The seventh edition of Modern Sociological Theory gives readers a comprehensive overview of the major contemporary schools of sociological thought. Key theories are integrated with biographical sketches of theorists, and theories are placed in their historical and intellectual context.

Salient Features

• The most current research on theory and theorists has been added throughout, and new entries have been added to the references to reflect the most recent thinking in the field.

• A new section on Alexis de Tocqueville in Chapter 1 gives Tocqueville the credit he deserves for his work revolving around the interrelated issues of equality, centralization, and freedom.

• A new chapter combines micro-macro and agency-structure integration in a more compact discussion of these synthetic efforts (Chapter 10).

• A new chapter on globalization (Chapter 12) covers the rise of globalization theories in the early twenty-first century, discussing the major economic, political, and cultural theories.

• A new chapter on the cutting edge developments in contemporary theory (Chapter 14) discusses actor-network theory, practice theory, queer theory, and critical theories of race and racism.

• Chronological organization allows for easy use of supplementary readers to enhance classroom discussion or to broaden students’ understanding of theories and concepts.

• Previously under-recognized theorists such as DuBois are included in the discussion of the roots of modern theory.

• A Historical Sketch of Sociological Theory: The Early Years

• A Historical Sketch of Sociological Theory: The Later Years

• Structural Functionalism, Neofunctionalism, and Conflict Theory

• Varieties of Neo-Marxian Theory

• Systems Theory

• Symbolic Interactionism

• Ethnomethodology

• Exchange, Network, and Rational Choice Theories

• Modern Feminist Theory

• Micro-Macro and Agency-Structure Integration

• Contemporary Theories of Modernity

• Globalization Theory

• Structuralism, Poststructuralism, and Postmodern Social Theory

• Cutting-Edge Developments in Contemporary Theory

Appendix: Sociological Metatheorizing and a Metatheoretical Schema for Analyzing Sociological Theory

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, where he has also been a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and received a Teaching Excellence Award. In 2000, he received the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award of the American Sociological Association, and in 2004, he received an honorary doctorate from LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia. 

Dr. Ritzer served as Chair of the American Sociological Association’s Sections on Theoretical Sociology and Organizations and Occupations. He held the UNESCO Chair in Social Theory at the Russian Academy of Sciences and a Fulbright-Hays Chair at York University in Canada, and he received a Fulbright-Hays award to the Netherlands. He was Scholar-in-Residence at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study and at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences.