First published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This authoritative and revealing book provides the first sociological examination of postmodernism. Lash examines the differences between modernism and postmodernism, providing a clear explanation of why postmodernism is important.

Postmodernism is frequently described as dealing a death-blow to sociology. This book, however, argues that it is a mistake to conceive postmodernism in terms of a fatal attack upon what sociologists do. The contributors locate the identity of sociology after' postmodernism as a contested site which opens up the possibility of re-imagining the enterprise of sociology. They show how this re-imagination might be conducted and trace some of the key potential consequences.

This work provides a crystallization and particularization of a school of sociological thinking variously called "creative sociology," "existential sociology," "phenomenological sociology," "conflict theory," and "dramaturgical analysis." The result is a methodological synthesis of the "dual" visions of Erving Goffman and Harold Garfinkel. This book equips the reader with a framework for providing adequate descriptions of those face-to-face encounters that make up everyday life. This edition includes essays not found in the first edition, as well as a new introduction that locates it in the spectrum of contemporary theorizing.

Ritzer's long-awaited text in Postmodern Social Theory is a readable & coherent introduction to the fundamental ideas & most important thinkers in postmodern social theory.

More than 50 years ago, C. Wright Mills heralded a new age for sociology for the 1960s and beyond. Yet his forward-looking vision also foretold some of the social conditions we associate, more recently, with postmodern society. This intellectual biography of Mills emphasizes early life experiences that shaped Mills's expansive vision of the future, just as Kerr develops, from Mills, tools for confronting current and looming problems. Drawing upon little-known documents, Kerr expands our knowledge about this leading 20th-century sociologist, and shows how forward-looking Millsian scholarship can enhance the endeavors of sociology today.