Showing papers on "Social theory published in 1984"

The Constitution of Society. Outline of the Theory of Structuration

Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.

Changing the Subject: Psychology, Social Regulation and Subjectivity

Abstract: Changing the Subject is a classic critique of traditional psychology in which the foundations of critical and feminist psychology are laid down. Pioneering and foundational, it is still the groundbreaking text crucial to furthering the new psychology in both teaching and research. Now reissued with a new foreword describing the changes which have taken place over the last few years, Changing the Subject will continue to have a significant impact on thinking about psychology and social theory.

Patrons, Clients and Friends: Interpersonal Relations and the Structure of Trust in Society

Abstract: The form of social relations described by the terms 'patronage' and 'patron-client relations' is of central concern to sociologists, anthropologists and political scientists today. Characterised by its voluntary and highly personal but often fully institutionalised nature, it is a type of behaviour found in almost every human society. It touches upon basic aspects of the construction and regulation of social order and is therefore closely connected to major theoretical problems and controversies in the social sciences. This book analyses some special types of these interpersonal relations - ritual kinship, patron-client relations and friendship - and the social conditions in which they develop. The authors draw upon a wide range of examples, from societies as diverse as these of the Mediterranean, Latin America, the Middle and Far East and the U.S.S.R., in their study of the core characteristics of such relationships. They look at them as mechanisms of social exchange, examine their impact on the institutional structures in which they exist, and assess the significance of the variations in their occurrence. Their analysis highlights the importance of these relationships in social life and concludes with a stimulating discussion of the ensuring tensions and ambivalences and the ways in which these are dealt with - though perhaps never fully overcome. Patrons, clients and friends is the first systematic comparative study of these interpersonal relations and makes the first attempt to relate them to central aspects of social structure. It will therefore be an important contribution to both comparative analysis and social theory and will be of interest to a wide range of social scientists.

A Short History of Sociological Thought

Abstract: Part 1 Foundations: origins of sociology human nature and social order Vico - science and history Montesquieu the Scottish enlightenment problems of method the emergence of class the dialectics of social change industrialisation and the rise of sociological positivism: empiricism and positivism the French Revolution and sociology the concept of industrial society - Saint-Simon Comte and positive science positivism and determinism sociology, political economy and the division of labour evolutionism and sociological positivism - Mill and Spencer Marxism - a positive science of capitalist development the development of Marxism alienation of labour the concept of ideology Marx's method - materialism and dialectics calss formation and class consciousness laws of development - the problem of historical determinism Part 2 Classical sociology: critique of positivism - 1 Durkheim Durkheim and the development of sociology positivism and morality division of labour, social cohesion and conflict anomie suicide and social solidarity functionalism, holism and political theory critique of positivism - 11 social action inderstanding and the social sciences - Dilthey formal sociology - Simmel and sociation understanding and the problem of method - Weber ideal types and social action religion and social action - capitalism and the Priotestant ethic capitalism and culture - Sombart and Simmel social action and social system - Pareto the socioloy of class and domination Marx's theory of domination the state and class domination the theory of class - Weber capitalism, bureaucracy and democracy - Weber's theory of domination Marxism and sociology Marxism after Marx Marxism as revolutionary consciousness - Lukacs and the concept of totality culture and domination - Gramsci and the concept of hegemony Marxism and the sociology of intellectuals - Gramsci Lukacs and Gramsci on sociology Marxism and sociology - the Austro-Marxists conclusion Part 3 Modern sociology: functionalism sociological functionalism - general features the concept of system functionalism and the dialectic of social life - Merton functionalism, social conflict and social change functionalism and stratification self, society and the sociology of everyday life action theory and the concept of slef - the early and later Parsons psycho-analysis and self - Freud the social self - Mead and symbolic interactionism sociological phenomenology - Schutz and the reality of everyday life structuralism the development of structuralism - Saussure post-Saussurian structuralism - language and culture Marxism and structuralism (part contents)

Where the Action Is: Critical Legal Studies and Empiricism

Abstract: Critical Legal Studies (CLS), a scholarly project of recent vintage, has attracted wide interest. But the nature of the project is not fully understood, and the implications of a "Critical" approach to legal studies have not been fully realized even by those who participate in the movement. The ideas upon which CLS rests-notions about relationships among the ideas we hold about law and society, the structures of social life we are engaged in, and the actions we take-present a challenge to current legal scholarship as well as to the organization of American society. These ideas derive from a variety of sources in legal and social theory, and not all of them are fully worked out or easily understood. This essay is an effort to clarify some of these ideas and to draw out some of their implications for research on the history, meaning, and impact of law.

Modern social theory: From Parsons to Habermas

Abstract: 1. Introduction: What's Wrong with Theory and Why We Still Need It. 2. Cutting a Path Through the Jungle. PART 1: THEORIES OF SOCIAL ACTION. 3. Introduction. 4. Parsons: Theory as a Filing System. 5. Structural-Functionalism. 6. Neofunctionalism. 7. Rational Choice Theory: 'The Price of Everything' Symbolic Interactionism: Society as Conversation. 8. Society as Conspiracy: Phenomenological Sociology and Ethnomethodology. 9. Structuration Theory: There's No Such Thing as Society. 10. There Is Such a Thing as Society. PART 2: FROM ACTION TO STRUCTURE. 11. Introduction. 12. The World as a Logical Pattern: An Introduction to Structuralism. 13. Structuralist Marxism: The World as a Puppet Theatre. 14. Poststructuralism and Postmodernism: The World Gone Mad. PART 3: FROM STRUCTURE OR ACTION TO STRUCTURE AND ACTION. 15. Introduction. 16. The Frankfurt School: There Must be Some Way Out of Here. 17. Jurgen Habermas: Back to the Filing Cabinet. 18. Conclusion: Playing with Ideas. Index.

Group counseling: A developmental approach

Abstract: Chapter 1. The Globalization of International Relations Chapter 2. Realist Theories Chapter 3. Liberal and Social Theories Chapter 4. Conflict, War, and Terrorism Chapter 5. Trade and Finances Chapter 6. International Organization, Law, and Human Rights Chapter 7. North-South Relations Chapter 8. Environment and Technology

Ideology, power and prehistory: an introduction.

Abstract: Presents a critique of the dominant models in archaeological theory Two general discussions follow: a summary is given of some approaches to the concept of power, and in particular a description and critique of Foucault's recent work on this topic is used as the basis for developing a working model of power A model for the critique of ideology is developed through the examination of three examples Firstly, Marx's critique of the bourgeois conception of the political economy, secondly Marx's own labour theory of value, and thirdly the implications of three recent critiques of Marx's work From these are derived some general characteristics of a working model for the critique of ideology, which differs in a number of respects from the original example of Marx's writings-from Authors

Organization, Rationality, and Spontaneity in the Civil Rights Movement.

Abstract: So-called "classical collective-behavior theorists" have been charged with placing too much emphasis on spontaneity and the emergence of new norms and structures in social movements. Empirical support for this charge and materialfor constructing an alternate model have been offered in recent revisionist studies of the Civil Rights Movement. This alternate model emphasizes the importance of deliberate planning and pre-existing social structures in the development and growth of bus boycotts and sit-ins between 1955 and 1965. Reexamination of the Civil Rights Movement in Tallahassee, Florida, shows it to be a case which does not fit the alternate model in important respects. It is concluded that while organization and planning are key variables, social movement theory must take into account spontaneity and emergence, and the transformation of pre-existing structures.

Modern Social Theory

Abstract: The revised edition of this widely acclaimed textbook provides a clear, accessible and comprehensive introduction to modern social theory.As with the first edition, the book is based around the themes of structure and action. After the introductory chapters which examine the nature of theory and its role in the social world, the book then turns to theories of action and the inability of those theories to comprehend social structures in a coherent way.Part 1 covers: Parson's structural-functionalism and the development of conlict theory and neofunctionalism; rational choice theory; symbolic interactionism; ethnomethodology and structuration theory.Part 2 looks at structuralism, structuralist Marxism, and the development of post-structuralist and postmodernist theory.Part 3 examines Critical Theory and the work of Jurgen Habermas.In conclusion, Ian Craib discusses current trends in theory and what might be expected in the future.This second edition has been revised throughout. There are new chapters on rational choice theory and structuration theory and existing chapters have been extended to deal with the development of neofunctionalism, postmodernism and the recent works of Habermas as well as recent developments in other approaches.Throughout, the aim of the book is to demystify a diffcult subject area, emphasising the practical and everyday nature of theoretical thinking in the context of making sense of a rapidly changing world. The late Ian Craib was Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Essex.

Understanding Cultures: Perspectives in Anthropology and Social Theory

Abstract: Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Anthropological Ancestors and Interpretation Theory: Boas, Malinowski, and Evans-Pritchard. 3. Peter Winch and Ordinary Language Philosophy. 4. The Neo-Popperians and the Logic of One Science: I.C. Jarvie and Robin Horton. 5. Ordinary Language Philosophy in Question: Steven Lukes and Alasdair MacIntyre. 6. Beyond Explanation and Understanding: The Hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur. 7. Hermeneutics and Critical Anthropology: The Synthesis of Practical and Critical Reason. 8. Modernism and Postmodernism in Anthropology. 9. Bounded Cultures - Bounded Selves: The Challenge of Cultural Diasporas. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Human Ecological and Marxian Theories

Abstract: A comparison of two macrolevel paradigms, the human ecological and the Marxian, discloses numerous parallels and some significant differences The exercise is useful in that it reveals a number of lacunae in human ecological theory A selection of research problems which might close the gaps in theory is presented

Lenin and the end of politics

Abstract: Originally published in 1984 this book reconsiders the effect of Lenin on the politics and culture of the 20th Century In a detailed examination of Lenin's famous text, The State and Revolution, the author argues that the peculiar status of this work presents readers with major problems of interpretation and shows how a failure to identify these problems has prevented an adequate understanding of important issues in modern politics, history and social theory The book compares Lenin's 'radical utopia' with the ideas of politics offered by other theorists, centrally Weber and Sartre, but also writers such as Jefferson and Habermas This original approach shows the impact of Lenin's text on political history and theory and leads to a new understanding of the connection between revolution and violence, social change and authoritarianism

Defining the urban

Abstract: In everyday discourse, the term ‘urban’ causes few problems, but it certainly has for social theory. While the paper accepts the recent consensus that the term no longer serves to refer to a distinct object in capatalist societies, it argues that the familiar arguments have been confused by inadequate approaches to the problem of definition and inadequate concepts of ‘space’ and ‘ideology’. Clarification of such definitions is a prime task of social theory and different methods of definition are discussed. The paper ends with a commentary on what is probably the best attempt at defining the urban — Raymond Williams‘ ‘The Country and the City’.

Sartre and Marxist Existentialism: The Test Case of Collective Responsibility

Abstract: In this important book, Thomas R. Flynn reinterprets and evaluates Sartre's social and political philosophy, arguing that the existential ethics of Sartre's early phase is consistent with the Marxist-inspired views of his later writings. Displaying his mastery of Sartre's entire corpus, Flynn reconstructs Sartre's social ontology with its sensitive balance of the existentialist's respect for moral responsibility and the Marxist's sense of social causation. Flynn focuses on the issue of collective responsibility as a particularly apt test-case for assessing any proposed union of existentialist and Marxist perspectives. The study begins with an examination of the uses of "responsibility" in Being and Nothingness and in several postwar essays. Flynn then concentrates on the Critique of Dialectical Reason, offering a thorough analysis of the remarkable social theory Sartre constructs there. A masterful contribution to Sartre scholarship, "Sartre and Marxist Existentialism" will be of great interest to social and political philosophers involved in the debate over collective responsibility.

Law and the behavioral sciences: is there any there there?

Abstract: Despite tremendous growth in the field, there have been many challenges to law and the behavioral sciences. The most colorful expression is Abel’s charge that “questions and answers have begun to sound a comfortable, but rather boring ‘clackity-clack.”’ On one hand, the achievements of the field cannot be ignored by those who want to think about law seriously. On the other hand, all approaches to the field are flawed and are likely to remain that way. Help in solving the problems of the field might come from a thorough interdisciplinary approach, calling on the contributions of all social sciences while recognizing the limitations of each; knowledge of a minimum amount of law and legal method, but with full awareness of how legal thought may distort definitions of problems; and knowledge of the questions posed by broader social theories in light of an empirical refining of their large explanations.

Regional Development and the Local Community: Planning, Politics and Social Context

Abstract: A comprehensive critical history of regional planning in France, Britain, and the United States, beginning with the emergence of regional planning during the late nineteenth century. Relates regional planning to the general evolution of social science, and analyzes its development in the context of social theory, economic and political conditions, and societal change.

Marx and Morality

Abstract: Karl Marx wrote a great deal in support of his conviction that capitalism is an irrational, inhuman, and obsolete social system that should be overthrown. His entire social theory and practical endeavors, in fact, are focused on this conviction: on supporting it theoretically and acting on it effectively. Yet it is a striking fact that Marx said very little about the values in terms of which he denounced capitalism. Perhaps Marx exhibited an acceptance of certain values in the course of his attacks on bourgeois society, but he almost never said anything about what these values were or how they might be justified philosophically. The task of expounding Marx’s “ethical views” is a treacherous one, partly because Marx had so little to say on the subject but also partly because he said too much. The little he did say suffices to refute most common interpretations of the “ethical foundations” of Marxism. While some of Marx’s statements indicate his acceptance of recognizable, even conventional ideas, others clearly show that he held some novel, interesting, and extremely unconventional views about the nature of moral values and their place in social criticism.

Changing the Definition of the Situation: Toward a Theory of Sociological Intervention

Abstract: The sociological intervention is identified as (1) directed at the operational definition of the situation and (2) taking into account the multiple, interacting layers of social participation framing human predicaments and their resolution. These are further differentiated, employing case examples, in terms of mode of attack — direct, indirect, or cooperative — and level of social context at which the intervention is directed — the personal, group, organizational, or social world being described here as "quantum'' levels of interest. While others may conduct such interventions, the sociological intervention is characterized as the special domain of the clinical sociologist. Sociology, unlike medicine or psychology, has never sought to maintain the strong disciplinary boundaries typical of "a specialty." Rather, in its historical posture of a generalizing social science encompassing the subject areas of the other social/behavioral disciplines, sociology has freely disseminated to others its findings, concepts, and methods while maintaining only a marginal interest in "applied" work. Consequently, while our subterranean tradition of clinical sociology reemerged around 1978, we have found it difficult to specify exactly the special contribution or expertise of the sociological practitioner. To limit the domain of clinical sociology to what self-identified clinical sociologists do or have done would, if anything, be counterproductive, as Lee (1973) and others have argued. As one who has been intimately concerned with the problem of defining our field for some years now, I believe we are ready to move beyond presentation of the variety of roles enacted by clinical sociologists (cf. Straus 1979a) to tease out the underlying logic of approach characterizing the specifically sociological intervention. In this paper, then, I shall state my findings that, on the basis of analyzing the published and unpublished literature of the field, the sociological interven51 52 CLINICAL SOCIOLOGY REVIEW/1984 tion may be characterized as (1) directed at the operational definition of the situation, in such a way as to (2) take into account the multiple, interacting layers of social participation framing human problems and predicaments and their resolution. Contemporary practitioners of clinical sociology almost universally characterize themselves as humanists in Lee's sense of the term (1973). While extrinsic to my general definition, this value orientation is useful when differentiating clinical sociological practice from more conventional "applied social science" (Lee 1978). Our interventions are aimed at empowering clients instead of simply adjusting them to the "realities of life." Rather than adopt the expert's role of prescribing a better or more appropriate reality for the client, we strive to minimize interference with the client's worlds and values; rather than serve the needs of "the system," we attempt to serve the needs of the human beings comprising the social unit or system in question (Straus 1982). Operational Definition of the Situation Translation of social theory, concept, and method into practice necessitates both theoretical eclecticism and some reworking of our usual formulations. Thomas's "definition of the situation" (1931) is usually understood phenomenologically to mean that whatever a person or group believes or accepts to be so is real in its consequences. While it is important to deal with socially constructed realities at this intrapersonal level, since they form the basis upon which conduct will be constructed by human actors (Blumer 1969), redefinition of internalized meanings and cognitive maps is mainly a concern of sociological counselors working with individuals and primary groups (Straus 1982). Most sociological interventions are more concerned with the manifestation of these "realities" in patterns of conduct and joint conduct being enacted by the individuals, groups, and/or systems under scrutiny. Thomas's statement of the principle was somewhat ambiguous about the nature of the definition of the situation, but was clear about the dialectical relationship between the individual's definition and the definition of the situation presented by others. These concepts are neatly summarized in Sarbin's (1976) characterization of the dramaturgical perspective holding that actors not only respond to situations, but also mold and create them....The interactions of participants define the situation. The units of interest are not individuals, not organisms, not assemblages of traits, but interacting persons in identifiable contexts. CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF THE SITUATION 53 It is the pattern of these interactions that corresponds to the operational definition of the situation and that is the target of sociological intervention. Levels of Social Context Both the original statement of definition of the situation and its dramaturgical operationalization are clear about the situated nature of conduct. They are not so clear about the complex and many-tiered nature of social ecologies and about how human behavior is situationally organized with respect to a subject's concrete location within that total social context. However, clinical sociologists are sensitive to the implications of how "social systems" at every level influence ongoing action. This sensitivity is then translated into practical actions designed to mitigate negative interlevel influences and/or to use these dynamics strategically to guide and stabilize positive change. As Freedman and Rosenfeld have put it (1983), the clinical sociologist uses a paradigm of "the integration of levels of focus" incorporating both "macro" and "micro" viewpoints. Thus, the characteristic sociological intervention combines multiple foci: "the group member, the groups to which the person belongs or desires to belong or not belong, organizations, committees, subcultures, culture, and society." In this paper it is necessary to adopt a typology of the various levels of social context; clearly, how one slices the social continuum represents a pragmatic choice relative to one's purpose. For example, Parsons (1951) selected a scheme appropriate to his theory of social action, while Lofland (1976) utilized an entirely different model of "human systems." As my purpose here is to describe sociological intervention generically, we will look at just four "quantum levels" of social participation: persons, groups, organizations, and worlds. The first two of these correspond to general usage. Persons are social actors defining themselves in conduct; for our purposes, they are their acts. The routinized patterns of conduct colloquially referred to as "one's act" are framed by (that is, organized in terms of) the culture of the worlds in which persons participate and the roles they play in the various groups in which they are involved. Each level of social structure is viewed as the emergent pattern of routinized conduct representing a dialectical synthesis between the next "higher" and "lower" levels. Groups, then, would be conceptualized as persons with more or less routinized social relations or roles. The actual role structure of the group operationally defines that group. As groups necessarily establish at least tacit patterns of relationship with other groups, they inevitably become tied into any number of formal or informal organizations. A special usage of organizations is employed here: this level of organized, identifiable intergroup relations is most often termed that of "social systems" 54 CLINICAL SOCIOLOGY REVIEW/1984 (Znaniecki 1934). However, since any interacting set of persons can be considered to form a "social system," and their relations can be analyzed in terms of systems theory (von Bertalanffy 1968), it seems best to employ another term for this structural level. Organizations, then, may range up through wider and wider scales of intergroup relations from "formal organizations," corporations, and associations to communities and governments. The operational definition of organizations consists of their institutions, meaning the routinized patterns of social relations often simply referred to as their "organization." The highest level of social context in this typology is the social world. This usage is adapted and expanded from Lofland's definition: "Complexly interrelated sets of encounters, roles, groups, and organizations seen by participants as forming a larger whole are often and properly thought of as 'worlds,' as in the phrases the business world,' 'the academic world,' the sports world'"(1976:29). In the sense employed here, a world is operationally defined by its culture, primarily the nonmaterial culture of norms, values, folkways, mores, language, and technology differentiating its participants from members of other social worlds. Those who share a subculture by definition share a world; larger-scale worlds might include the entire society, the civilization of which it is a part, and, possibly, Spaceship Earth itself. The Sociological Intervention If we identify the operational definition with the target of intervention, this scheme generates the following taxonomy of sociological intervention: Level of Target of Participation Intervention Persons Conduct Groups Role Structure Organizations Institutions

Karl Mannheim and Conservatism: The Ancestry of Historical Thinking

Abstract: The recently discovered full text of Karl Mannheim's Habilitationsschrift on conservatism documents the interaction between his empirical and philosophical interests. While his philosophical interests at the time of writing (1925) centered on philosophy of history as ground for substantive social theory, following the methodological lead of Luk6cs, Conservatism is Weberian in its theoretical design. Mannheim employs the empirical approach of the new academic sociology to establish findings which link a politically radical philosophy of history to conservative thought while suspending his own judgment concerning an adequate integration between them. Although he indicates that Hegel's conception of theory anticipates the synthesis required, he finds that this conception presupposes metaphysical or sociological premises he cannot accept. He nevertheless also distances himself from the "disillusioned realism" of Weber, and leaves open the project offinding a functional equivalent for Hegel's metaphysics or Lukacs' Marxist economist.