Self, Social Structure, and Beliefs Explorations in Sociology [Paperback]

Teacher, scholar, and leader, Neil Smelser stands as an iconic figure in sociology in the second half of the twentieth century. The essays in this volume, written by prominent scholars from all walks of the social sciences, reveal the range and depth of Smelser's influenceand his substantial contributions to diverse fields such as British history, social change, collective behavior, higher education, the economy, and psychoanalysis.

Contributors:Jeffrey C. Alexander, Nancy J. Chodorow, Burton R. Clark, Yiannis Gabriel, Arlie Russell Hochschild, James M. Jasper, Christian Joppke, Alberto Martinelli, Gary T. Marx, Lyn Spillman, Piotr Sztompka, R. Stephen Warner, Christine L. Williams, Robert Wuthnow, Viviana A. Zelizer

Jeffrey C. Alexanderis Professor and Chair of Sociology at Yale University and the author most recently ofThe Meanings of Social Life: A Cultural Sociology.Gary T. Marxis Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the author ofUndercover: Police Surveillance in America,among other works.Christine L. Williamsis Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas, Austin, and author ofGender Differences at WorkandStill a Man's World.

1. Mastering Ambivalence:
Neil Smelser as a Sociologist of Synthesis
Jeffrey C. Alexander, Gary T. Marx, and Christine L. Williams

PART I: SELF
Introduction: Christine L. Williams
2. The Sociological Eye and the Psychoanalytic Ear: Nancy J. Chodorow
3. The Commodity Frontier: Arlie Russell Hochschild
4. The Glass Cage: Flexible Work, Fragmented Consumption, Fragile Selves
Yiannis Gabriel

PART II: SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Introduction: Gary T. Marx
5. Rational Choice and Sociology: Alberto Martinelli
6. Enlisting Smelsers Theory of Ambivalence to Maintain Progress in Sociology of Religions New Paradigm: R. Stephen Warner
7. Circuits of Comml#,