Talcott Parsons - Critical Assessments (Hardcover)

Talcott Parsons (1904-79) is widely regarded as one of the most important sociologists of the twentieth century. His work has been influential both inside and outside America. He made major contributions to the history of sociology, the sociology of knowledge, medical sociology and sociology of social institutions. In addition his theoretical writing, although still the subject of much controversy, is recognized as reformulating the grounds of debate by giving a new direction to sociological enquiry. The articles assembled here are organized into 85 chapters, and cover each of the major theoretical debates in which Parsons was involved. The work is divided into a number of major sections; beginning with the intellectual background to Parsons' distinctive contribution to functionalism; and finishing with the work of the last 20 years of his life, in which his interests in expanding his theories across all domains of human action produced a wide range of important and influential ideas. These volumes provide an indispensable collection for Parsonian scholars and anyone seriously interested in 20th-century sociology. This book should be of interest to postgraduates and academics of so