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Handbook of Classical Sociological Theory

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

Sociology is one of the most peculiar of the social sciences in the current intellectual marketplace, mixing together a unique set of features. Different from both Political Science and Anthropology is the centrality of theory and theorizing, especially when it comes to linking theory to fundamental or classical works, all-encompassing worldviews, perspectives, or foundational set of questions or problems (Abend 2008; Selg 2013). Most top journals’ contributions are judged by their conversation with theory or sets of theoretical concepts or principles. A significantly sized section of the American Sociological Association (ASA) and one of its most impactful journals (Sociological Theory) are devoted to sociological theory and theorizing. Nearly every department makes mandatory at least one theory course (Lamont 2004). Unlike Economics, and to a lesser extent, Psychology, theory in sociology is a big tent full of competing axiomatic, epistemological, and ontological perspectives. Unlike these behavioral sciences, sociology features wide methodological variety and competition between and within methodological traditions. This methodological diversity is deeply entwined with this theoretical heterodoxy (Bourdieu 1988).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    While putatively housed in political science departments, political theory is by all accounts an independent discipline.

  2. 2.

    In addition to Sociological Theory, several other outlets regularly feature theoretical work in sociology. These include Theory & Society, Journal of Classical Sociology, European Journal of Social Theory and Theory, Culture, and Society.

  3. 3.

    Although what we have to say is mostly confined to the problems and prospects of sociological theory in a single national field (The U.S.), it is important to observe that similar dynamics (albeit with significant differences of emphasis) can be observed in other settings (Guzman and Silver 2018; Outhwaite 2009; Rangel 2018)

  4. 4.

    Not being shy to tell us what he really thought, Robert Merton (1968, pp. 2, n.2) once referred to the term as “the horrible hybrid that has ever since designated the science of society.”

  5. 5.

    A focus on people is qualitatively different from a focus on traditions fruitfully exploited by Levine (1995) and Collins (1994), or even more appositely a focus on core notions or ideas pioneered by Nisbet (1993), like the latter we also find more productive a focus on core sociological ideas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Seth Abrutyn

  2. UCLA Department of Sociology, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Omar Lizardo

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Correspondence to Seth Abrutyn .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Seth Abrutyn

  2. UCLA Department of Sociology, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Omar Lizardo

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Abrutyn, S., Lizardo, O. (2021). Introduction. In: Abrutyn, S., Lizardo, O. (eds) Handbook of Classical Sociological Theory. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78205-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78205-4_1

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