Foundations of sociology : towards a better understanding of the human world / Richard Jenkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jenkins, Richard, 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociology.

Physical Description:

x, 179 pages ; 20 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave, 2002.

Summary:

Focusing on society, culture, the individual, and collectivity, the author builds a powerful case for an overhaul of the basic concepts of sociology, offering a unified model of the subject matter of sociology as 'the human world' - understood as individual, interactional and institutional orders - which is part of the "natural world." Written in a straightforward and accessible style, this is a powerful restatement of the value of sociological sense as a necessary critique of common sense, and its relevance to an audience far beyond academia.

Contents:

1 Foundations of Sociology 1

Defining a Sociological Field of Vision 3

Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology 5

Sociological Objectivity 8

2 What is Sociology? 15

The Roots of Sociology 17

The Uses of Sociology 20

Towards a Generic Sociology 22

Sociological Sense and Common Sense 27

The Necessity of Theory 31

3 Society and Culture 39

Society 40

The Social, the Cultural, the Economic 47

Culture 51

Society and Culture 54

4 The Human World 63

The Human World 64

Individuals, Interaction and Institutions 68

Understanding Change 76

The Ontology of Collectivity 81

5 Exploring the Human World 85

Rationales for Research 85

Observable Realities 89

Systematic Inquiry 97

Choosing Methods 104

6 The Human World and the Natural World 111

Sociology and Biology 112

The Natural World 114

Human Nature, Human Needs 115

Human Bodies 119

Collective Difference and Similarity 125

Human Ecology 129

Lessons for Sociology 134

7 Why Sociology Matters 139

What Matters... 139

Why it Matters... 146

Making it Matter... 150.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 157-175) and index.

ISBN:

0333960505

OCLC:

49859950