asatheory.org - Links: Sociological Theory Online

Website for the Theory Section of the American Sociological Association

Links to Contemporary Sociological Theory Online

We have attempted to provide links related to specific sociological theories and theorists in both classical and contemporary theory. We apologize for the exceedingly selective representation of contemporary and modern sociological theory on these pages at the present time, but had to start somewhere. We welcome any additions or corrections which you may suggest to the Website Editor.

See links below for these Contemporary theorists: Jeffrey C. Alexander, Peter Blau, Pierre Bourdieu, James S. Coleman, Lewis Coser, Norbert Elias, Michel Foucault, Erving Goffman, Niklas Luhmann, and Robert K. Merton, as well as Critical Theory, Feminist Theory, and more.

"The word 'sociology' is used in many different senses. In our context, it shall mean that science which aims at the interpretive understanding of social conduct and thus at the explanation of its causes, its course, and its effects."

-Max Weber.

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Jeffrey C. Alexander

Jeffrey C. Alexander - Faculty homepage. Includes very many of Alexander's writings in PDF versions.
Symposium on Jeffrey Alexander and the Project of Cultural Sociology, Thesis Eleven, November 2004.
See also these JSTOR articles by Alexander:
- Formal and Substantive Voluntarism in the Work of Talcott Parsons. ASR, Vol. 43, No. 2. (1978), pp. 177-198;
- Once Again: The Case For Parsons's Voluntarism. ASR, Vol. 44, No. 1. (1979), pp. 175-177;
- Commentary: Structure, Value, Action. ASR, Vol. 55, No. 3. (1990), pp. 339-345. Book reviews by Alexander:
- Sociology as Social Criticism. T. B. Bottomore. AJS, Vol. 81, No. 5. (1976);
- The Form of Sociology: Paradigms and Crises. Contemporary Sociology (CS), Vol. 6, No. 6. (1977);
- Sociology in the Balance: A Critical Essay. AJS, Vol. 85, No. 5. (1980);
- The French Correction: Revisionism and Followership in the Interpretation of Parsons. CS, Vol. 10, No. 4. (1981);
- Habermas's New Critical Theory. AJS, Vol. 91, No. 2. (1985);
- The Return to Civil Society. CS, Vol. 22, No. 6. (Nov., 1993). Reviews about Alexander:
- A Half Step in the Right Direction. CS, Vol. 12, No. 2. (1983);
- Reductionism and "Restoration". CS, Vol. 12, No. 2. (1983);
- The Alexander Quartet: Early Impressions. AJS, Vol. 89, No. 1. (1983);
- Parsons, Jr. AJS, Vol. 89, No. 1. (1983);
- Alexander and the Transcendence of Sociology & Originality by Misrepresentation? CS Vol. 13, No. 3. (1984);
- Alexandrian Sociology. AJS, Vol. 90, No. 3. (1984);
- The Logic of Presuppositions. CS, Vol. 14, No. 3. (1985);
- Theoretical Logic in Sociology. Vol. 3. AJS, Vol. 91, No. 5. (1986);
- The Return of the Functionalists. CS, Vol. 15, No. 5. (1986);
- Twenty Lectures. CS, Vol. 17, No. 1. (1988);
- Lectures. AJS, Vol. 94, No. 2. (1988);
- Sociological Theory as Public Philosophy. AJS, Vol. 94, No. 3. (1988);
- Durkheimian Sociology: Cultural Studies. AJS, Vol. 95, No. 5. (1990);
- Durkheimian Sociology. CS, Vol. 19, No. 4. (1990);
- Action and Its Environments. CS, Vol. 19, No. 3. (1990);
- Fin de Siecle Social Theory. AJS, Vol. 103, No. 4. (1998).

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Peter Blau

Colleagues Remember Peter Blau - Peter Michael Blau (1918-2002), Footnotes, April 2002.
See the following articles by Blau:
- A Circuitous Path to Macrostructural Theory. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 21. (1995), pp. 1-19;
- Patterns of Choice in Interpersonal Relations. ASR Vol. 27, No. 1. (1962), pp. 41-55;
- A Theory of Social Integration. AJS Vol. 65, No. 6. (1960), pp. 545-55;
- Structural Effects. ASR Vol. 25, No. 2. (1960), pp. 178-193;
- Occupational Bias and Mobility. ASR Vol. 22, No. 4. (1957), pp. 392-399;
- A Formal Theory of Differentiation in Organizations. ASR Vol. 35, No. 2. (1970), pp. 201-218;
- A Macrosociological Theory of Social Structure. AJS Vol. 83, No. 1. (1977), pp. 26-54;
- Presidential Address: Parameters of Social Structure. ASR Vol. 39, No. 5. (1974), pp. 615-635;
- The Cost of Inequality: Metropolitan Structure and Violent Crime. with Judith Blau. ASR Vol. 47, No. 1. (1982), pp. 114-129;
- Dissecting Types of Professional Schools. with others. Sociology of Education, Vol. 52, No. 1. (1979), pp. 7-19;
- Social Exchange. From Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York: Wiley, 1964, pp. 88-97.

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Craig Calhoun

Website of the social theorist, including online articles.
See also some JSTOR articles by Calhoun:
- Gerhard Lenski, Some False Oppositions, and "The Religious Factor", Sociological Theory Vol. 22, No. 2, Religion, Stratification, and Evolution in Human Societies: Essays in Honor of Gerhard E. Lenski (Jun., 2004), pp. 194-204;
- Explanation in Historical Sociology: Narrative, General Theory, and Historically Specific Theory, American Journal of Sociology Vol. 104, No. 3 (Nov., 1998), pp. 846-871;
- "New Social Movements" of the Early Nineteenth Century, Social Science History Vol. 17, No. 3 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 385-427;
- Nationalism and Ethnicity, Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 19 (1993), pp. 211-239;
- Morality, Identity, and Historical Explanation: Charles Taylor on the Sources of the Self, Sociological Theory Vol. 9, No. 2 (Autumn, 1991), pp. 232-263;
- Classical Social Theory and the French Revolution of 1848, Sociological Theory Vol. 7, No. 2 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 210-225;
- Populist Politics, Communications Media and Large Scale Societal Integration, Sociological Theory Vol. 6, No. 2 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 219-241.

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James Coleman

James S. Coleman - Short biography.
See these JSTOR papers by Coleman:
- The Equilibrium Size Distribution of Freely-Forming Groups. with John James. Sociometry, Vol. 24, No. 1. (1961), pp. 36-45.
- Multidimensional Scale Analysis. AJS Vol. 63, No. 3. (1957), pp. 253-263.
- The Adolescent Subculture and Academic Achievement. AJS, Vol. 65, No. 4. (1960), pp. 337-347.
- Electronic Processing of Sociometric Data for Groups up to 1,000 in Size. with Duncan MacRae, Jr. ASR Vol. 25, No. 5. (1960), pp. 722-727.
- Foundations for a Theory of Collective Decisions. AJS Vol. 71, No. 6. (1966), pp. 615-627.
- Loss of Power. ASR Vol. 38, No. 1. (1973), pp. 1-17.
- Policy Decisions, Social Science Information, and Education. Sociology of Education, Vol. 49, No. 4. (1976), pp. 304-312.
- Social Theory, Social Research, and a Theory of Action. AJS Vol. 91, No. 6. (1986), pp. 1309-1335.
- Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital. AJS Vol. 94, (1988), pp. S95-S120.
- Commentary: Social Institutions and Social Theory. ASR Vol. 55, No. 3. (1990), pp. 333-339.
- The Rational Reconstruction of Society: 1992 Presidential Address. ASR Vol. 58, No. 1. (1993), pp. 1-15. .

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Lewis Coser

Lewis Coser Remembered - By Andrew Perrin, also: Sociologists Remember Lewis Coser, Footnotes, 2003.
See also these online articles from JSTOR:
- A Sociologist's Atypical Life. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 19. pp. 1-15, 1993;
- Presidential Address: Two Methods in Search of a Substance. American Sociological Review, Vol. 40, No. 6., pp. 691-700, 1975;
- The Alien as a Servant of Power: Court Jews and Christian Renegades. American Sociological Review, Vol. 37, No. 5., pp. 574-581, 1972;
- The Political Functions of Eunuchism. American Sociological Review, Vol. 29, No. 6. pp. 880-885, 1964;
- Some Functions of Deviant Behavior and Normative Flexibility. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 68, No. 2., pp. 172-181, 1962;
- Georg Simmel's Style of Work: A Contribution to the Sociology of the Sociologist. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 63, No. 6, 1958;
- "Marxist Thought in the First Quarter of the 20th Century." American Journal of Sociology 78(1):173-201, 1972. .

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Michel Foucault

Welcome to the World of Michel Foucault - This site is dedicated to exploring the work of French philosopher and social critic Michel Foucault.
See also some of the many other Foucault sites: The Foucauldian: Since 1999 thefoucauldian.co.uk has been a growing resource for those studying the work of the french "writer of fictions", Michel Foucault.
Michel Foucault Resources: This site contains information on Michel Foucault.

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Irving Goffman

Erving Goffman - A biography.
Celebrating Erving Goffman, by Eliot Freidson, in Contemporary Sociology, 12 (4) July, 1983: 359-362.
Role Models And Role Distance: A Remembrance of Erving Goffman, by Gary T. Marx. Theory and Society 13 (1984) 649-662.
See these Goffman JSTOR papers:
- Felicity's Condition. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 89, No. 1. (1983), pp. 1-53.
- The Interaction Order: American Sociological Association, 1982 Presidential Address. American Sociological Review, Vol. 48, No. 1. (1983), pp. 1-17.
- Embarrassment and Social Organization. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 62, No. 3. (1956), pp. 264-271. .

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Niklas Luhmanns

Soziale Systeme - Willkommen! Es erwarten Sie Texte, Termine, Listen, links und Adressen rund um die Systemtheorie Niklas Luhmanns.
Online articles by Luhmann include:
- Kausalität im Süden, Soziale Systeme 1(1):7-28, 1995;
- Das Medium der Religion. Eine soziologische Betrachtung über Gott und die Seelen [PDF], Soziale Systeme 6(1): 39-53, 2000.

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Robert Merton

Robert K. Merton's Functional Analysis - Resource Page. A site for undergraduates, by Frank W. Elwell.
See also this short vitae [PDF] of Professor Merton, a list of his writings, and an obituary.
The following are JSTOR articles by Merton:
- Durkheim's Division of Labor in Society. AJS, Vol. 40, No. 3. (1934), pp. 319-328;
- The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action. ASR, Vol. 1, No. 6. (1936), pp. 894-904;
- Social Structure and Anomie. ASR, Vol. 3, No. 5. (1938), pp. 672-682;
- Sociological Theory. AJS, Vol. 50, No. 6. (1945), pp. 462-473;
- The Focused Interview. with Patricia L. Kendall. AJS, Vol. 51, No. 6. (1946), pp. 541-557;
- The Bearing of Empirical Research upon the Development of Social Theory. ASR, Vol. 13, No. 5. (1948), pp. 505-515;
- Priorities in Scientific Discovery. ASR, Vol. 22, No. 6. (1957), pp. 635-659;
- Insiders and Outsiders. AJS, Vol. 78, No. 1 (1972), pp. 9-47;
- The Fallacy of the Latest Word: The Case of "Pietism and Science". AJS, Vol. 89, No. 5. (1984), pp. 1091-1121;
- Three Fragments from a Sociologist's Notebooks. Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 13. (1987), pp. 1-28;
- The Focussed Interview and Focus Groups. Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 4. (1987), pp. 550-566. See:
- Manifest and Latent Functions and Bureaucratic Structure and Personality. From Social Theory and Social Structure. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, 1967;
- The Role-Set: Problems in Sociological Theory. British Journal of Sociology, 8: 106-20, 1957;
- The Matthew Effect in Science [PDF]. Science 159(3810): 56-63, 1968;
- The Matthew Effect in Science, II [PDF]. ISIS 79: 606-623, 1968;
- The Thomas Theorem and the Matthew Effect [PDF]. Social Forces 74(2): 379-424, 1995..

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Additional Theorists

Andrew Abbott - Homepage at the University of Chicago. Includes online papers.
HyperBourdieu - A comprehensive, contextual, and referential bibliography and mediagraphy of Bourdieu's works and public statements.
Norbert Elias and Process Sociology - This site identifies and provides internet resources for all social scientists working with the ideas of Norbert Elias and process sociology. Includes selected online writings.
Michele Lamont - Website of the Theory section Chair, 2003-04.

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Specific Perspectives

Feminist Theory Website - Hosted by the Center for Digital Discourse and Culture at Virginia Tech University.
Illuminations, The Critical Theory Website - A research resource for those interested in Critical Theory. Firmly based in Frankfurt School thought, this site maintains a collection of articles, excerpts, and chapters from many contemporary writers.

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