Sociological Objects - Reconfigurations of Social Theory (Electronic book text, New edition)

What are the aims of sociology? What are its objects of study? How relevant is the classical tradition to the practice of sociology today? This volume brings together internationally renowned and new scholars to consider the changing relationship between contemporary and classical sociology. Arguing that recent historical and theoretical developments make reconsideration timely, it suggests that whilst the classical tradition has a continuing pertinence, it is inevitably subject to ongoing reconfiguration; contributors focus on a number of different aspects of this process.The book is organised into three thematic sections that explore, in turn, the relevance of classical and contemporary sociology for: the conceptualisation of sociological objects; the conceptualisation of social practice; and the conceptualisation of social theory.Assessing the explanatory value of classical and contemporary forms of sociology, interrogating social theory as both a form of explanation and a mode of practice, and considering the possible consequences for the discipline of questions about its subject matter, "Sociological Objects" steers a course between assertions about radical epistemological breaks on the one hand, and reverence for the classical tradition on the other. Rather, it emphasises the value of reworking, reconsidering and reconfiguring sociological thought.