A 2nd edition of this reference guide to sociology which offers one-line definitions, and also longer entries that discuss issues, alternative approaches, central concepts, theories and writings of sociology. First published in 1984. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
This volume offers a reappraisal of Parsons′ work by leading social theorists, who place his writing at the centre of current controversies over modernity, postmodernity and globalization. The wide-ranging discussion encompasses Parsons′ value commitments and his place in American social theory, the problems of interpreting his work today, his conception of world history, and the contempora…