The New Sociological Imagination

Front Cover
SAGE, 2006 M02 7 - 240 pages

C. Wright Mills′ classic The Sociological Imagination has inspired generations of students to study Sociology. However, the book is nearly half a century old. What would a book address, aiming to attract and inform students in the 21st century? This is the task that Steve Fuller sets himself in this major new invitation to study Sociology. The book:

  • Critically examines the history of the social sciences to discover what the key contributions of sociology have been and how relevant they remain.
  • Demonstrates how biological and sociological themes have been intertwined from the beginning of both disciplines, from the 19th century to the present day.
  • Covers virtually all of sociology′s classic theorists and themes.
  • Provides a glossary of key thinkers and concepts.

This book sets the agenda for imagining sociology in the 21st century and will attract students and professionals alike.

From inside the book

Contents

Chapter 10 Who or What Deserves Our Sympathy?
118
Humanity as the Endangered Species of Our Times
129
Chapter 11 The Coming WorldHistoric Struggle in Science and Religion
131
Chapter 12 Understanding the Fundamentalist Backlash against Secularism
147
The Sarwinian Turn in Development Policy
161
Chapter 14 Might we become Nazis in Paradise?
183
Is there no Escape from Human Nature?
196
Glossary
206

The Biological Challenge to Social Science
77
Chapter 7 The Hidden Biological Past of Classical Social Theory
79
Chapter 8 Making the Difference between Sociology and Biology Matter Today
90
The Struggle for Marxs Successor
107
References
215
Index
228
Copyright

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About the author (2006)

Steve Fuller is a Professor of Sociology at Warwick University. Other titles of his include The New Sociological Imagination (SAGE, 2006), and popular The Intellectual (Icon Books, 2006).

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