Theory for the Working Sociologist

by Fabio Rojas

Theory for the Working Sociologist makes social theory easy to understand by revealing sociology's hidden playbook. Fabio Rojas argues that sociologists use four different theoretical "moves" when they try to explain the social how groups defend their status, how people strategically pursue their goals, how values and institutions support each other, and how people create their social reality. Rojas uses famous sociological studies to illustrate these four types of theory and show how students and researchers may apply them to their interests. The guiding light of the book is the concept of the "social mechanism," which clearly and succinctly links causes and effects in social life.

Drawing on dozens of empirical studies that define modern sociology and focusing on the nuts and bolts of social explanation, Rojas reveals how areas of study within the field of sociology that at first glance seem dissimilar are, in fact, linked by shared theoretical underpinnings. In doing so, he elucidates classical and contemporary theory, and connects both to essential sociological findings made throughout the history of the field. Aimed at undergraduate students, graduate students, journalists, and interested general readers who want a more formal way to understand social life, Theory for the Working Sociologist presents the underlying themes of sociological thought using contemporary research and plain language.

Genres: Sociology

232 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2017

Reviews

[Conor · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this is an excellent resource for sociology students looking to organize theories and understand some of the more practical approaches to research, it is stunted by its normative approach to presenting the field. Rojas, although by no means alone, seems to subscribe to the tired old myth that Marxism has long been "dominant" in sociology and that post-structuralism and post-modernism (you know, those theories literally sponsored by the CIA) are the sort of "underdogs" that represent a new, fresh theory that empowers the underprivileged. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course.

This intention is betrayed in the arrogant footnote found early in the introduction where the author parades their "progressiveness" by doing away with "Great Man Sociology", thereby discounting the hundreds of Marxist women from the Global South and their theories while spending the next 200 pages or so discussing almost exclusively theories that can more or less be understood as "Foucaultian" or "Bourdieuean", although I'm sure the author would (conveniently) contest that label (without any basis).

Again the egregious errors of making bold and unfounded statements about this or that post-structuralist theorist representing what Marx "actually" meant are repeated in yet another introduction social theory text. Sociologists: Please stop doing this. It is astounding that you've done it in the first place, but I promise you that you don't need to just double down. Understand that your theory is a complete rejection of Marxism and move on. In short, the author presents a one-sided view of sociology that suggests that post-structuralism reigns supreme and where Marxist positions are either co-opted into the liberal post-structuralist agenda or dismissed as "outdated" or "rigid" by means of a strawman. Once again, promising sociologists are funneled into a space where Marxism does not, in effect, truly exist, and is therefore unreachable to the sociologist.

All that said, the book was remarkably well-organized and presented the positions of post-structuralist theorists (for whatever that's worth). It's clear that the author has a firm grasp on what constitutes post-structuralist theory (regardless of the fact that they tacitly claim that this represents all theory) and is clearly situated to present it in a coherent form to others. The theories are presented in a straightforward manner and avoid the mindless listing of extremely minute and tedious studies carried out by each and every sociologist to presumably have existed who used the theory (as is the case for many other similar texts), but maintains a healthy balance of examples to allow the reader to easily and immediately put the theories into use (again, for whatever that's worth).

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting intro to sociology. I"m an economist. I know empirical sociology has a lot of good work, but I wasn't sure what was going on behind the scenes. What sort of models and theories do they use? How do they see the world. What motivates them to ask the questions they ask?

[Mayuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super clear, easy to read textbook.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to sociology. As a non-sociologist I found it accessible, interesting, and useful.