The Theory and Scholarship of Talcott Parsons to 1951 A Critical Commentary [Paperback]

Bruce C. Wearne's detailed examination of Talcott Parsons' development as a scholar of social theory.The most influential sociologist to have emerged in the United States, Talcott Parsons developed a distinctive theoretical synthesis which drew on Weber, Smobart, Durkheim and Marx. Drawing on unpublished papers, Wearne describes Parsons religious background and his education and traces the impact of German and other social theory on his development as a scholar.The most influential sociologist to have emerged in the United States, Talcott Parsons developed a distinctive theoretical synthesis which drew on Weber, Smobart, Durkheim and Marx. Drawing on unpublished papers, Wearne describes Parsons religious background and his education and traces the impact of German and other social theory on his development as a scholar.The most influential sociologist to have emerged in the United States, Talcott Parsons developed a distinctive theoretical synthesis which drew on Weber, Smobart, Durkheim and Marx. He was the moving spirit behind the interdisciplinary Department of Social Relations at Harvard, and he became a central figure in the development of the social sciences in post-war America. Interest in his theories is now reviving, after a period of neglect, and Bruce C. Wearne's study will help a generation of scholars to reassess his work. Drawing on unpublished papers, Wearne describes Parson's religious background and his education and traces the impact of German and other social theory on his development as a scholar. The book concludes with a thorough and fresh reading of his classic work, The Social System.Preface; Part I. Unravelling Talcott Parsons' theoretical development: 1. Introduction; Part II. Talcott Parsons: the roots of his thought: 2. Talcott Parsons in relation to the thought of his time; 3. The Amherst papers; Part III. The Development of Theory: 4. Maz Weber and the vision of a unified social science; 5. The position and prospects of sociology at HlãÐ