The Sociology of Social Change

The Sociology of Social Change

by PiotrSztompka (Author)

Synopsis

The sociology of social change has always been the product of times of flux, and the unmatched dynamism of our period is already reflected in the revitalization of theories of change. Piotr Sztompkaa s aim in this volume is to take stock of and to reappraise the whole legacy of sociological thinking about change, from the classical to the contemporary, providing the intellectual tools necessary for a critical and rational grasp of our own turbulent times. Intended primarily as an advanced textbook for upper--division and graduate students, as well as researchers, this book covers the four grand visions of social and historical change which have dominated the field since the 19th century: the evolutionary, the cyclical, the dialectical, and the post--developmentalist. In so doing, it provides indispensable analytic discussions of the concepts focal to contemporary debates such as social process, development, progress, social time, historical tradition, modernity, post--modernity , and globalization.

$56.79

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Published: 21 Oct 1993

ISBN 10: 0631182063
ISBN 13: 9780631182061

Media Reviews
Piotr Sztompkaa s book on social change is at once a masterful textbook, a comprehensive encyclopedia of theoretical approaches and an innovative contribution to the field. This book by the prominent Polish sociologist will certainly change sociologistsa and historiansa view on social change. Prof Dr Hans Joas, Freie Universitat Berlin I can think of no sociologist with more scope and sense of balance than Piotr Sztompka. The Sociology of Social Change gives remarkable evidence of both qualities. It covers the field thoroughly and well; it has to be the authoritative treatment of the subject. Moreover, it balances breadth and depth, objective reporting with critical interpretation, and othersa ideas with Sztompkaa s own. This volume is simultaneously an original and synthetic contribution to our thinking about social change. Neil J. Smelser, University of California, Berkeley
Author Bio
Piotr Sztompka is a Full Professor of Sociology at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and a regular Visiting Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also taught as Visiting Professor at Columbia University, the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Rome, La Sapienza. He has published many books, including: System and Function (1974), Sociological Dilemmas (1979), Rethinking Progress with J. Alexander (1990) and Society in Action (1991).