Description
Book SynopsisSociology began as a historical discipline, created by Marx, Weber and others, to explain the emergence and consequences of rational, capitalist society. Today, the best historical sociology combines precision in theory-construction with the careful selection of appropriate methodologies to address ongoing debates across a range of subfields.
Trade Review“Petitions for a sociology that takes social change as its central object.”
Revue française de science politique "Richard Lachmann's excellent, readable short survey of historical sociology gets to the heart of the enterprise: understanding the ongoing transformations that have created the world in which we live. Lachmann provides incisive reviews of the major fields of research to which historical sociologists have contributed. The book will be a very useful text for those who would bring the concerns and approaches of historical sociology to the larger discipline - who want to historicize sociology in order to render it more vital and more grounded."
Ann Shola Orloff, Northwestern University "One of the major contributors to the 'historical turn' in late twentieth-century social sciences guides us through a fascinating journey in a discipline. By examining exemplary works in different sociological domains, Lachmann skillfully sketches the varied concerns of historical sociology. Written in a readable and engaging style,
What is Historical Sociology? is a must read, and not just for those interested in (historical) sociology."
Roberto Franzosi, Emory UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements vi
1 The Sense of a Beginning 1
2 The Origins of Capitalism 16
3 Revolutions and Social Movements 31
4 Empires 56
5 States 72
6 Inequality 86
7 Gender and the Family 104
8 Culture 115
9 Predicting the Future 128
Notes 142
References 146
Index 157
