The Social Thought of C. Wright Mills PDF Download

Author: A. Javier Trevino
Publisher: Pine Forge Press
ISBN: 1412993938
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
Aimed at a generation of students and activists who have probably encountered very little of his work, this is a thoughtful and engaging exploration of the critical social thought of C. Wright Mills.

Author: Irving Louis Horowitz
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Author: Ismael Puga
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351353454
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 83

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Book Description
C. Wright Mills’s 1959 book The Sociological Imagination is widely regarded as one of the most influential works of post-war sociology. At its heart, the work is a closely reasoned argument about the nature and aims of sociology, one that sets out a manifesto and roadmap for the field. Its wide acceptance and popular reception is a clear demonstration of the rhetorical power of Wright’s strong reasoning skills. In critical thinking, reasoning involves the creation of an argument that is strong, balanced, and, of course, persuasive. In Mills’s case, this core argument makes a case for what he terms the “sociological imagination”, a particular quality of mind capable of analyzing how individual lives fit into, and interact with, social structures. Only by adopting such an approach, Mills argues, can sociologists see the private troubles of individuals as the social issues they really are. Allied to this central argument are supporting arguments for the need for sociology to maintain its independence from corporations and governments, and for social scientists to steer away from ‘high theory’ and focus on the real difficulties of everyday life. Carefully organized, watertight and persuasive, The Sociological Imagination exemplifies reasoned argument at its best.

Author: Jon Frauley
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000440001
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
The Routledge International Handbook of C. Wright Mills Studies brings together leading scholars of the work of radical sociologist C. Wright Mills to showcase its impact across the social sciences. Showing how Mills’ thought can be taken up - and in some cases, sympathetically reformulated - to tackle problems of power and politics, it presents an authoritative state-of-the-art overview of Mills’ groundbreaking ideas and his far-reaching theoretical and methodological impact. Crucially, the volume also illustrates the value of thinking with Mills in addressing the complexities of contemporary capitalist democracies. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology, organization studies, peace and conflict studies, criminology, politics and public administration.

Author: Graham Crow
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 113704277X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
This book explores the ways in which sociological arguments are constructed and presented, looking at what can be learned from the contrasting styles of sociologists working in different periods and theoretical traditions. Fundamental debates in the discipline are addressed, such as 'can sociology provide final answers?' and 'how far is detachment feasible or desirable?'. Finally, the book considers the practical significance which thinking about styles of argument has for all students of sociology.

Author: David Haney
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 1592137156
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
A highly readable introduction to and overview of the postwar social sciences in the United States, The Americanization of Social Science explores a critical period in the evolution of American sociology’s professional identity from the late 1940s through the early 1960s. David Paul Haney contends that during this time leading sociologists encouraged a professional secession from public engagement in the name of establishing the discipline’s scientific integrity. According to Haney, influential practitioners encouraged a willful withdrawal from public sociology by separating their professional work from public life. He argues that this separation diminished sociologists’ capacity for conveying their findings to wider publics, especially given their ambivalence towards the mass media, as witnessed by the professional estrangement that scholars like David Riesman and C. Wright Mills experienced as their writing found receptive lay audiences. He argues further that this sense of professional insularity has inhibited sociology’s participation in the national discussion about social issues to the present day.

Author: Gunter Werner Remmling
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000155773
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description
Karl Mannheim (1893-1947) occupies a prominent position among the leading social scientists of the twentieth century; his ideas and his books are relevant for many issues engaging the concern of sociologists today. Mannheim’s life spanned three cultural traditions – Hungarian, German and British – and in this authoritative study Professor Remmling covers all these phases in his life and work. Mannheim began as an idealistic philosopher, but soon began to make important contributions to the developing area of sociology of knowledge. After his emigration to England in 1933, Mannheim developed a theory of social planning to combat the socio-political consequences of the crisis of liberalism. During the Second World War his attention shifted to the ethical and religious values of Western humanism and the related role of mass education in democratic social planning. Finally, Mannheim forged the rudiments of a political sociology attacking the abuse of politico-military power and the resulting danger of a third world war, while simultaneously calling for counter-attack under the banner of planning for freedom on behalf of militant, fundamental democracy. In tracing these development in Karl Mannheim’s work, Gunter Remmling provides insights into major theoretical and practical issues of the first half of the twentieth century, problems which remain central to the modern experience. A comprehensive bibliography is provided to introduce the sociology of knowledge and related topics, such as ideology, utopia, intellectuals, Weimar culture, and social planning.

Author: Doyle Paul Johnson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387765220
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 632

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Book Description
This volume is designed as a basic text for upper level and graduate courses in contemporary sociological theory. Most sociology programs require their majors to take at least one course in sociological theory, sometimes two. A typical breakdown is between classical and contemporary theory. Theory is perhaps one of the bro- est areas of sociological inquiry and serves as a foundation or framework for more specialized study in specific substantive areas of the field. In addition, the study of sociological theory can readily be related to various aspects of other social science disciplines as well. From the very beginning sociology has been characterized by alternative theoretical perspectives. Classical theory includes the European founding figures of the dis- pline whose works were produced during the later half of the nineteenth century and the first couple of decades of the twentieth century plus early American th- rists. For most of the second half of the twentieth century, a fairly high consensus has developed among American sociologists regarding these major founders, p- ticularly with regard to the works of Durkheim and Weber in analyzing the overall society and of Simmel in analyzing social interaction processes. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s the influence of Marx has also been recognized. Recent decades have also witnessed an increased emphasis on the important contributions of several pioneering feminist perspectives in the early years of sociology.

Author: Kenneth Menzies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317657187
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
Central to most sociologists’ self-image is the claim that their theories are based on research. However, using a random sample of 680 articles appearing in major American, British and Canadian journals, Dr Menzies shows that in some areas of sociology the wide gap between theory and research means that much of sociological theory is virtually untested. He explains how theory is embodied in eight particular types of research, critically examines these research theories, and contrasts them with the positions of modern theorists. The sample of journal articles also permits a comparison of British, American and Canadian sociology. By contrasting on how researchers us theories, Dr Menzies is able to reassess several theories. For instance, symbolic interactionist research uses embedded causal claims and stands in a dialectical relationship to other sociological research, while the research version of conflict theory depends on external causes to explain social change. The implications of using statistical techniques like factor analysis and regression are also considered in relation to the form of explanation.

Author: Professor Stuart Sim
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317903501
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
The A-Z Guide to Modern Social and Political Theories is a companion volume to the already published A-Z Guide to Modern Literary and Cultural Theorists. It ranges widely through the social sciences and related areas to identify thinkers who have had a major impact on the development of modern social and political theory and given clear, accessible summaries of their work. While the accent is on the later twentieth century, several up-and-coming theorists are included to ensure a contemporary edge to the volume, classic names in the field from the earlier twentieth century are not neglected, and the collection also delves back into the nineteenth century for such founding figures of the social sciences as Marx and Comte. The volume is therefore both up-to-date and mindful of the sources of modern debates.