Robert Bickel

With particular attention to his work on modernization and modernity as construed by a sociologist of knowledge, this book offers a sympathetic exposition and evaluation of Peter Berger’s work as one of the world’s most accomplished and influential sociologists.In the context of an examination of Berger’s ongoing work on the social construction of reality, styles of consciousness, the role of science-based technology, pluralism, and other pertinent topics, the author also considers Berger’s unique and thoughtful approach to research and theorizing. Berger’s method of ‘sociological tourism’, which departs sharply from the current emphasis in the social sciences on ever more complex and ostensibly rigorous statistical procedures, provides a refreshing move away from the increasingly esoteric and sometimes alienating methodological self-consciousness that characterizes contemporary sociology. With this distinctive approach, this book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology who share Berger’s interest. The importance of modernization and modernity on a world scale is undeniable, and a deeper understanding of their nature and consequences, will also benefit members of the intelligent laity who are not sociological specialists but are open to new ideas that are clearly explained.

With particular attention to his work on modernization and modernity as construed by a sociologist of knowledge, this book offers a sympathetic exposition and evaluation of Peter Berger’s work as one of the world’s most accomplished and influential sociologists.In the context of an examination of Berger’s ongoing work on the social construction of reality, styles of consciousness, the role of science-based technology, pluralism, and other pertinent topics, the author also considers Berger’s unique and thoughtful approach to research and theorizing. Berger’s method of ‘sociological tourism’, which departs sharply from the current emphasis in the social sciences on ever more complex and ostensibly rigorous statistical procedures, provides a refreshing move away from the increasingly esoteric and sometimes alienating methodological self-consciousness that characterizes contemporary sociology. With this distinctive approach, this book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology who share Berger’s interest. The importance of modernization and modernity on a world scale is undeniable, and a deeper understanding of their nature and consequences, will also benefit members of the intelligent laity who are not sociological specialists but are open to new ideas that are clearly explained.

This book provides an introduction to classical social theory through discussion, application, and synthesis of the work of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and George Herbert Mead. Rather than merely summarizing and evaluating their continuing influence, their ideas and ways of reasoning are applied in thoroughly developed fashion to contemporary issues and historical events of enduring importance. In the process, contributions of these three very different authors are used to complement each other and are eventually synthesized, making clear that they can be melded into one multilevel, even if tentative and rudimentary, theoretical perspective. The book is intended to systematically and compactly introduce the most useful concepts of the three classical theorists. However, new concepts are typically introduced as part of the narrative, rather than in box-text definitional fashion. This is consistent with the books primary purpose: to enable the reader to begin to think like Marx, Durkheim, and Mead, especially insofar as their work can be synthesized into one point of view, dealing with inter-related macro-level, middle range, and micro-level social phenomena. The section on Marx will be longer than the sections on Durkheim and Mead. In part, the length of the discussion of Marx’s work is due to use of this section to begin introducing pertinent ideas of Durkheim and Mead.

This book provides an introduction to classical social theory through discussion, application, and synthesis of the work of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and George Herbert Mead. Rather than merely summarizing and evaluating their continuing influence, their ideas and ways of reasoning are applied in thoroughly developed fashion to contemporary issues and historical events of enduring importance. In the process, contributions of these three very different authors are used to complement each other and are eventually synthesized, making clear that they can be melded into one multilevel, even if tentative and rudimentary, theoretical perspective. The book is intended to systematically and compactly introduce the most useful concepts of the three classical theorists. However, new concepts are typically introduced as part of the narrative, rather than in box-text definitional fashion. This is consistent with the books primary purpose: to enable the reader to begin to think like Marx, Durkheim, and Mead, especially insofar as their work can be synthesized into one point of view, dealing with inter-related macro-level, middle range, and micro-level social phenomena. The section on Marx will be longer than the sections on Durkheim and Mead. In part, the length of the discussion of Marx’s work is due to use of this section to begin introducing pertinent ideas of Durkheim and Mead.

Purchased goods and services are a large and increasingly important proportion of enterprise budgets. The authors review literature describing how private enterprises have addressed this issue. While noting that no one process is likely to fit all circumstances, they offer a set of steps synthesized from the literature for analyzing an enterprise's total spending on commodities and developing purchasing strategies for specific commodities.