Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context

Masters of Sociological Thought is a survey of the major thinkers who shaped the discipline, from its early nineteenth-century roots into the twentieth century. Lewis Coser examines the ideas of key theorists in light of the historical and social conditions in which they worked, asking how their work responded to the upheavals of their times. Rather than presenting theory as abstract debate alone, the book shows how each writer's assumptions grew out of particular events and social pressures. It is written as an accessible introduction for students and general readers who want to understand where sociological thinking came from.