The Theories of Talcott Parsons

Started from basics , easy to understand.

New Labour has concentrated many of its social policy initiatives on reinvigorating the family, community and work in the paid labour market. But just how 'new' are the ideas driving New Labour's policy and practice? In this book Simon

In this unique analysis of three prominent theorists of modern sociology, theory is understood as implicitly, but importantly, reflecting especially modern problems of individual and social life. From the grand-theoretical systems of Talcott Parsons to the unique symbolic interactionism of Erving Goffman and the radically mundane ethnomethodology of Harold Garfinkel, a wide variety of noted sociological theories have addressed central issues of sociology against the backdrop of modern society.

Semiotic Sociology recalls classics of the field, such as Economy and Society by Neil Smelser and Talcott Parsons or Pierre Bourdieu’s Logic of Practice, in its scope, ambition, and subtle synthesis of remarkably different insights from opposed traditions of thought. Heiskala’s brilliance allows him to show how debates central to social theory for more than 100 years look different when properly grounded in the analysis of signification.