Seminal Sociological Writings: from Auguste Comte to Max Weber: An Anthology of Groundbreaking Works That Created the Science of Sociology

This book fills a void by assembling seminal writings from many original works that created the "science of society" -- by Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, George Herbert Mead, Ferdinand Toennies, Georg Simmel, Thorsten Veblen, Max Weber, and other "founding fathers" of sociology.

The seminal writings in this anthology originally appeared in articles and books published from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century. They are, therefore, primary source documents that allow modern students to see how the authors introduced the paradigm-changing constructs that shattered earlier perceptions of reality. They include social class, conspicuous consumption, division of labor, collective consciousness, social self, survival of the fittest, anomie, culture lag, charisma, social solidarity, and other concepts that dominate how social scientists today think about and study human relationships, institutions, societies, and cultures.

In addition to allowing students to experience the great theorists' thoughts and reasoning processes directly, these primary source documents provide an invaluable research resource because they were written by the theorists in the "first person," as they were undergoing their groundbreaking theoretical insights and discoveries, and while they were recording, reflecting on, witnessing, and living through the phenomena that engaged them as they occurred.

For these reasons and more, Seminal Sociological Writings: From Comte to Weber is an important resource that can serve as either a primary or ancillary text in courses on theory, and will enlighten all scholars and laypersons interested in the birth and development of the social sciences.

RICHARD ALTSCHULER, Ph.D., has taught courses on sociological theory, statistics, and research methods in the sociology departments of Temple University, New York University, and Queens College. He is the editor of The Living Legacy of Marx, Durkheim & Weber, Volumes 1 and 2 (Gordian Knot Books), among other sociology books; coauthor of Sociology: An Introduction (Harcourt Brace), Open Reality (G.P. Putnam's Sons), and IC: An Introductory Exposition of Infinite Capitalism (Little, Brown); and author of many articles on sociological topics. For the past decade, he has presided over the publishing division of Richard Altschuler & Associates, Inc., which has published numerous books by notable scholars in the social, psychological, and health sciences.