The Max Weber Dictionary: Key Words and Central Concepts, Second Edition

by Richard Swedberg, Ola Agevall

Max Weber is one of the world's most important social scientists, but he is also one of the most notoriously difficult to understand. This revised, updated, and expanded edition of The Max Weber Dictionary reflects up-to-the-moment threads of inquiry and introduces the most recent translations and references. Additionally, the authors include new entries designed to help researchers use Weber's ideas in their own work; they illuminate how Weber himself thought theorizing should occur and how he went about constructing a theory.

More than an elementary dictionary, however, this work makes a contribution to the general culture and legacy of Weber's work. In addition to entries on broad topics like religion, law, and the West, the completed German definitive edition of Weber's work (Max Weber Gesamtausgabe) necessitated a wealth of new entries and added information on topics like pragmatism and race and racism. Every entry in the dictionary delves into Weber scholarship and acts as a point of departure for discussion and research. As such, this book will be an invaluable resource to general readers, students, and scholars alike.

470 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Kimba Tichenor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent reference work for English-speaking readers tackling the works of Max Weber in English or German. In addition to providing clear and concise explanations of Weber's central concepts (with German equivalents), it also includes: a brief bio of Weber and of influential persons from Weber's life, a descriptions of each of his major works along with a list of those available in English translation, a brief history of the reception of Weber's work in the United States and Germany, a history and discussion of controversies around translation, and an annotated bibliography of secondary works by topic for readers wishing to explore a particular topic in more depth. Although I have finished this book, I know that I will be referencing it regularly as I tackle in English and German Weber's opus.

[Felipe Feitosa Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente material de consulta após a leitura das principais obras de Weber.

Peca na organização por não conter um sumário devidamente paginado, e às vezes há maior preocupação em referenciar obras do que explicar de fato os conceitos.

As referências, no entanto, são excelentes, e o material é de altíssimo nível.