| Structures of Power and Constraint: Papers in Honor of Peter M. Blau Contributor(s): Calhoun, Craig (Editor), Meyer, Marshall W. (Editor), Scott, W. Richard (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0521113164 ISBN-13: 9780521113168 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $58.89 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2009 Annotation: This book discusses the question: are social structures products of human action, expressions of individual or group power? |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Sociology - General |
| Dewey: 303.3 |
| Physical Information: 1.13" H x 6" W x 9" (1.63 lbs) 508 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Are social structures products of human action, expressions of individual or group power? Or are they essentially external constraints on human action, necessarily analyzed at a different level? How are themes of power and constraint to be joined in a common analytic approach? These have long been central questions for sociologists. since the collapse of functionalism as a unifying paradigm, however they have often appeared as the basis for sharp divisions between competing analytic paradigms. The divide between structuralism and rational-choice theory has been one of the most prominent such splits. Yet each approach has undergone a revival in past years. The editors of this book, in honour of Peter Blau, brought together a wide range of distinguished sociologists who have taken positions on different sides of this issue and brings them into focus as parts of a common discourse on the place of social structure and concepts of strategic action in sociological explanation. |