Influenced by Thomas Kuhn's work on paradigm shifts in the social sciences, this overview of contemporary theory identifies major themes, charts the impact of social change on theories, acquaints readers with a sample of individual theorists (the "transitional giants" who shaped contemporary theories), explores the impact of contemporary theories on various areas of sociology, and traces how the great social theories of the past are being reinterpreted and incorporated into new theories. The result is an original interpretation of the important role that theory plays both in the real world and in the shaping of an academic discipline.
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Review:
The authors manage effectively to paint the bigger picture for their readers, exploring the difficulties of theory and cementing it in the real world, and that's an achievement of which they should be proud. Changing Theories could be an indispensable tool for encouraging new students to engage with theory. More importantly, it could also go a long way to break misconceptions about the inaccessibility of theory. - Times Higher Education
Changing Theories makes for a warm and engaging read. The authors have given us a good history and summation of some of the most important contemporary theories in the discipline. [...] Changing Theories would make a strong contribution to the critically engaged contemporary theory course as well as graduate courses on the history of sociology and the sociology of knowledge. - Teaching Sociology
About the Author:
Roberta Garner is Professor of Sociology at DePaul University in Chicago. She is the author of The Joy of Stats: A Short Guide to Introductory Statistics in the Social Sciences, Second Edition (2010). She teaches courses on theory, research design, statistics, and Greek mythology. Black Hawk Hancock is Associate Professor of Sociology at DePaul University in Chicago. He is the co-author with Roberta Garner of Changing Theories: New Directions in Sociology (2009) and author of American Allegory: Lindy Hop and the Racial Imagination (2013).
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