A Short Introduction by Gianfranco Poggi (review)

[MVS 10.2 (2010) 251-260] ISSN 1470-8078 Book Reviews Stephen Kalberg, Max Weber lesen (Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2006), 148 pp. ISBN 3-89942-445-X. €11.00. Hans-Peter Müller, Max Weber: Eine Einführung in sein Werk (Köln, Weimar and Wien: Böhlau Verlag, 2007), 311 pp. ISBN 978-3-8252-295-8. €16.90. Gianfranco Poggi, Weber: A Short Introduction (Cambridge, UK and Maiden, MA 2006: Polity Press), 137pp. ISBN 0-7456-3490-7. £12.99. In the last few years a large number of introductions to the work of Max Weber have appeared. All of these show how, in the context of academic teaching at least, a certain worldwide standardization of understandings of Weber's ideas has been reached, based on a minimum consensus of the academics involved. This also holds for the three introductory volumes under review here. The authors are prominent sociologists, two of them long recognized as scholars of Weber, and the third—the Berlin sociologist Hans-Peter Müller—here presenting a reading of Weber based on many years of teaching. What these three introductory volumes share, alongside short résumés of Weber's biography, is a concentration on methodological issues and the basic sociological concepts, as well as Weber's writings on the sociology of religion, domination and the state. For introductory purposes this is sensible since it is clear that Weber's wide-ranging oeuvre cannot naturally be conveyed in any schematically brief way. It is, however, surprising that unlike Müller, neither Kalberg nor Poggi address the philological and related substantive controversies that have been raging for several decades now around the editorial work of the Gesamtausgabe. Perhaps this is one sign that questions of bibliographical history have still not found much reso nance in Anglophone literature. Certainly the books under review here do note the existence of both a pre-First World War and a post-First World War version of the body of writings that has come to be known as Economy and Society. Yet even Müller, despite addressing this matter, draws no further conclusions from it. My proposal here is that alongside the distinction he draws between orthodox and heterodox styles of Weber-scholarship another distinction must be considered, namely one between 'critical' and 'pre-critical' interpretations of Weber, where 'critical' refers to text-based treatment of his work (cf. 21,224ff.). Taking these three introductory volumes as examples, I'd like to make clear here some consequences that arise from a neglect of these controversies about textual history and to ask whether it is even still possible to write an introduction to Weber without taking note of them. Without fundamentally disputing the suitability of these books for teaching purposes—evidently borne of many years' experience in the ) Max Weber Studies 2011, Clifton House, 17 Malvern Road, London, E8 3LP. 252 Max Weber Studies classroom and manifest in their high didactic quality—I want nonetheless to raise a series of questions in what follows with these queries in mind. Müller's book is the most wide-ranging of the three. His is the product of a study pack created for the Open University of Hagen (FernUniversität Hagen) and used successfully for distance-learning purposes. Unlike Kalberg and Poggi, Müller is concerned to produce as an encompassing an account of Weber's work as possible, although he does not consider either Weber7s pre-1903 writings or any of the various versions of Weber's handbook article on the Agrarian Conditions of Antiquity, where Weber7s gradual transition to a comparative-historical mode of approach becomes clear. Weber7s multifaceted study of The City and sociology of law are also only cur sorily mentioned by Müller, and the question of their status in the history of Weber's corpus is left unelucidated (236-47). This is explained by Müller's basic decision to arrange Weber7s work around 'systematic' rather than 'genealogical' criteria. His claim is for a 'coherent reading that does not do violence to the sometimes contradic tory array of differences between author and work but that nevertheless outlines the basic coordinates of his thought' (9). Whether Müller...

Por una epistemología de la Salud Colectiva: los conceptos sociológicos

From basic concepts of sociology, a theoretical elaboration is outlined which looks for a first approach for the building of an epistemology of Collective Health. The paper exposes initially a conceptualization of epistemology, taking into account that different epistemologies –phenomenological, constructivist, historical and archeological–have illuminated the scientific construction of Collective Health. Although the split of these disciplines are not taken into account, the analysis emphasizes the notions of concept, constructs and analytical categories as a starting point. Three founding concepts in the social sciences are stressed, which turn into analytical categories: collective, society and structure. These concepts are articulated in an interactive way with three others: individual, representation and action. The main characteristics of these concepts and their interrelation are highlighted together with the idea that other concepts may derive from this conceptual basis. The question of overcoming the oppositions is emphasized (objective/subjective, collective/individual) along with the need to think together these aspects of reality, which were classically understood as antagonists.