Publisher's Synopsis
This book breaks important new ground, making important connections between the major lines of social thought. The authors have drawn strongly, not only on the works of positivists, but also the ideas of: sociologists of knowledge, the Frankfurt School, Marxists, ethnomethodologists, postmodernists, and cultural theorists. The five perspectives discussed contain several points of disagreement with positivism. Throughout, the book concentrates on the crucial epistemological problem of the relation between sociological theory and the object to which it addresses itself. Its emphasis is on the method and theory in contemporary research and how this reflects movement throughout the sociological spectrum. It debates the approach which developed from the positivist tradition with its emphasis on causality. Further weaknesses of the positivist tradition are highlighted and new insight is considered, brought by sociologists of knowledge and phenomenological perspectives in relation to research practice. The book stimulates dialogue for a new approach to current sociological theory. Further, a myriad of prominent sociological theories are discussed, which raise concerns for issues related to gender and new social movements. It is undoubtedly a new and stimulating approach to current sociological theory.
