Theory for the Working Sociologist

Fabio Rojas is professor of sociology at Indiana University Bloomington. He is the author of From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Social Movement Became an Academic Discipline and the co-author with Michael T. Heaney of Party in the Street: The Antiwar Movement and the Democratic Party after 9/11.

• Preface Acknowledgments 1. What Counts as Social Theory for This Book? 2. Power and Inequality 3. Strategic Action 4. Values and Social Structures 5. Social Construction 6. Combining Different Theories Epilogue Notes References Index

Theory for the Working Sociologist points the way forward for educators across the field of sociology, as it connects classical to contemporary theory, and both to essential findings and ongoing research programs. You may not find yourself agreeing with Rojas at all moments in the text, but that is the point-he sets up an arena of debate both sophisticated and accessible to students. -- Isaac Ariail Reed, University of Virginia This highly readable and accessible book will soon become required reading for upper-level undergraduate and doctoral students of sociology. Rather than merely revisiting and reinterpreting core texts of abstract sociological theory, Rojas identifies four core themes of sociological theory-power and inequality, strategic action, values and social structures, and social constructionism-that motivate empirical work and lead sociologists to generate explanations for why empirical patterns exist. -- Sarah Soule, Stanford University