Sociology: A Brief But Critical Introduction

by Anthony Giddens

A Brief but Critical Introduction offers a lively, discursive and jargon-free introduction to sociology, accessible to the lay reader as well as to the student. It incorporates discussion of recent developments in both social theory and empirical social research - developments to which Giddens has directly contributed.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Science, Social Science, Philosophy

179 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born 18 January 1938) is a British sociologist who is renowned for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern contributors in the field of sociology, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year. In 2007, Giddens was listed as the fifth most-referenced author of books in the humanities.

Three notable stages can be identified in his academic life. The first one involved outlining a new vision of what sociology is, presenting a theoretical and methodological understanding of that field, based on a critical reinterpretation of the classics. His major publications of that era include Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (1971) and New Rules of Sociological Method (1976). In the second stage Giddens developed the theory of structuration, an analysis of agency and structure, in which primacy is granted to neither. His works of that period, such as Central Problems in Social Theory (1979) and The Constitution of Society (1984), brought him international fame on the sociological arena.

The most recent stage concerns modernity, globalization and politics, especially the impact of modernity on social and personal life. This stage is reflected by his critique of postmodernity, and discussions of a new "utopian-realist"[3] third way in politics, visible in the Consequence of Modernity (1990), Modernity and Self-Identity (1991), The Transformation of Intimacy (1992), Beyond Left and Right (1994) and The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998). Giddens' ambition is both to recast social theory and to re-examine our understanding of the development and trajectory of modernity.

Currently Giddens serves as Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics.

Reviews

[Tuncay Özdemir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giddens, bu kitapta toplumsal sorunlari farkli kuramlarin perspektifinden yorumluyor. Kitap biraz eski olsa da anlatilanlarin cogu guncelligini koruyor.

[Mz · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.respublica.gr/2024/04/pos...

[beorn96 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okumadan once biraz arastirsaymisim cok iyi olacakmis. Sosyolojiye giris adinda bir kitaptan her seyi en basindan ve bilale anlatir gibi anlatmasini beklerken anlamak icin sosyoloji alaninda temel gereken bir kitap buldum. Dunyayi kurtardigim lise donemlerinde Marx'in dusuncelerinin o kadar da muthis olmadigini bana gostermesinin hatrina 2 yildiz.

[Moheeb Abualqumboz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although old, it still stands its importance to understand the social question behind sociology

[Özge Günaydın · Rating 3 out of 5]

İstatistiklerin güncel hale getirilmesi gerekir

[David Kirschner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool glimpse into late 70s/early 80s grand sociological theory. Picked this up at an estate sale and I've never read but an article or two by Giddens, so was excited to check it out. It's almost like a theory-heavy intro textbook in how it's organized, and I guess that's what the title meant. Also "critical" here is taken to mean dealing predominantly with Marx. There's a chapter on functionalism and a short section on interactionism and urban sociology, but most of the rest discusses what various scholars have to say from some variety of Marxist viewpoint or counterpoint, and offers Giddens's analysis. It's cool how you can see where he starts to develop what became structuration theory, and looking back with 20/20 vision, it's easy to read McDonaldization into his discussions of Weber and bureaucracy. He also talks about the importance of Marx-inspired scholars to tackle gender, sexuality, and race in addition to class, and it's funny to read his caution toward putting too much stock in post-industrialism or an information society. Something about the microchip being cool and all but it's too early to tell if it'll have much of an impact on society. Ha.

[Elossoles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biraz ağır bir kitap ama Batı'nın şerefsizliklerini güzel anlatmış Anthony Giddens kardeş 👏

[Deniz Colakoğlu · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's incredibly boring...

[Çolpan Muarız · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kanatimce tam anlamıyla bir Sosyolojiye giriş eseri değil, olmasını beklemeli miyiz? O da ayrı bir soru
Kitap, Sosyoloji terimlerine ve temel düzeyde Sosyoloji bilgisine ve ilgisine sahip herkes için bence oldukça değerli ve güzel. Bununla birlikte bir Sosyolojiye Giriş kitabı olarak nitelendirilip Sosyoloji hakkındaki ilk bilgileri almak için başvuracak okurları hayal kırıklığına uğratacağını düşündüğüm bir kitap.
Birinci anlattığım grupta iseniz öneririm, ikinci grupta iseniz bu aşamada değil lakin bir süre sonra okumanız halinde beğeneceğinizi düşünüyorum

[Sevim Tezel Aydın · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giddens bu kitapta sanayi toplumu, kapitalizm, sınıf, modern devlet, kentsellik, aile, cinsiyet gibi sosyolojinin temel meselelerini, kendi ifadesiyle "güçlü tarihi vurgu" ile anlatmış. Beğeniyle okudum...

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting critique of (then-current) standpoints in social theory, but really light on any actual results. I'm still in the dark about what sort of epistemic work a given social theory does, what actual claims it makes (rather than dressing up facts with theory-themed descriptions), and how to tell if a given social theory is wrong ahead of time.

[Ceyda Akınç · Rating 2 out of 5]

Başlıktaki "giriş" kelimesine aldanıp, sosyolojiye giriş kitabı olarak düşünmemek lazım bu kitabı. Bu kitaba gelmeden önce bir marx, comte falan okumak lazım.

[Melisa]

''Hayat ucuzdu ve ölüm kolaylıkla ve sık sık gelirdi. İnsan ömrü o kadar kısaydı ki başka bir insana duygusal olarak aşırı bağlanmak akılsızcaydı.''