Anomie

Durkeim's book on suicide, first published in 1897 is widely regarded as a classic text, and is essential reading for any student of Durkheim's thought and sociological method. This book examines the continuing importance of Durkheim's methodology. The wide-ranging chapters cover such issues as the use of statistics, explanation of suicide, anomie and religion and the morality of suicide. This book will be of vital interest to any serious scholar of Durkheim's thought and to the sociologist looking for a fresh methodological perspective.

International scholarship over the last twenty years has produced a new understanding of Emile Durkheim as a thinker. It has contributed to reassembling what, for Durkheim, was always a whole: a sociological selection on morals and moral activism. This volume presents an overview of Durkheim's thought and is representative of the best of contemporary Durkheim scholarship.

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in alienation by writers throughout the world. At least in the economically advanced nations, one reason for the rediscovery of alienation is the need for a term to denote the relatively new phenomenon of dissatisfaction in the midst of material prosperity and political freedom. The contributors to this volume collectively seek a concept of alienation that will be a useful tool in social diagnosis--a key to identifying causes of undesirable social conditions. The result is a collection of essays in policy-oriented social theory, keyed to problems of modern life at the end of the twentieth century, and written from richly diverse cultural, political, and philosophical backgrounds.

While the issues of substance use and abuse have been addressed from a variety of perspectives and approaches, the fundamental social issues have not been covered in any systematic way. This book represents the first academic effort to apply major sociological theories to the field of substance use and abuse in order to provide readers with a solid knowledge base from which they may develop more informed ideas about prevention, intervention, treatment, law enforcement, and social reactions to this ubiquitous social problem. Using a systematic framework, Shaw reviews the existing literature, explains key concepts, addresses fundamental issues, and discusses the policy implications for public health, social control, community, and work. This comprehensive sociological treatment of substance use and abuse is essential reading for educators in public policy, sociology, criminology, and deviance.

After the Cold War, America's hopes for new world order evaporated with new violence in such places as Somalia and Bosnia. A new school of thought called "chaos theory" argues that the spread of Western culture offends many and triggers violence. The author discredits chaos theory, claiming diplomacy, military preparedness, and economic development work best.

Unlike most other sociology or social science dictionaries, in this translation of the Critical Dictionary of Sociology , taken from the second French edition of the Dictionary and edited by the English sociologist Peter Hamilton, the critical value of this distinctive work is at last made available for a wider audience. Each entry grapples directly with an issue, whether theoretical, epistemological, philosophical, political or empirical, and provides a strong statement of what the authors think about it. The discussions are considered but argumentative.nbsp; By reaffirming that a non-marxist style of critique is still possible, Boudon and Bourricaud have presented a distinctive approach to the key issues which confront the societies of the Twentieth and Twenty-First centuries. For some this work will be a textbook, for others an indispensable sourcebook of sociological concepts, and for most a way of opening our eyes to new dimensions in our understanding of the great ideas and theories of sociology.