"One of the major aims of the ISA World Congress of Sociology held in Montreal 1998, was to make a critical assessment of sociological heritage of the twentieth century. In this framework the ISA Congress Programme Committee carried on in 1997 an opinion survey in order to identify ten most influential books for sociologists. ISA members were asked to list five books published in the twentieth century which were most influential in their work as sociologists. 16% of ISA members (455 out of 2785) participated in the survey." From the ISA website. The books below are selections from the list of nominated titles, available in the FSCJ libraries.
The sociological imagination. by
In this book, the author set forth his views on how social science should be pursued. The book took issue with the ascendant schools of sociology in the United States, calling for a humanist sociology connecting the social, personal, and historical dimensions of our lives. The author's view is a way of looking at the world that can see links between the apparently private problems of the individual and important social issues.
The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism by
(PRINT) For more than 100 years, Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism has set the parameters for the debate over the origins of modern capitalism. Now more timely and thought provoking than ever, this esteemed classic of twentieth-century social science examines the deepcultural "frame of mind" that existed at the birth of modern capitalism and to this day influences attitudes toward work in northern America and Western Europe.
Distinction : a social critique of the judgement of taste by
No judgement of taste is innocent. In a word, we are all snobs. Pierre Bourdieu brilliantly illuminates this situation of the middle class in the modern world. France's leading sociologist focusses here on the French bourgeoisie, its tastes and preferences. Distinction is at once a vast ethnography of contemporary France and a dissection of the bourgeois mind.... Bourdieu bases his study on surveys that took into account the multitude of social factors that play a part in a French person's choice of clothing, furniture, leisure activities, dinner menus for guests, and many other matters of taste....The different aesthetic choices people make are all distinctions-that is, choices made in opposition to those made by other classes. Taste is not pure.... The social world, he argues, functions simultaneously as a system of power relations and as a symbolic system in which minute distinctions of taste become the basis for social judgement. But the book is more than fascinating. It is a major contribution to current debates on the theory of culture and a challenge to the major theoretical schools in contemporary sociology.
Men and Women of the Corporation by
In this landmark work on corporate power, especially as it relates to women, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, the distinguished Harvard management thinker and consultant, shows how the careers and self-images of the managers, professionals, and executives, and also those of the secretaries, wives of managers, and women looking for a way up, are determined by the distribution of power and powerlessness within the corporation. This new edition of her award-winning book has a major new afterward in which the author reviews and analyzes how attitudes and practices within the corporate power structure have changed in the 1990s.
The Logic of Practice by
Our usual representations of the opposition between the "civilized" and the "primitive" derive from willfully ignoring the relationship of distance our social science sets up between the observer and the observed. In fact, the author argues, the relationship between the anthropologist and his object of study is a particular instance of the relationship between knowing and doing, interpreting and using, symbolic mastery and practical mastery--or between logical logic, armed with all the accumulated instruments of objectification, and the universally pre-logical logic of practice. In this, his fullest statement of a theory of practice, Bourdieu both sets out what might be involved in incorporating one's own standpoint into an investigation and develops his understanding of the powers inherent in the second member of many oppositional pairs--that is, he explicates how the practical concerns of daily life condition the transmission and functioning of social or cultural forms....
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by
A study of human behavior in social situations and the way we appear to others. Dr. Goffman has employed as a framework the metaphor of theatrical performance. Discussions of social techniques are based upon detailed research and observation of social customs in many regions.
The Rules of Sociological Method by
Revised for the first time in over thirty years, this edition of Emile Durkheim's masterful work on the nature and scope of sociology is updated with a new introduction and improved translation by leading scholar Steven Lukes that puts Durkheim's work into context for the twenty-first century reader. The Rules of Sociological Method represents Emile Durkheim's manifesto for sociology. He argues forcefully for the objective, scientific, and methodological underpinnings of sociology as a discipline and establishes guiding principles for future research. The substantial new introduction by leading Durkheim scholar Steven Lukes explains and sets into context Durkheim's arguments. Lukes examines the still-controversial debates about The Rules of Sociological Method's six chapters and explains their relevance to present-day sociology. The edition also includes Durkheim's subsequent thoughts on method in the form of articles, debates with scholars from other disciplines, and letters. The original translation has been revised and reworked in order to make Durkheim's arguments clearer and easier to read. This is an essential resource for students and scholars hoping to deepen their understanding of one of the pioneering voices in modern sociology and twentieth-century social thought.
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by
In this work, first published in 1912, Emile Durkheim examines a wide range of religious topics including: forms of animism, naturism, and totemism; fundamental concepts such as the soul, spirits and gods; and cults and rites. He argues that the origins of religion are social in nature, and that religious forms cannot be understood apart from their functions.
Studies in Ethnomethodology by
This is the first appearance in paper back of one of the major classics of contemporary Sociology. Studies in Ethnomethodology has inspired a wide range of important theoretical and empirical work in the social sciences and linguistics. It is one of the most original and controversial works in modern social science and it remains at the centre of debate about the current trends and tasks of sociology and social theory. Ethnomethodology - the study of the ways in which ordinary people construct a stable social world through everyday utterances and actions - is now a major component of all sociology and linguistics courses. Garfinkel's formidable reputation as one of the worlds leading sociologists rest largely on the work contained in this book. Studies in Ethnomethodology was originally published by Prentice Hall in 1967 and has remained in print ever since. It is widely used as a text book in this country and in the United States. This new paperback is a special student edition of Garfinkel's modern classic.
Risk Society by
This panoramic analysis of the condition of Western societies has been hailed as a classic. This first English edition has taken its place as a core text of contemporary sociology alongside earlier typifications of society as postindustrial and current debates about the social dimensions of the postmodern. Underpinning the analysis is the notion of the 'risk society'. The changing nature of society's relation to production and distribution is related to the environmental impact as a totalizing, globalizing economy based on scientific and technical knowledge becomes more central to social organization and social conflict.
Asylums by
A total institution is defined by Goffman as a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situated, individuals, cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life. Prisons serve as a clear example, providing we appreciate that what is prison-like about prisons is found in institutions whose members have broken no laws. This volume deals with total institutions in general and, mental hospitals, in particular. The main focus is, on the world of the inmate, not the world of the staff....
The Interpretation of Cultures by
InThe Interpretation of Cultures, the most original anthropologist of his generation moved far beyond the traditional confines of his discipline to develop an important new concept of culture. This groundbreaking book, winner of the 1974 Sorokin Award of the American Sociological Association, helped define for an entire generation of anthropologists what their field is ultimately about.
Philosophical Investigations by
Incorporating significant editorial changes from earlier editions, the fourth edition of Ludwig Wittgenstein′s Philosophical Investigations is the definitive en face German-English version of the most important work of 20th-century philosophy The extensively revised English translation incorporates many hundreds of changes to Anscombe s original translation Footnoted remarks in the earlier editions have now been relocated in the text What was previously referred to as Part 2 is now republished as Philosophy of Psychology A Fragment, and all the remarks in it are numbered for ease of reference New detailed editorial endnotes explain decisions of translators and identify references and allusions in Wittgenstein′s original text Now features new essays on the history of the Philosophical Investigations, and the problems of translating Wittgenstein s text
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions ... first published in 1962 ... was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. Fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach. With The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don’t arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation but that the revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of “normal science,” as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age. This new edition of Kuhn’s essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introduction by Ian Hacking, which clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn's ideas to the science of today.
Power Elite by
The higher circles -- Local society -- Metropolitan -- The celebrities -- The very rich -- The chief executives -- The corporate rich -- The warlords -- The military ascendancy -- The political directorate -- The theory of balance -- The power elite -- The mass society -- The conservative mood -- The higher immorality.
Wretched of the Earth by
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Outsiders : Studies in the sociology of deviance by
This sociological text on deviance and difference provides an exploration into unconventional individuals and their place in normal society.
Stigma : Notes on the management of spoiled identity by
From the author ofThe Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Stigma is analyzes a person’s feelings about himself and his relationship to people whom society calls “normal.” Stigma is an illuminating excursion into the situation of persons who are unable to conform to standards that society calls normal. Disqualified from full social acceptance, they are stigmatized individuals. Physically deformed people, ex-mental patients, drug addicts, prostitutes, or those ostracized for other reasons must constantly strive to adjust to their precarious social identities. Their image of themselves must daily confront and be affronted by the image which others reflect back to them. Drawing extensively on autobiographies and case studies, sociologist Erving Goffman analyzes the stigmatized person’s feelings about himself and his relationship to “normals” He explores the variety of strategies stigmatized individuals employ to deal with the rejection of others, and the complex sorts of information about themselves they project. In Stigma the interplay of alternatives the stigmatized individual must face every day is brilliantly examined by one of America’s leading social analysts.
Street Corner Society by
Street Corner Society is one of a handful of works that can justifiably be called classics of sociological research. William Foote Whyte's account of the Italian American slum he called "Cornerville"—Boston's North End—has been the model for urban ethnography for fifty years. By mapping the intricate social worlds of street gangs and "corner boys," Whyte was among the first to demonstrate that a poor community need not be socially disorganized. His writing set a standard for vivid portrayals of real people in real situations. And his frank discussion of his methodology—participant observation—has served as an essential casebook in field research for generations of students and scholars. This fiftieth anniversary edition includes a new preface and revisions to the methodological appendix. In a new section on the book's legacy, Whyte responds to recent challenges to the validity, interpretation, and uses of his data. "The Whyte Impact on the Underdog," the moving statement by a gang leader who became the author's first research assistant, is preserved. "Street Corner Society broke new ground and set a standard for field research in American cities that remains a source of intellectual challenge."—Robert Washington, Reviews in Anthropology
The Consequences of Modernity by
In this major theoretical statement, the author offers a new and provocative interpretation of institutional transformations associated with modernity. What is modernity? The author suggests, "As a first approximation, let us simply say the following: 'modernity' refers to modes of social life or organization which emerged in Europe from about the seventeenth century onwards and which subsequently became more or less worldwide in their influence." We do not as yet, the author argues, live in a post-modern world. The distinctive characteristics of our major social institutions in the closing years of the twentieth century suggest that, rather than entering into a period of post-modernity, we are moving into a period of "high modernity" in which the consequences of modernity are becoming more radicalized and universalized than before. A post-modern social universe may eventually come into being, but this as yet lies on the other side of the forms of social and cultural organization that currently dominate world history. In developing a fresh characterization of the nature of modernity, the author concentrates on the themes of security versus danger and of trust versus risk. Modernity is a double-edged phenomenon. The development of modern social institutions has created vastly greater opportunities for human beings to enjoy a secure and rewarding existence than in any type of pre-modern system. But modernity also has a somber side that has become very important in the present century, such as the frequently degrading nature of modern industrial work, the growth of totalitarianism, the threat of environmental destruction, and the alarming development of military power and weaponry. The book builds upon the author's previous theoretical writings and will be of great interest to those who have followed his work through the years. However, this book covers issues the author has not previously analyzed and extends the scope of his work into areas of pressing practical concern.
The Sociological Eye by
This major expression of one of the leaders of the Chicago School, one of the most important schools of thought in contemporary American sociology, includes his recognized masterpieces of sociological research and writing. Hughes pioneered studies in a variety of sociological subjects: social institutions, racial interaction, work and occupations, and research methodology. Cumulatively, these essays show the obvious magnitude and scope of thought of one of the century's most distinguished scholars. In their introduction to this edition, Riesman and Becker provide a biographical background to Hughes' writing, describing his pervading influence on the field of sociology and on younger sociologists through his teaching, fieldwork, work in professional associations, and personality. The essays are grouped into four sections: the relationship of social institutions to changes in their surroundings and to the personalities and careers of persons; problems of multi-ethnic societies; the development of occupations, the monopoly license of professions, the determination of public policy about a line of work, and the relations between work and social role; and social observation and analysis.
Discipline and Punish by
In this brilliant work, the most influential philosopher since Sartre suggests that such vaunted reforms as the abolition of torture and the emergence of the modern penitentiary have merely shifted the focus of punishment from the prisoner's body to his soul.
Sociology by
Contents: What is sociology? -- Asking and answering sociological questions -- Theories and perspectives -- Globalization and social change -- The environment -- Cities and urban life -- Work and the economy -- Social interaction and everyday life -- The life course -- Families and intimate relationships -- Health, illness and disability -- Stratification and social class -- Poverty, social exclusion and welfare -- Global inequality -- Gender and sexuality -- Race, ethnicity and migration -- Religion -- The media -- Organizations and networks -- Education -- Crime and deviance -- Politics, government and social movements -- Nations, war and terrorism.
The Lonely Crowd by
A study of 20th-century American society. Its now-classic analysis of the new middle class in terms of inner-directed and other-directed social character opened new dimensions in our understanding of the psychological, political and economic problems that confront the individual in society.
The Sociology of Religion by
In The Sociology of Religion, first published in the United States in 1963, Max Weber looks at the significant role religion has played in social change throughout history. The book was a formative text of the new discipline of sociology and has gone on to become a classic in the social sciences.
