Classical Sociological Theory

Description

In an accessible and thoughtful manner, this anthology--an update of Social and Political Theory: Classical Readings (1998)--introduces students to the key classic texts in social thought. In the second edition, Michael Kimmel focuses more specifically on the discipline of sociology, rather than melding classical sociological and political theories in one volume. Taking a serious look at the canonical texts, he presents a diverse range of thinkers who were critical to the development of sociological theory and offers a more inclusive classical canon that is informed by both the historical record and the needs of contemporary students.
Many of the classical theorists whose works are included here were much more influential than the canon suggested. For example, the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft, Frederick Douglass, Margaret Fuller, and W.E.B Du Bois were widely disseminated and discussed in their time, yet they were pushed to the margins of the canon, declared to be derivative or second-rate. In attempting to set the record a bit straighter, Kimmel restores these and other forgotten thinkers to the positions they once held. The questions they posed are among the most vital theoretical and political questions of our era, evidence that classical social and political theory continues to speak to new generations of students about the issues that most affect their lives.
Features new to the second edition:
* Selections of key texts by Auguste Comte (Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte); Edmund Burke (Reflections on the Revolution in France); John Dewey (Democracy and Education); and Elsie Clews Parsons (Women in Public Life)
* Stronger disciplinary focus within sociology

Classical Social Theory, Second Edition, is an ideal text for courses in the theory of sociology, the history of social theory, the history of political thought, and western philosophy.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
PART ONE: THE RISE OF SOCIETY, THE MARKET, AND THE STATE
Thomas Hobbes, Selections from Leviathan
John Locke, Selections from Two Treatises on Government
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Selections from The Social Contract or Principles of Political Right
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
Letter to John Adams
Adam Smith, Selections from The Wealth of Nations
Edmund Burke, Selections from Reflections on the Revolution in France
Thomas Paine, Selections from The Rights of Man
"An Occassional Letter on the Female Sex"
Mary Wollstonecraft, Selections from A Vindication of the Rights of Man
Selections from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
John Stuart Mill, Selections from On Liberty
Selections from The Subjection of Women
Harriet Martineau, Selections from Society in America
PART TWO: THE CRITIQUE OF CAPITALIST PRODUCTION, INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY, AND THE DEMOCRATIC STATE
Auguste Comte, Selections from Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte
Frederick Douglass, Selections from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself
"The Rights of Women"
Margaret Fuller, Selections from Woman in the Nineteenth Century
Karl Marx (and Engels), "Theses on Feuerbach"
Selections from A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy
Selections from Manifesto of the Communist Party
Selections from Wage Labour and Capital
atilda Joslyn Gage, Selections from Woman, Church, and State
Max Weber, "Class, Status, Party" (from Economy and Society)
"Bureaucracy" (from Economy and Society)
"Sociology of Charismatic Authority" (from Economy and Society)
"The Meaning of Discipline" (from Economy and Society)
Émile Durkheim, Selections from The Division of Labor in Society
Selections from ^{he Elementary Forms of The Religious Life}
PART THREE: THE CRITIQUE OF CONSUMPTION, RATIONALITY, AND IMPERIALISM
Sigmund Freud, "The Dissection of the Psychical Personality"
Selections from roup Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego
Selections from Civilization and Its Discontents
Georg Simmel, Selections from Sociology: "The Web of Group-Affiliations"
Lester Ward, Selections from Pure Sociology
"Our Better Halves"
Thorstein Veblen, Selections from ^{he Theory of the Leisure Class}
"The Economic Theory of Woman's Dress"
W. E. B. DuBois, Selections from The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches
Selections from Darkwater: Voices from within the Veil
"Votes for Women"
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Selections from Women and Economics
John Dewey, Selections from Democracy and Education
Elsie Clews Parsons, Selections from Women in Public Life
Virginia Woolf, Selections from Three Guineas