First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The golden anniversary edition of "Theory of Collective Behavior" is a modern republication of a sociological and social psychology classic. Adding a reflective new Preface by the author and an extensive, analytical Foreword by MIT's Gary Marx, it is an authorized edition.

First published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Never before has the legitimacy of a dominant American culture been so hotly contested as over the past two decades. Familiar terms such as culture wars, multiculturalism, moral majority, and family values all suggest a society fragmented by the issue of cultural diversity. So does any social solidarity exist among Americans? In "Diversity and Its Discontents, "a group of leading sociologists, political theorists, and social historians seek to answer this question empirically by exploring ideological differences, theoretical disputes, social processes, and institutional change. Together they present a broad yet penetrating look at American life in which cultural conflict has always played a part. Many of the findings reveal that this conflict is no more or less rampant now than in the past, and that the terms of social solidarity in the United States have changed as the society itself has changed.

The volume begins with reflections on the sources of the current "culture wars" and goes on to show a number of parallel situations throughout American history--some more profound than today's conflicts. The contributors identify political vicissitudes and social changes in the late twentieth century that have formed the backdrop to the "wars," including changes in immigration, marriage, family structure, urban and residential life, and expression of sexuality. Points of agreement are revealed between the left and the right in their diagnoses of American culture and society, but the essays also show how the claims of both sides have been overdrawn and polarized. The volume concludes that above all, the antagonists of the culture wars have failed to appreciate the powerful cohesive forces in Americans' outlooks and institutions, forces that have, in fact, institutionalized many of the "radical" changes proposed in the 1960s. "Diversity and Its Discontents" brings sound empirical evidence, theoretical sophistication, and tempered judgment to a cultural episode in American history that has for too long been clouded by ideological rhetoric.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are Seyla Benhabib, Jean L. Cohen, Reynolds Farley, Claude S. Fischer, Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr., John Higham, David A. Hollinger, Steven Seidman, Marta Tienda, David Tyack, R. Stephen Warner, Robert Wuthnow, and Viviana A. Zelizer.

Terrorism is the most clear and present danger we confront today, yet no phenomenon is more poorly understood by policymakers, the media, and the general public. "The Faces of Terrorism" is the first serious interdisciplinary examination of terrorism in all its facets. What gives rise to it, who are its proponents and how do they think, and how--and why--does it work?

Neil Smelser begins by tackling the fundamental problem of defining what exactly terrorism is. He shows why a precise definition has eluded us until now, and he proposes one that takes into account the full complexities of this unconventional and politically charged brand of violence. He explores the root causes and conditions of terrorism, and examines the ideologies that inspire and fuel it throughout the world. Smelser looks closely at the terrorists themselves--their recruitment, their motivations, the groups they form, their intended audiences, and their uses of the media in pursuing their agendas. He studies the target societies as well, unraveling the complicated social and psychological impacts of having to cope with the ever-present threat of a terrorist strike--and responding when one occurs. He explains what it means to live under constant threat of terrorism, and addresses the thorny domestic and foreign policy challenges this poses. Throughout, Smelser draws from the latest findings in sociology, political science, anthropology, economics, psychology, psychiatry, and history.

"The Faces of Terrorism" provides the breadth of scope necessary to understand--and ultimately eliminate--this most pressing global threat.

Neil J. Smelser, one of the most important and influential American sociologists, traces the discipline of sociology from 1969 to the early twenty-first century in Getting Sociology Right: A Half-Century of Reflections. By examining sociology as a vocation and building on the work of Talcott Parsons, Smelser discusses his views on the discipline of sociology, and how his perspective of the field evolved in the postwar era.

ESSAYS IN SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION is a collection of several of Dr. Smelser's recognized and often-cited articles exploring timeless issues of sociological theory and research. First published in 1968 by Prentice-Hall, and widely referenced and adopted since, it is available again for scholars and students, and in both print and ebook editions for ready classroom assignment. A useful resource written by one of the leading social scientists of the late twentieth century, this book is part of the new CLASSICS OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Series from Quid Pro Books. In addition to this book, the series features new presentations of several important and influential works by Dr. Smelser: Sociological Theory: A Contemporary View Theory of Collective Behavior Comparative Methods in the Social Sciences The Sociology of Economic Life (Second Edition) The Changing Academic Market

Even after teaching generations of social scientists, Neil Smelser's classic study remains the most definitive statement of methodological issues for comparative scholars in political science, anthropology, sociology, economics, and psychology. These issues are timeless and therefore the lucid analysis remains timely and relevant-offering a unique clarity to working scholars, as well as students fighting their way through the methodological thickets of comparative studies. Smelser posits a methodological continuity between the comparative studies of past masters and the more recent flow of contemporary comparative work. To that end, he takes a pragmatic, critical look at the classic studies of Alexis de Tocqueville, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. His analyses respect the historical specifics and contexts of their work, but also raise general issues such as cross-unit comparability, empirical representation of theoretical concepts and measures, and historical causality. The book further deals with the ongoing flows of comparative study in the social sciences, which, while methodologically more self-conscious than past work, nevertheless face a common set of issues, including causation, classification, and reducing bias. This book is one of the most well-known and frequently referenced studies of methodology and historical applications in the social sciences, and how the approaches vary by disciplines. It is written by the internationally recognized expert on the intersection of sociology with economics, psychology, and political science. An enduring resource, it is presented now as part of the Classics of the Social Sciences Series from Quid Pro Books.

The classic study by Harvard's Talcott Parsons on social systems and the "theory of action," as theorized and applied in a variety of settings, including the medical profession, kinships and role-socialization, psychological relationships, and religious organization. This foundational work is available from Quid Pro Books (with red cover) in a new, high-quality, introduced, and modern format-but nonetheless features embedded page numbers from the original, to make it easy to cite, reference, or assign to classes. This feature also provides continuity with the new eBook editions from Quid Pro (which also embed standard pagination). Now the book may be assigned and referenced with confidence, and read without the formatting anachronisms of previous offerings.

This "Classics of the Social Sciences" edition from Quid Pro also includes a substantive, analytical new Foreword by Neil J. Smelser, the renowned senior professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. In his 2012 introduction, Dr. Smelser places the original work in its historical and critical context and examines the themes and legacy of this great book.

Publisher's note: Although this description may appear under editions or used copies offered by other publishers or sellers, only the Quid Pro edition (with red cover and new introduction) features the modern rendition of text and embedded pagination from the original print edition, as well as the analytical Foreword by Dr. Smelser.]

The golden anniversary edition of "THEORY OF COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR" from Quid Pro Books is a modern take on a sociological and social psychology classic. Featuring a reflective new Preface by the author and an extensive, analytical Foreword by MIT's Gary Marx, it is an authorized and painstaking edition-not just scanned and forgotten like most such reprints today. As part of the "Classics of the Social Sciences" Series, it features quality formatting such as original notes, legible tables, complete index, and extensive bibliography (including updating references for the new Foreword). The original page numbers are embedded for continuity of citations and referencing.

Publisher's Note: Some retail sites use our description for others' OCR or photocopied versions without clarifying that it only applies to the anniversary edition by Quid Pro, LLC. Only the Quid Pro edition features proofread materials, fully-presented notes and bibliography, and new introductions by the author and Gary Marx. It is the authorized edition, prepared with care and pride, and has a cover painting by sociologist Jerome Carlin of revolutionary figures at a costume ball. Please look for this specific version and not rely on the description's location as indicating which one is sold for that page.

As Gary Marx notes in his Foreword, "The book is elegant, original, carefully crafted and forcefully argued. In its totality, it is a fine example of an effort to define a field, identify major types and systematically connect central variables. This is done to organize an amorphous collection of behaviors that seem to be intuitively linked, but which had not previously enjoyed an equivalent framework for identifying those links. His innovative treatment of the form known as the craze nicely illustrates this. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of economic history and applying stages of the value-added process, Smelser shows commonalities across areas previously seen as distinct-such as economic swings, expressive crowds and fads and fashion-and offers a systematic way to differentiate these from other forms. The sense of craftsmanship and the care in construction can serve as a model for theorizing and for the effort to both acknowledge and yet reduce the indeterminacy of social phenomena."

Marx concludes, "As 2011 events such as the Tsunami in Japan and the unexpected uprisings in the Middle East suggest, the importance of the field and the need to advance knowledge is not just historical. This book remains a rich contribution toward that advancement."

Now in its second printing, it is truly a standard, foundational work in the field, often adopted for classwork and research.

A pithy and clear guide to the process of creating and evaluating theory in the social sciences. Using a simple model of theory creation and assessment--and applying it in depth to foundational and still-relevant social and economic theorists such as Durkheim, Marx and Parsons--Neil Smelser shows the way to a better understanding of what social theory is supposed to accomplish and how it can be read critically. First appearing in 1971 as a monograph drawn from his undergraduate class on sociological theory, Dr. Smelser's how-to book is now presented in modern format and with his timeless examples and explanations. Featuring a new Preface by the author, as well as a new Foreword by Arlie Russell Hochschild, this book makes understanding the insides of a theoretical framework as clear as such a daunting feat can credibly be accomplished. Useful for students and researchers learning the tools to read all sorts of theory in a critical manner, its republication and new presentation bring Dr. Smelser's legendary course on social theory to a new generation. Part of the Classics of the Social Sciences Series from Quid Pro Books.

This book is an expanded version of the Clark Kerr Lectures of 2012, delivered by Neil Smelser at the University of California at Berkeley in January and February of that year. The initial exposition is of a theory of change - labeled structural accretion - that has characterized the history of American higher education, mainly (but not exclusively) of universities. The essence of the theory is that institutions of higher education progressively add functions, structures, and constituencies as they grow, but seldom shed them, yielding increasingly complex structures. The first two lectures trace the multiple ramifications of this principle into other arenas, including the essence of complexity in the academic setting, the solidification of academic disciplines and departments, changes in faculty roles and the academic community, the growth of political constituencies, academic administration and governance, and academic stratification by prestige. In closing, Smelser analyzes a number of contemporary trends and problems that are superimposed on the already-complex structures of higher education, such as the diminishing public support without alterations of governance and accountability, the increasing pattern of commercialization in higher education, the growth of distance-learning and for-profit institutions, and the spectacular growth of temporary and part-time faculty.

This volume is a one-of-a-kind contribution to applied social science and the product of a long collaboration between an established, interdisciplinary sociologist and a successful banking executive. Together, Neil Smelser and John Reed use a straightforward approach to presenting substantive social science knowledge and indicate its relevance and applicability to decision-making, problem-solving and policy-making. Among the areas presented are space-and-time coordinates of social life; cognition and bias; group and network effects; the role of sanctions; organizational dynamics; and macro-changes associated with economic development. Finally, the authors look at the big picture of why society at large demands and needs social-science knowledge, and how the academy actually supplies relevant knowledge.

These invaluable essays offer an insider's perspective on three decades at a major American university during a time of political turmoil. Neil J. Smelser, who spent thirty-six years as a professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, sheds new light on a full range of the issues that dominated virtually all institutions of higher learning during the second half of the twentieth century. Smelser considers student activism - in particular the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley - political surprises, affirmative action, multiculturalism and the culture wars, and much more. As one of the leading sociologists of his generation, Smelser is uniquely qualified to convey and analyze the complexities of administrating a first-rate and very large university as it encounters a highly politicized environment.

For several decades the writings of sociologist Neil J. Smelser have won him a vast and admiring audience across several disciplines. Best known for his work on social movements, economic sociology, and British social history, Smelser's psychoanalytic writings are less familiar to his readers. In fact, many people are completely unaware of Smelser's formal psychoanalytic training and ongoing counseling practice. With the publication of "The Social Edges of Psychoanalysis," Smelser's thought-provoking essays on psychoanalytic concepts are finally brought together in one book.
Psychoanalytic theory has had an ambivalent relationship with sociology, and these essays explore that ambivalence, providing arguments about how and why psychoanalytic approaches can deepen the sociological perspective. One of Smelser's main tenets is that human social behavior always contains both social-structural and social-psychological elements, and that psychoanalytic theory can bridge these two dimensions of human social life. Many of the issues Smelser addresses--including interdisciplinarity, the macro-micro link in research, masculinity and violence, and affirmative action--have generated considerable scholarly interest.
This collection paves the way for further articulation of the relationship between sociology and psychoanalysis at a time when many sociologists are looking for interdisciplinary links in their work. Presented with clarity and grace, and free of the murkiness often found in both sociological and psychoanalytic writing, Smelser's new book will excite reflection and research on the less visible dynamics of social existence.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

Talcott Parsons Today offers a reappraisal and extension of the work of the most significant and influential twentieth-century sociologist. The volume consists of original essays by prominent Parsons scholars from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Germany. Finally, and most important, it makes a significant contribution to the current controversy surrounding an important sociological figure. The book consists of 10 essays, nine of which are original pieces; all are written by well-known scholars who are intimately acquainted with Parsons' body of work.