Masters of Sociological Thought : Ideas in Historical and Social Context

Contents: Foreword/Robert K. Merton. Introduction. 1. Auguste Comte. 2. Karl Marx. 3. Herbert Spencer. 4. Emile Durkheim. 5. Georg Simmel. 6. Max Weber. 7. Thorstein Veblen. 8. Charles Horton Cooley. 9. George Herbert Mead. 10. Robert Ezra Park. 11. Vilfredo Pareto. 12. Karl Mannheim. 13. Pitirim A. Sorokin. 14. William I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki. 15. Recent trends in American sociological theory. Index.

"This is an Indian edition of widely acclaimed textbook on sociological thought which attempts to explain – regarding fifteen distinguished scholars (Comte, Marx, Spencer, Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Veblen, Cooley, Mead, Park, Pareto, Mannaheim, Sorokin, Thomas and Znaniecki) who have rightly come to be considered masters of sociological thought – the focus of their attention, the choice of their problems, and the general drift of their orientation through an elucidation of the social and intellectual contexts in which they worked.

"Each of the first fourteen chapters follows a parallel organization. The first section is a capsule summary of the master’s work – his main orientations, ideas and contributions. Then follows a short sketch of the life of the theorist. The third section proceeds to locate him and his work in the texture of particular moment in the intellectual history. And, the concluding section of each chapter is concerned specifically with sociological questions.

"The book also deals with the more recent developments in sociological theory as well as with the master theorists. The final chapter provides a discussion of the major theoretical orientations that have emerged between the1940’s and the1960’s.

"The book which is now appearing in an expanded form will be useful for students and teachers of sociology." (jacket)