The Blackwell Companion to Major Classical Social Theorists provides a comprehensive review of classical social theory. Containing original essays especially commissioned for this volume, leading experts and practitioners examine the life and work of 12 major theorists.
Includes 12 original essays by leading scholars on major classical social theoristsCovers the key figures who shaped social theory, such as Marx, Weber and Durkheim, as well as additional classical theorists such as Harriet Martineau and W. E. B. Du BoisEssays include biographical sketches, the social and intellectual context, and the impact of the thinker's work on social theory generallyIncludes bibliographies of the theorist's most important works as well as key secondary worksCan be used in conjunction withThe Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists, edited by George Ritzer, for a complete reference source in social theory

George Ritzer is Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. He has chaired both the Theoretical and the Organizations and Occupations sections of the American Sociological Association, and authored more than 25 books, includingExpressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society (1995),The McDonaldization of Society: An Investigation into the Changing Character of Contemporary Social Life (1995),Classical Sociological Theory (second edition, 1995), andThe McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions (1998).

Preface.

List of Contributors.

Introduction: Narratives,Geistesgeschichtes, and the History of Social Theory (Doug J. Goodman).

1. Auguste Comte (Mary Pickering).

2. Harriet Martineau (Susan Hoecker-Drysdale).

3. Herbert Spencer (Jonathan H. Turner).

4. Karl Marx (Robert J. Antonio).

5. Max Weber (Stephen Kalberg).

6. Émile Durkheim (Robert Alun Jones).

7. Georg Simmel (Lawrence Scaff).

8. Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Charles Lemert).

9. George Herbert Mead (Dimitri N. Shalin).

10. W.E.B. DuBois (Charles Lemert).

11. Alfred Schutz (Mary Rogers).

12. Talcott Parsons (Victor Lidz).

Index.