Conceptualising the Social World

This comprehensive and authoritative statement of fundamental principles of sociological analysis integrates approaches that are often seen as mutually exclusive. John Scott argues that theorising in sociology and other social sciences is characterised by the application of eight key principles of sociological analysis: culture, nature, system, structure, action, space-time, mind and development. He considers the principal contributions to the study of each of these dimensions in their historical sequence in order to bring out the cumulative character of knowledge. Showing that the various principles can be combined in a single disciplinary framework, Scott argues that sociologists can work most productively within an intellectual division of labour that transcends artificial theoretical and disciplinary differences. Sociology provides the central ideas for conceptualising the social, but it must co-exist productively with other social science disciplines and disciplinary areas.

Author: John Scott
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 08/15/2011
Pages: 344
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780521711364

About the Author
Scott, John: - John Scott is Professor of Sociology at the University of Plymouth, where he is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research. He is the author of numerous books including Social Theory (2006), Power (2001) and Social Structure (with Jose Lopez, 2000). With James Fulcher he is the author of Sociology (4th edition, 2011) and with Gordon Marshall he edits the Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (3rd edition, 2005). His special areas of interest include social stratification, economic sociology, social network analysis and the history of sociology.