New Directions in Sociology

Written by the new generation of sociologists, these essays chart a course for the future of the discipline, both by revisiting forgotten theories and methods and by suggesting innovative theoretical and methodological approaches. Comprised of seven essays on theory and five on methodology, the volume also attempts to reconnect theorists and methodologists in a discussion about the future of the sociological enterprise.

Ieva Zake is an associate professor of sociology at Rowan University and has written on American Latvians and the formation of nationalism in Latvia.
Michael DeCesare taught sociology at Merrimack College and his articles have appeared in Teaching Sociology, The American Sociologist, Social Biology, and other journals. He lives in Woodstock, Connecticut.

Edited by Ieva Zake and Michael DeCesare
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 249
Bibliographic Info: 3 charts, notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6342-8
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8549-9
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction
IEVA ZAKE and MICHAEL DECESARE      1

PART I: THEORY
Section One—Inspirations from the Past
1. Hermeneutics and Sociology: Deepening the Interpretive Perspective
ISAAC REED and BENJAMIN LAMB-BOOKS      13
2. The Austrian School: Old Ideas in Economics and New Research Opportunities in Sociology
JOSHUA MCCABE and BRIAN PITT      30
3. Karl Popper’s Criticism of Sociology: Renewing the Call for an Open Sociology
IEVA ZAKE      50

Section Two—New Paths Forward
4. Culture, Agency and the Means of Simulation: Critical Assessment of Postmodernism
DAVID BOYNS      69
5. Consequences of Experience: The Place of Life Course and Biography in Theory Formulation
KEITH KERR      89
6. Critical Space: Divisions, Ambiguities, and Conceptions of Space in Social Theory
PATRICIA SNELL      104
7. Finding Coherence in Sociology: (Finally!) A Foundational Theory
DEBBIE KASPER      121

PART II: METHODOLOGY
Section Three—Tactical Innovations
8. “Shut Up in Measureless Content”: Confronting the Measurement Problem in Sociology
MICHAEL DECESARE      145
9. In Defense of Doing Nothing: The Methodological Utility of Introversion
PETER MOSKOS      160

Section Four—Strategic Approaches
10. The Neglected Virtues of Comparative-Historical Methods
MIKAILA MARIEL LEMONIK ARTHUR      172
11. Autoethnography: The Sociological Through the Personal
NATALIA RUIZ-JUNCO and SALVADOR VIDAL-ORTIZ      193
12. Fictional Stories: A Method for Doing Sociology
TODD SCHOEPFLIN and PETER KAUFMAN      212

Conclusion
IEVA ZAKE and MICHAEL DECESARE      229
About the Contributors      239
Index      241

“recommended”—Choice.