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<p>List of Contributors viii</p> <p>Introduction: A New Agenda for Social Theory? 1<br /><i>Bryan S. Turner</i></p> <p><b>PART I FOUNDATIONS 17</b></p> <p>1 The Foundations of Social Theory 19<br /><i>Gerard Delanty</i></p> <p>2 Contemporary Sociological Theory: Post-Parsonian Developments 38<br /><i>John Holmwood</i></p> <p>3 Philosophy of the Social Sciences 60<br /><i>Patrick Baert and Fernando Domínguez Rubio</i></p> <p><b>PART II ACTIONS, ACTORS, AND SYSTEMS 81</b></p> <p>4 Theories of Social Action 83<br /><i>Rob Stones</i></p> <p>5 Functionalism and Social Systems Theory 106<br /><i>Giuseppe Sciortino</i></p> <p>6 Structuralism and Poststructuralism 124<br /><i>Daniel Chaffee and Charles Lemert</i></p> <p>7 Actor Network Theory and Material Semiotics 141<br /><i>John Law</i></p> <p>8 Ethnomethodology and Social Theory 159<br /><i>Richard A. Hilbert<br /><br /></i>9 Rational Choice Theory 179<br /><i>Raymond Boudon</i></p> <p><b>PART III PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS 197</b></p> <p>10 Pragmatism and Symbolic Interactionism 199<br /><i>Jack Barbalet</i></p> <p>11 Phenomenology 218<br /><i>Michael G. Flaherty</i></p> <p>12 Feminist Theory 235<br /><i>Mary Evans</i></p> <p>13 Postmodern Social Theory 251<br /><i>Jan Pakulski</i></p> <p>14 Social Constructionism 281<br /><i>Darin Weinberg</i></p> <p>15 Conversation Analysis as Social Theory 300<br /><i>John Heritage</i></p> <p>16 Globalization Theory 321<br /><i>John Boli and Frank J. Lechner</i></p> <p><b>PART IV SOCIOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 341</b></p> <p>17 Genetics and Social Theory 343<br /><i>Oonagh Corrigan</i></p> <p>18 Economic Sociology 360<br /><i>Richard Swedberg</i></p> <p>19 Cultural Sociology 378<br /><i>Isaac Reed and Jeffrey C. Alexander</i></p> <p>20 Historical Sociology 391<br /><i>Krishan Kumar</i></p> <p>21 The Sociology of Religion 409<br /><i>Michele Dillon</i></p> <p>22 Demography 428<br /><i>John MacInnes and Julio Pérez Díaz</i></p> <p>23 Science and Technology Studies: From Controversies to Posthumanist Social Theory 451<br /><i>Sophia Roosth and Susan Silbey</i></p> <p><b>PART V NEW DEVELOPMENTS 475</b></p> <p>24 Mobilities and Social Theory 477<br /><i>John Urry</i></p> <p>25 Sociological Theory and Human Rights: Two Logics, One World 496<br /><i>Judith Blau and Alberto Moncada</i></p> <p>26 The Sociology of the Body 513<br /><i>Bryan S. Turner</i></p> <p>27 Cosmopolitanism and Social Theory 533<br /><i>Daniel Chernilo</i></p> <p>28 The Future of Social Theory 551<br /><i>Stephen Turner</i></p> <p>Index 567</p>

"Every university should be considering acquiring this book for its library stock.... This is a solid and worthy resource for students at the level of bright undergraduates or taught postgraduates in a wide range of academic disciplines." (<i>Reference Reviews</i>, 2009)

<p><b>BRYAN S. TURNER</b> is the Presidential Professor of Sociology and Director of the Mellon Committee for the Study of Religion, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York and Director of the Institute for Religion Politics and Society at the Australian Catholic University (Melbourne). He was the Alona Evans Distinguished Visiting Professor at Wellesley College (2009-10). His most recent publications are <i>Religion and Modern Society</i> (Cambridge 2011) and <i>The Religious and the Political</i> (Cambridge 2013). With Oscar Salemink, he edited the <i>Routledge Handbook of Religions in Asia</i> (2014). He is the founding editor with John O'Neill of the <i>Journal of Classical Sociology</i> (Sage) and with Irfan Ahmad the <i>Journal of Religious and Political Practice</i> (Routledge). He received the Max Planck Award in 2015 for research on secularization and modernity: social and religious pluralism, and is a Guest Professor at the University of Potsdam.

<p><b>"Every university should be considering acquiring this book for its library stock This is a solid and worthy resource for students at the level of bright undergraduates or taught postgraduates in a wide range of academic disciplines."</br> <i>Reference Reviews</i></b> <p><i>The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory</i> builds on the success of <i>The Blackwell Companion to Social Theory,</i> second edition (2000) providing a comprehensive guide to the principal traditions of social theory, whilst also exploring critical contemporary issues and engaging sociology with other major areas of the social sciences. <p>Bringing together leading scholars from various branches of social theory, this authoritative collection covers areas from classical sociology to actor network theory and structuralism to the sociology of the body. The book also emphasizes certain key areas of sociology which have had an important impact in shaping the discipline as a whole, such as feminist social theory, economic sociology, and the sociology of religion. <p>The <i>New Companion</i> argues for a restoration and invigoration of the role of social theory in contemporary sociology, if the discipline is to remain dynamic, critical and relevant.

"<i>The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory</i> is aptly titled since it involves a dramatic revision and updating of the previous volume. It is an excellent overview of the state of social theory with strong essays written, in the main, by many of the world's leading social theorists. An indispensable resource for anyone interested in social theory."<br /><b>George Ritzer</b>, <b>University if Maryland </b> <p>"Comprehensive and engaging, this new companion will help students and other readers understand both the changing agendas and the core content of social theory."<br /><b>Craig Calhoun</b>, <b>New York University</b></p>

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