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. 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.