Unthinking Social Science: Limits of 19th Century Paradigms

by Immanuel Wallerstein

In this new edition of a classic work - now with a new preface - on the roots of social scientific thinking, Immanuel Wallerstein develops a thorough-going critique of the legacy of nineteenth-century social science for social thought in the new millennium. We have to unthink - radically revise and discard - many of the presumptions that still remain the foundation of dominant perspectives today. Once considered liberating, these notions are now barriers to a clear understanding of our social world. They include, for example, ideas built into the concept of development. In place of such a notion, Wallerstein stresses transformations in time and space. Geography and chronology should not be regarded as external influences upon social transformations but crucial to what such transformation actually is. Unthinking Social Science applles the ideas thus elaborated to a variety of theoretical areas and historical problems. Wallerstein also offers a critical discussion of the key figures whose ideas have influenced the position he formulates - including Karl Marx and Fernand Braudel, among others. In the concluding sections of the book, Wallerstein demonstrates how these new insights

Genres: Sociology, Politics, Social Science

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein was a scholar of politics, sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst. His bimonthly commentaries on world affairs were syndicated.

Reviews

[Ali Arabzadeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

بعضي از مقالات قديمي هستند و به وضوح طراوت و كارايي خودشان را از دست داده اند. اين يكي از فرق هاي اساسي فلسفه و جامعه شناسي است. كتاب هاي ارسطو وافلاطون و آگوستين و ملاصدرا و كانت و هگل را ميشود بارها و بارها خواند اما يك مقاله ي جامعه شناسي از يكي از مشهورترين جامعه شناسان معاصر كه مثلا 20 سال پيش نوشته شده است را ديگر نميشود با لذت مطالعه كرد.
تكرار، تكرار و تكرار. حرف هاي اصلي والرشتاين زياد نيستند ولي اصرار او بر تكرار كردن حقيقتا آزاردهنده است.
آنچنان كه از متن كتاب هم ميشود فهميد مطالعه ي آثار اسلاف والرشتاين كه بر او موثر بوده اند مثل برودل و پريگوژين بسيار برانگيزاننده تر است و در واقع آثار آنها اصيل تر و به مقام كشف نزديك تر است.
بازهم از اينكه رشته ي جامعه شناسي را انتخاب نكردم خوشحال و راضيم. :)

[S]

He's one of my heroes, and this is a great book. It gets somewhat repetitive and disappointing towards the second half, but if you need a short version of Wallerstein's ideas that doesn't involve reading about 16th century cereal prices in Poland, this is for you. I do hope you read it - it's immensely valuable.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aslında Wallerstein, bütün bir dünyayı ve sistemleri algılama biçimimizi oluşturan sosyal bilimlerdeki hatalı paradigmalardan dertli. Kitaplarında batı tarafından formatlanan akademik yaklaşım hatalarını sorguluyor ve bunlara karşı düşüncemizi nasıl özgürleştirebileceğimizi sunmaya çalışıyor.

[Alonso Carvajal · Rating 4 out of 5]

viejo basado

[Ying Chen]

Thanks to this book, I finally make sure that I don't have any interest on politics, maybe even political sociology.