Robert K. Merton and Contemporary Sociology
By: Carlo Mongardini
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2017
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781351291361
Subjects: Congresses; Sociology; Sociologie; Congrès
Description: "This volume offers scholars of sociology and allied areas the fruits of an international conference on the contributions of the eminent Robert K. Merton. The assessment, as good in content as well as in participants, took place in Amalfi, Italy, with the participation of Merton himself and under the auspices of the Italian Sociology Association. Carlo Mongardini aptly summarizes the unique impact of Merton on the social theory of our century. "His strength as a classic writer lies in his balance, unveiling complexity, and in his humanism which looks beyond the apparent simplicity and coherence of social reality."A special treat is the final chapter by Merton reviewing "Unanticipated Conse-quences and Kindred Sociological Ideas." In it, he ranges from the historical an-tecedents of the concept to his own evolution in the use and expansion of the idea. Merton approaches the development of his thought as installments rather than sim-ple evolution, and in so doing gives us unique insight into how he built upon his originating notions in the context of social science as it existed in the United States. Tensions between integrating scholarship and reaching the general public provide a special insight into Merton that might prove new even to those who know his work well. Contributors to this original volume include: Volker Meja, Nico Stehr, Paolo Ammassari, Gianni Statera, Birgitta Nedelmann, Harriet Zuckerman, Piotr Sztompka, Peter Gerlich, Charles Crothers, Elena Besozzi, and Arnold Zongerle, among others. The chapters address the full range of Merlon's work, with special emphasis on such areas as anomie, structural analysis, the relationship of theory to research, patterns of latent and manifest influence, and even the application of Mertonian concepts to the analysis of Merton as a scholar. This unusual compendium, translated from the Italian, will interest social researchers across the academic spectrum."--Provided by publisher.
Table of contents: title: Chapter Introduction; title: chapter 1 Robert K. Merton's Structural Analysis: The Design of Modem Sociology; title: chapter 2 Robert K. Merton: The Relation between Theory and Research; title: chapter 3 Merton and the Sociology of Science in Europe; title: chapter 4 The Informative-Formative Reception of Robert K. Merton's Work in Italy; title: part Part 2: Concepts of Sociological Analysis; title: chapter 5 Sociological Ambivalence in the Thought of R.K. Merton; title: chapter 6 Robert K. Merton's Concept of Sociological Ambivalence: The Florentine Case of the?Man-Ape?; title: chapter 7 Accumulation of Advantage and Disadvantage: The Theory and Its Intellectual Biography; title: chapter 8 Robert K. Merton's Four Concepts of Anomie; title: chapter 9 The Unanticipated Consequences of Action: Sociological and Ethical Aspects; title: chapter 10 Some Reflections on Latent Functions; title: chapter 11 Patterns of Manifest and Latent Influence: A Double Case Study of Influences on and from Robert K. Merton; title: part Part 3: Short Papers; title: chapter 12 Conditioning or Conditionings? Revisiting an Old Criticism of Mannheim by Merton; title: chapter 13 Some Thoughts on Two Works by Robert K. Merton; title: chapter 14 Robert K. Merton, the Teacher: Episodic Recollections by an Enthusiastic Apprentice; title: chapter 15 Notes towards an Analysis of the Relationship between Ambivalence and Rationality; title: chapter 16 Robert K. Merton for an?Open Society?? Or, a Concept of Society Beyond Functionalism; title: chapter 17 Robert K. Merton's Contribution to Sociological Studies of Time; title: chapter 18 Serendipity in the Work of Robert K. Merton; title: chapter 19 R.K. Merton: The Model of Theory-Empirical Research Circularity as a Way Out of the Micro-Macro Dichotomy; title: chapter 20 Sztompka's Analysis of Merton's Writings: A Description and Some Criticisms.