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La Tradition Sociologique
When first published, The Sociological Tradition had a profound and positive impact on sociology, providing a rich sense of intellectual background to a relatively new discipline in America. Robert Nisbet describes what he considers the golden age of sociology, 1830-1900, outlining the major themes of nineteenth-century sociologies: community, authority, status, the sacred, and alienation. Nisbet focuses on sociology's European heritage, delineating the arguments of Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber in new and revealing ways.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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About the author
Robert A. Nisbet
52 books80 followersAmerican sociologist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Vice-Chancellor at the University of California, Riverside and as the Albert Schweitzer Professor at Columbia University.
After serving in the US Army during World War II, when he was stationed on Saipan in the Pacific theatre, Nisbet founded the Department of Sociology at Berkeley, and was briefly Chairman. Nisbet left an embroiled Berkeley in 1953 to become a dean at the University of California, Riverside, and later a Vice-Chancellor. Nisbet remained in the University of California system until 1972, when he left for the University of Arizona at Tucson. Soon thereafter, he was appointed to the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Chair at Columbia.
On retiring from Columbia in 1978, Nisbet continued his scholarly work for eight years at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. In 1988, President Reagan asked him to deliver the Jefferson Lecture in Humanities, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Nisbet's first important work, The Quest for Community (New York: Oxford University Press, 1969) contended that modern social science's individualism denied an important human drive toward community as it left people without the aid of their fellows in combating the centralizing power of the national state.
Nisbet is seen as follower of Emile Durkheim in the understanding of modern sociocultural systems and their drift. Often identified with the political right, Nisbet began his career as a political liberal but later confessed a conversion to a kind of philosophical Conservatism
After serving in the US Army during World War II, when he was stationed on Saipan in the Pacific theatre, Nisbet founded the Department of Sociology at Berkeley, and was briefly Chairman. Nisbet left an embroiled Berkeley in 1953 to become a dean at the University of California, Riverside, and later a Vice-Chancellor. Nisbet remained in the University of California system until 1972, when he left for the University of Arizona at Tucson. Soon thereafter, he was appointed to the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Chair at Columbia.
On retiring from Columbia in 1978, Nisbet continued his scholarly work for eight years at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. In 1988, President Reagan asked him to deliver the Jefferson Lecture in Humanities, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Nisbet's first important work, The Quest for Community (New York: Oxford University Press, 1969) contended that modern social science's individualism denied an important human drive toward community as it left people without the aid of their fellows in combating the centralizing power of the national state.
Nisbet is seen as follower of Emile Durkheim in the understanding of modern sociocultural systems and their drift. Often identified with the political right, Nisbet began his career as a political liberal but later confessed a conversion to a kind of philosophical Conservatism
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 19, 2021
A pretty good intellectual history from the 1970's explaining some of the main threads of sociology from its origins in the enlightenment to its initial development from 1830-1900. Many of the notions and ideas developed in this time frame the way many modern thinkers perceive society at large, and therefore this makes for a fine read.
Recommended for:
those interested in the intellectual development of sociology
Recommended for:
those interested in the intellectual development of sociology
March 31, 2021
Tam bir başucu kitabı, sosyolojiye dair sağlam bir çerçeve oluşturacak cinsten.
May 18, 2007
Recommended reading by Notre Dame Prof. Christian Smith.
I read this book to prepare for my PhD studies in Sociology.
It's fairly engaging for a dense topic, and covers the development of sociology as a discipline by examining the thought of prominent sociologists as clustered around the themes of community, authority, sacred, status, and alienation.
A very good introduction and a good complement to Turner's "The Emergence of Sociological Theory."
I read this book to prepare for my PhD studies in Sociology.
It's fairly engaging for a dense topic, and covers the development of sociology as a discipline by examining the thought of prominent sociologists as clustered around the themes of community, authority, sacred, status, and alienation.
A very good introduction and a good complement to Turner's "The Emergence of Sociological Theory."
July 22, 2019
Information overload!
Great book, highly recommended if you are interested in the intellectual history.
Great book, highly recommended if you are interested in the intellectual history.
January 22, 2008
Although now dated, Nisbet's work offers keen insight and a unique methodology; it's one of the best overviews of classic sociological themes and theory (think Durkheim, Weber, Marx, et al.).
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December 13, 2014very good book for a general reviewing of the the classics.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews