We are living in a turbulent world marked by fast, continuous social changes that affect the lives of individuals, families, communities, organizations, businesses, nation-states, and international networks. This fundamentally commits contemporary sociology to being a science of change.
This collection effectively mirrors this diversity and variety of transformations underway in today's societies and transnational spaces. Written by a group of internationally renowned sociologists, it offers a cutting edge understanding of what is happening in our life worlds, work lives and frames of social existence. Bringing up issues such as political turbulence, cultural and artistic dynamics, family changes, gender roles, migration flows and social movements, it is a timely contribution that discusses transformation and globalization and their consequences in both theoretical and substansive terms.
Illuminating and comprehensive, this book will be of immense use for sociology students on all levels, as well as lecturers, researchers and others who are interested in social life and the consequences of human action.
Arnaud Sales is Emeritus Proessor of Sociology at the University of Montreal, Canada.
Industry Reviews
In a remarkable feat of collaboration, Arnaud Sales has persuaded several of the world's leading sociologists to contribute to a truly student-friendly text that ranges over the often quite subtle transformations that today's 'networked' world have made to both the concepts and objects of the discipline. Overall the book manages a welcomed reassertion of the continuing need for a broadly institutionalist, macro-sociological perspective. Steve Fuller Auguste Comte Professor of Social Epistemology, University of Warwick o livro "Sociology Today" apresenta tanto uma sintese bastante acurada do contexto atualexperenciado pelas sociedades nacionais e global, e a multiplicidade de fenomenos implicados; quanto uma leituraatual das diferentes perspectivas teoricas que, com destaque, tem auxiliado na compreensao do processo de rapidatransformacao social global experenciado nas ultimas decadas. -- Leandro Raizer The edited volume from Arnaud Sales "Sociology Today" provides a concise anthology of sociological debates on social transformation processes. A strength of the book is the bringing together of diverse theoretical positions under a broadly defined institutionalist perspective which focuses on the interaction of strategies of action, institutions and social structures. In doing so, the book convinces with a well-structured layout which presents the extensive range of topics in a transparent manner. -- Alexander Ebner Ce livre est foisonnant. La majorite des chapitres presente des analyses riches, des points de vue novateurs. Il presente un caractere nettement pedagogique par plusieurs aspects : La grande variete des champs couverts ; Chaque article est accompagne d'une liste de questions de discussion qui se presentent comme des exercices permettant au lecteur d'interroger sa comprehension du texte et eventuellement de l'approfondir ; Chaque article est aussi complete par une abondante bibliographie. Il est donc particulierement adapte a une utilisation par des enseignants et des etudiants soucieux de trouver une revue des questions que se posent les sociologues par rapport a la globalisation du monde. Aux lecteurs qui ne trouveront pas l'equivalent en francais, il propose un condense des reflexions de sociologues anglophones sur ces questions. -- Alain Degenne
