A Short History of Sociological Thought

About the Author ALAN SWINGEWOOD lectures in sociology at the London School of Economics. He is also the author of Cultural Theory and the Problem of Modernity. Product Description This lucidly written, jargon-free text offers an account of the rise of sociological thought from its origins in the eighteenth century. Beginning with the classical sociology of Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Simmel, it goes on to examine the modern paradigms of functionalism, interactionism, structuralism and critical Marxism, and ends by discussing salient contemporary sociological theory, including the theories of Foucault, Baudrillard, Giddens, Habermas and others. Systematic and comprehensive, this is a text that critically engages with sociological theory throughout its development, offering students a path through competing traditions and perspectives that brings out the distinctive value and limitations of these. Review 'a superb book.' - The Times Higher Education Supplement Review a superb book.' - The Times Higher Education Supplement From the Back Cover Alan's Swingewood's important new textbook provides a clear but sophisticated introduction to the rise and development of sociological thought from its origins in eighteenth-century philosophy and political economy, through the emergence of classical sociology at the end of the nineteenth century, to its modern phenomenological and functionalist reappraisal.