Handbook of Contemporary Sociological Theory

This Handbook provides the hidden common threads that tie sociological inquiry together and featuring eminent scholars, it separates itself from its predecessors in substance and organization. Rather than looking to the classical past for inspiration, this Handbook focuses on the present and envisions the future of sociological theory. At the heart of sociology are its rich theoretical traditions and continued emphasis of theory guiding research. In the second decade of the 21st century, it has become clear that sociology is at a crossroads as the number of theorists and amount of theory available is increasingly unmanageable and unknowable by the vast majority of professionals and students. Theory is understood as separate from the research process, but each author considers his or her discussion as inextricably linked to the sociological endeavour. By articulating and synthesizing the central sociological problems theorists and researchers continue to be interested in, it is able to present as coherent a view of the social universe from various levels of social reality as possible, without remaining anchored to Marx or Durkheim.

Seth Abrutyn is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Memphis. As a General Sociological Theorist, his interests include sociocultural evolution, institutions, religion, social psychology, and emotions. In essence, his work emphasizes synthesizing disparate theories in order to make more robust and comprehensive theoretical principles. This larger project has culminated in several journal articles and, recently, a book titled Revisiting Institutionalism in Sociology. In addition to his more general concerns, he has recently become engaged in theoretical and empirical work aimed at extending and reformulating Durkheim’s work on suicide; papers of which have appeared in American Sociological Review, Sociological Forum, and Sociological Theory.