Structure of Sociological Theory

THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY provides a framework for organizing different types of sociological theory. The text is split into sections dealing with each of what Turner identifies as the main streams (paradigms) of sociological theory-- functionalism, conflict theory, exchange theory, interactionist theory, and structural theory..The author deals with the work of a number of key modern representatives of each of the paradigms: so that Parson, Merton, Luhmann, Dahrendorff, Coser, Habermas, Homans, Blau, Emerson, Blumer, Kuhn, Ralph Turner, Collins, Giddens, and Foucault each receive a full chapter or a substantial part of one. Although he discusses founding fathers (Comte, Marx, Durkheim, Simmel et al) in terms of the origins of each theoretical paradigm ,the emphasis is more on how their work has contributed to contemporary theoretical developments, than on setting out the elements of their ideas.