Investigating Sociological Theory

Charles Turner is Associate Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Social Theory Centre at Warwick University. He graduated from Durham University and completed his PhD at Goldsmiths College, University of London. His research and teaching interests have also taken him to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, Munich (1990-1991), the University of Warsaw (1992-1994) and the Jagiellonian University, Krakow (1999). His publications include Modernity and Politics in the Work of Max Weber (Routledge, 1992) and a collection edited with Robert Fine entitled Social Theory After the Holocaust (LUP, 2000). He teaches undergraduate modules in Theoretical Ideas in Sociology and Contemporary Social Theory and the masters options Sociology of Modernity and the Idea of Europe. His research interests are in the areas of social and political theory, the sociology of collective memory and history, and the future of Europe. He is co-director of the Centre for Social Theory.

Introduction Classic and Canon Description Categories Metaphors Diagrams Cynicism and Scepticism: Two Intellectual Styles Sociological Theory and the Art of Living Conclusion

Conceptually rigorous, rich in content, grounded in wide and deep reading, thoughtfully written and judicious, Charles Turner's new book is a major addition to sociological theory... Its last sentence fittingly urges students and teachers to "keep reading". For those unfamiliar with Turner's book, I add: put Investigating Sociological Theory at the top of your reading list Peter Baehr Canadian Journal of Sociology Here at last is a book that conveys the drama, excitement, and human importance of sociological theory in a sophisticated yet accessible way. It will launch a thousand conversations in classes, and provide teachers with an opportunity to discuss the big life and historical questions, while at the same time teaching a lot of sociology and theory. The book is terrific. I have nothing but admiration for it Stephen Turner University of South Florida In this authoritative and strikingly original book, Charles Turner demonstrates that sociological theory far from being some dry, boring meta-discourse of society is an ethically engaged enterprise, intimately connected to the arts of living in the contemporary world. Accessible to both students and seasoned practitioners, this book is at once a terrific defence and itself an elegant example of the continuing relevance and intellectual vitality of sociological theory. Turner's brilliant discussion thoroughly deserves to resonate across the discipline of sociological theory in both its European and north American versions Thomas Osborne University of Bristol This is a splendid, extremely readable book which provides a master-class in how to play off one thinker against another in developing and presenting one's own perspective. It is in the grand tradition of Sorokin, Andreski and Mouzelis and should inspire generations of advanced undergraduates and graduate students, as well as being a brilliant contribution to the professional literature William Outhwaite Newcastle University We must welcome fresh approaches that make a serious attempt at rethinking the traditional textbook package....CharlesTurner's Investigating Sociological Theory is such an attempt...Turner has managed, let us hope, to put an end to those silly introductory books, which have plagued the field for such a long time. Future introductory books to sociological theory will hopefully be written with more sense and sensibility. This could be no mean achievement Andreas Hess History of Human Sciences