Classical Sociological Theory Research Articles

Preparation and implementation of the Programme SAPARD: Who might be winners and losers

The paper addresses the first experience with the SAPARD Programme in the Czech Republic. Its theoretical background refers to gradualist and shock approaches in coping with social change. These approaches are connected either with theoretical fundaments of neo-classical economic theories (shock approach and methodological individualism; homo-oeconomicus), or classical sociological theories (institutions, norms and rules, social embeddedness, methodological collectivism and Durkheim’s social fact). An empirical section of the paper is based on findings from field work and interviews with the SAPARD shareholders. It shows a sociological analysis of the origin of the SAPARD Plan and compares various measures implemented under the SAPARD Programme to indicate who was the winner (medium-scale businesses and farms understanding the SAPARD as a preparation for EU membership) and loser (and why) in competing for funding related to these measures. Also the issue how the SAPARD projects applicants master their action as for preparing and submitting projects is addressed. The role of social capital in the SAPARD Programme preparation is documented.

Face to Face: Toward a Sociological Theory of Interpersonal Behavior

What are the processes and mechanisms involved in interpersonal behavior, and how are these constrained by human biology, social structure, and culture? Drawing on and updating classic sociological theory, and with special reference to the most recent research in evolutionary and neurophysiological theory, this ambitious work aims to present no less than a unified, general theory of what happens when people interact. Despite modern technologies that mediate communication among individuals, face-to-face interaction is still primal and primary. This book argues against recent social theory that postulates a dramatic change in the nature of human relationships under postmodernity and, instead, asserts that despite undeniable and accelerating change in people's environments, certain basic human tendencies toward emotionally inflected, physically present social interaction remain strong. Turner builds on first principles he locates in the work of Mead, Freud, Schutz, Durkheim, and Goffman. After brief overviews of previous work on the embeddedness of social interaction in sociocultural systems and in human biology, each chapter presents elements of the microdynamics involved in encounters: emotions, motivations (transactional needs), culture (normative conventions), role processes, status, demographics, and ecology. Each chapter ends with a series of testable propositions, which are then streamlined into a series of summary principles intended to motivate future research. The book concludes with some cautious hypotheses on the potential influence of microprocesses on broader social dynamics.

Using Conflict Theory

Human conflict - from family feuds, to labor strikes, to national warfare - is an ever-present and universal social problem and the methods to manage it, a challenge for everyone, from average citizens to policymakers and social theorists. Using Conflict Theory will educate students about how, under what conditions, and why conflict erupts, and how it can be managed. It is a unique classroom book blending theory and practical application and the first to bridge for students the science of social theory and the art of practice. The authors extract from classical sociological theory (Marx, Dahrendorf, Weber, Durkheim, and Parsons), and interpret for the student how these theoretical perspectives have contributed to understanding social conflict (its sources, the causes of escalation and de-escalation of violence, the negotiations process). The perspectives of contemporary theorists (such as Randall Collins, James Coleman, Joseph Himes, Hubert Blalock) are also brought to bear on these questions.

Social Capital, Inequality and Health: the Durkheimian Revival

‘Social capital’ has become a fashionable paradigm for the explanation of differences in health and illness between social groups in the last decade, particularly in the public health arena. The theory provides a particularly potent criticism of the social consequences of neo-liberalism, and hence the foundation for a sociological critique of the negative effects of modern individualism. In this discussion of social capital, I want to show that its roots are to be found in classical sociological theory, particularly in Emile Durkheim's sociology. In fact, the modern debate reproduces Durkheim's attack on utilitarian individualism as an explanation of social happiness, but this dependence on Durkheim's analysis is rarely acknowledged. The notion that the quantity and quality of a person's social relationships and social networks play an important part in the maintenance of their health, and at the same time provide resources for their recovery from illness, has been a basic component of much public health research, but mainstream sociology has neglected this important vindication of the sociological tradition. In fact, social capital theory is the most promising sociological, as opposed to social psychological, anthropological or cultural, account of health and illness that we have. Although the social capital perspective is attractive as sociology, a number of theoretical and methodological issues need to be confronted. In particular, the problem with these sociological theories of social connectedness has been twofold. They have to describe more precisely the linkages between health, social membership and psychological well-being, and secondly they need to give a more coherent account of these social relationships. If these theoretical problems can be addressed, then social capital theory can make an important contribution to the sociological understanding of health and illness. In this article, my intention is to outline the development and claims of social capital theory, and to show the dependence of recent work on the legacy of Durkheim's sociology.

Classical Sociological Theory. Edited by Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, Kathryn Schmidt, and Indermohan Virk. Blackwell, 2002. 440 pp. Cloth, $73.95; paper, $36.95

Journal Article Classical Sociological Theory.Edited by Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, Kathryn Schmidt, and Indermohan Virk. Blackwell, 2002. 440 pp. Cloth, $73.95; paper, $36.95 Get access Alan Sica Alan Sica Pennsylvania State University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Social Forces, Volume 81, Issue 2, December 2002, Pages 684–686, https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2003.0021 Published: 01 December 2002

Beyond ‘form versus content’: Simmelian theory as a framework for adaptive brand strategy

At the heart of branding is a paradox: the need to provide constancy and change at the same time. Constancy is required if the brand is to build awareness and credibility. Change is required if the brand is to remain relevant in an ever-evolving marketplace. In modern society the paradox is even more daunting, as constancy runs the risk of seeming inherently inauthentic. This leaves brands with two contradictory demands: (1) be the same and different virtually at once, (2) be instantly recognisable yet avoid formula. Though these demands may seem impossible to meet, some brands manage to navigate them. How? Using the classical sociological theory of Georg Simmel, this paper analyses this deep paradox in conceptual terms, and offers five tactics for managing it.

Active Learning and Morality: Incorporating Greater Meaning into Marketing Education

In qualitative and quantitative research, marketing students defined meaning in education as personal relevance, and determined that marketing education lacks meaning. As perceptions of meaningless education have been associated with low interest in continuing education, as well as beliefs that formal education is not necessary to be successful, ensuring meaning is critical. Combining scholarly work in active learning with classic sociological theory, it is hypothesized that by shifting teaching methods to active learning and using these methods to tie marketing concepts to morality, we can create students that find greater meaning in their education. The results of two studies support this hypothesis.

Reexamining economic sociology: Beyond rational choice reductionism

The article aims at reexamining the origins and character of economic sociology by comparison with rational choice within the history of economic and social ideas, particularly neoclassical economic and classical sociological theory. Some suggestions for a rational choice approach to economic sociology are particularly curious in that they tend to conflate the distinct characters and origins of these two disciplines throughout this history and have in turn provided an impetus for this reexamination. Modern rational choice theorists display a predilection for reducing economic (and, all) sociology into an economic approach to human behavior, with many economic sociologists evincing some degree of lenience or benevolence vis-a-vis such tendencies. Both tendencies do not seem justified in light of the different nature and origin of economic sociology and rational choice in the history of social and economic ideas. Since the current literature lacks coherent attempts at specifying the nature and historical roots of economic sociology versus those of rational choice, the article contributes toward filling in this hole.

Classical Sociological Theory and Modern Social Problems: Marx's cOncept of the Camera Obscura and the Fallacy of Individualistic Reductionism

Marx viewed ideological and classed based understandings of the social world as analogous to images in a “camera obscura”, where the outcome is backwards or distorted. Commonplace discourse “gets it backward” in the same way: causes and effects are often conflated. Current understandings of the relationship between poverty, crime and policing are examined. Rather than a conventional, individualreductionist analysis, sociologists are encouraged to engage in historical and structural investigation. Marx's camera obscura analogy is developed as a tool used to both shed light on power relations as presently conceived and to understand them in an alternative fashion.

Anthony Giddens and Modern Social Theory

Introduction PART ONE: THE RECONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL THEORY The Legacy of Classical Sociological Theory New Rules of Sociological Method Positivism, Interpretive Sociology and Structuration Theory Structuration Theory Reconceptualizing Agency and Structure PART TWO: SOCIAL CHANGE AND MODERNITY The State, Capitalism and Social Change The Culture of Modernity From the Critique of Postmodernism to the Rise of the New Social Movements The Problems and Possibilities of a Democratic Public Life in Late Modern Societies Feminism, Sexuality and Self-Identity Conclusion

Sociology and Aesthetics

This review explores the present fashion for aesthetics in contemporary sociology. It evaluates the claims that society is undergoing a deep-seated process of aestheticization, and that sociology is experiencing an aestheticization of its epistemological concerns. The aestheticization literature is divided as follows: (1) the re-reading of classical sociological theory through the aesthetic dimension of modernity; (2) the claim that postmodern society involves an `aestheticization of everyday life'; and (3) those sociological theories which stress that contemporary society is more and more like a work of art in its form. The argument is made that the discovery of aesthetics as a way of problematizing sociological reasoning is to some extent rediscovery, returning to various Kantian precepts: the disinterestedness characteristic of aesthetic experiences; the antinomy between the individual and the social aspects of taste; and the work of art as an organism predicated on an inner teleology.

Turning Theory into Theorizing: Collaborative Learning in a Sociological Theory Course

This article describes the ways collaborative learning methods can enhance the undergraduate course in sociological theory. When instructors employ collaborative learning methods, student passivity and fears about theory are transformed into an engaging practice of theorizing. Such practice is not without conflicts and failures, but it acts as a powerful form of resistance to lethargy and routine. Collaborative learning addresses the problems associated with student consumerism in higher education by constituting students as responsible interpreters expected to accomplish rigorous inquiry in the classroom community. Further, these methods are particularly suitable for teaching theory because they overcome the intimidation that students often feel about this subject. This article presents an explanation of collaborative learning, distinguishes it from active learning, identifies its challenges, and describes some specific wavs that instructors can use it to teach classical sociological theory

Book Reviews/Comptes Rendus

Book reviewed in this article:BARRY D. ADAM and ALAN SEARS, Experiencing HIV: Personal, Family and Work Relationships.MARY LOUISE ADAMS, The Trouble with Normal: Postwar Youth and the Making of Heterosexuality.RICHARD ALTSCHULER (ed.), The Living Legacy of Marx, Durkheim & Weber: Applications and Analyses of Classical Sociological Theory by Modern Social Scientists.ABIGAIL BAKAN and DAIVA STASIULIS (eds.), Not One of the Family: Foreign Domestic Workers in Canada.JON CAULFIELD and LINDA PEAKE (eds.), City Lives and City Forms: Critical Research and Canadian Urbanism.Patricia M. Evans and GerdA R. Wekerle (eds.), Women and the Canadian Welfare State: Challenges and Change.BENT FLYVBJERG, Power and Rationality: Democracy in Practice.J. BARRY GURDIN, Amidé I Friendship: An Investigation into Cross‐Cultural Styles in Canada and the United States.ROBERTA HAMILTON, Gendering the Vertical Mosaic: Feminist Perspectives on Canadian Society.THOMAS M. McKENNA, Muslim Rulers and Rebels: Everyday Politics and Armed Separatism in the Southern Philippines.ANDY MERRIFIELD and ERIK SWYNGEDOUW (eds.), The Urbanization of Injustice.ROD MICHALKO, The Mystery of the Eye and the Shadow of Blindness.RICHARD MORRIS, Sinners, Lovers, and Heroes: An Essay on Memorializing in Three American Cultures.DIANE SINGERMAN and HOMAHOODFAR(eds.),Deuelopment Change and Gender in Cairo: A View from the Household.LESLIE PAUL THIELE, Thinking Politics: Perspectives in Ancient, Modern and Postmodern Political Theory.

Book Reviews/Comptes rendus

Book reviewed in this article:IAN McINTOSH (ed.), Classical Sociological Theory: A Reader.Thomas M. Kemple University of British ColumbiaLINDA PERTUSATI, In Defense of Mohawk Land. Ethno‐Political Conflict in Native North America.RONALD RUDIN. Making History in Twentieth‐Century Quebec.

Authoritative Knowledge and Heteronomy in Classical Sociological Theory

This article traces the impact of philosophical questions regarding the grounds of moral autonomy and heteronomy (rule-from-another as opposed to rule-from-oneself) on classical sociological theory, arguing that both Weber and Durkheim understood sociology to have a contribution to make in the debate with Kant over the grounds of ethical action. Both insisted that the only possible ethical action was one within the bounds of rational knowledge that was inherently authoritative, but this sat uneasily with their focus on the relation between concrete social authority and the authoritativeness of beliefs in the sociology of religion. In rejecting Comte's explicit avowal of the embodiment of moral authority in the secular priesthood of sociologists, Weber and Durkheim had to paper over the social authority supporting the formulation of this rational knowledge. Each then produced a sociology of knowledge without a well-specified mechanism, in turn encouraging the development of the sociology of knowledge as a flawed sub-discipline.

Illuminating Social Life: Classical and Contemporary Theory Revisited

About the Editor Preface to the Fifth Edition Part I: Classical Sociological Theory Introduction - Peter Kivisto Chapter 1: Working Longer, Living Less: Understanding Marx Through the Workplace Today - John P. Walsh and Anne Zacharias-Walsh Chapter 2: The Weberian Theory of Rationalization and the McDonaldization of Contemporary Society - George Ritzer Chapter 3: Surfing the Net for Community: A Durkheimian Analysis of Electronic Gatherings - Anne M. Hornsby Chapter 4: Alcohol-Related Windows on Simmel's Social World - William J. Staudenmeier, Jr. PART II: Contemporary Theories and Their Connections to the Classics Introduction - Peter Kivisto Chapter 5: Criminalizing Transgressing Youth: A Neofunctionalist Analysis of Institution Building - Paul Colomy and Laura Ross Greiner Chapter 6: Why Do African Americans Pay More for New Cars? A Structural Explanation - Christopher Prendergast Chapter 7: Critical Theory, Legitimation Crisis, and the Deindustrialization of Flint, Michigan - Steven P. Dandaneau Chapter 8: Race-Based Critical Theory and the Happy Talk of Diversity in America - Douglas Hartmann and Joyce M. Bell Chapter 9: The Socially Constructed Body: Insights From Feminist Theory - Judith Lorber and Patricia Yancey Martin Chapter 10: Organizing Door-to-Door Sales: A Symbolic Interactionist Analysis - David Schweingruber and Nancy Berns Chapter 11: Goffman's Dramaturgical Sociology: Personal Sales and Service in a Commodified World - Peter Kivisto and Dan Pittman Chapter 12: Contrasts of Carnival: Mardi Gras Between the Modern and the Postmodern - Kevin Fox Gotham Chapter 13: Negotiating the Social Landscape to Create Social Change - Anne F. Eisenberg Chapter 14: Globalization Theory and Religious Fundamentalism - William H. Swatos, Jr. Index

The Relationship Between Faith and Well-Being

Despite the considerable literature that documents the existence of a positive relationship between religious faith and individual well-being, there has been little investigation of the mechanisms by which this connection operates. An investigation of this issue, using qualitative research methods and based on classical and contemporary sociological theory, suggests that Christian faith provides its adherents with several tools with which they can combat those circumstances in their lives that are likely to lead to distress and disease. These tools include community, hope, meaning systems, behavioral constraints, and elements of church practice and church life, all of which work together to provide the faithful with a sense of peace that contributes to their well-being.

Family Structure Among Urban, Rural and Farm Populations: Classic Sociological Theory Revisited

Abstract As predicted by the classic sociological theories of Durkheim, Tonnies, and others, early sociological researchers found extensive differences between urban and rural residents in the United States. In recent decades, many of these differences have appeared to wane, or in some cases, totally disappear. Based on these classic theories, we maintain that many of the urban/rural differences found in the past were actually farm/nonfarm differences. Further, we argue that many of these differences continue to exist in rural America, but they have been suppressed by major demographic transitions. Utilizing Current Population Survey data on family structure, we found that there were few significant differences between urban and rural nonfarm residents, but both varied extensively from various segments of the farm population.

Introduction to Macrosociology

Preface. About the Auhtor. 1. Sociology. 2. Individuals and Societies. 3. Classifying Societies. 4. Past Societies. 5. Contemporary Societies and the World Economy. 6. Classical Sociological Theory. 7. Power, Politics, and the State. 8. Class, Race, and Gender. 9. Organizations. 10. The Family. 11. Population. 12. Social Research. Glossary. Appendix. Bibliography. Photo Credits. Index.

Terry R. Kandal. The woman question in classical sociological theory. Miami: Florida International University Press, 1988. 341 pp. $19.95 (paper) (Reviewed by Miriam M. Johnson)

Terry R. Kandal. The woman question in classical sociological theory. Miami: Florida International University Press, 1988. 341 pp. $19.95 (paper) (Reviewed by Miriam M. Johnson)