Continually praised for its conversational tone, personal examples, and helpful pedagogical tools, the exciting Third Edition of Explorations in Classical Sociological Theory: Seeing the Social World has been reorganized around the modern ideas of progress, knowledge, and democracy. With a historical thread woven throughout the chapters, the book presents a diverse selection of major classical theorists: Marx, Spencer, Durkheim, Weber, Mead, Simmel, Martineau, Gilman, Douglass, Du Bois, and Parsons. Author Kenneth Allan focuses on the specific views of each theorist, rather than schools of thought, and highlights modernity and postmodernity to help readers understand how classical sociological theory applies to their lives.
Kenneth Allan received his PhD in sociology from the University of California, Riverside (1995), and is currently professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Before moving to UNCG, he directed the Teaching Assistant Development Program at the University of California, Riverside, and coedited Training Teaching Assistants, 2nd Edition (1997), published by the American Sociological Association. In addition to teaching classical and contemporary theory at UNCG, Allan also supervised UNCG’s sociology iSchool program, which offered online introduction to sociology classes to high school students across North Carolina, has designed several online courses for both the college and department, and has regularly taught graduate pedagogy courses. Allan’s research areas include theory, culture, and the self. He has authored several works in the area of theory, including multiple textbooks covering classical and contemporary theory, as well as The Meaning of Culture: Moving the Postmodern Critique Forward, and A Primer in Social and Sociological Theory: Toward a Sociology of Citizenship. His current projects include a social history of American individualism, a sociological analysis of consciousness and self, as well as a novel based in early 20th century American life.