This text offers an account of the rise of sociological thought from its origins in the 18th century. Beginning with the classical sociology of Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Simmel, it goes on to examine paradigms of functionalism, interactionism, structuralism and critical Marxism, and ends by discussing salient 1990s sociological theory, including the theories of Foucault, Baudrillard, Giddens, Habermas and others. It critically engages with sociological theory throughout its development, offering students a path through competing traditions and perspectives that brings out the distinctive value and limitations of these.

Author Biography

ALAN SWINGEWOOD lectures in sociology at the London School of Economics. He is also the author of Cultural Theory and the Problem of Modernity.