Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas.

Introduction: What's Wrong with Theory and Why We Still Need It. 2. Cutting a Path Through the Jungle. PART 1: THEORIES OF SOCIAL ACTION. 3. Introduction. 4. Parsons: Theory as a Filing System. 5. Structural-Functionalism. 6. Neofunctionalism. 7. Rational Choice Theory: 'The Price of Everything' Symbolic Interactionism: Society as Conversation. 8. Society as Conspiracy: Phenomenological Sociology and Ethnomethodology. 9. Structuration Theory: There's No Such Thing as Society. 10. There Is Such a Thing as Society. PART 2: FROM ACTION TO STRUCTURE. 11. Introduction. 12. The World as a Logical Pattern: An Introduction to Structuralism. 13. Structuralist Marxism: The World as a Puppet Theatre. 14. Poststructuralism and Postmodernism: The World Gone Mad. PART 3: FROM STRUCTURE OR ACTION TO STRUCTURE AND ACTION. 15. Introduction. 16. The Frankfurt School: There Must be Some Way Out of Here. 17. Jurgen Habermas: Back to the Filing Cabinet. 18. Conclusion: Playing with Ideas. Index.