Class in Twentieth-Century American Sociology: An Analysis of Theories and Measurement Strategies

(Hardback)

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Michael Grimes looks at the scholarly literature published by American social scientists in the 20th century and provides an overview and critique of the major theories, conceptualizations and measurements of class inequality. The book assembles a framework for interpreting an dunderstanding the changing character of the theories and methodologies used by scholars to study class inequality based on two "schools" of social theory - order and conflict - each with different assumptions about human nature and society, and about the unique role(s) that class plays in society. Grimes contends that theoretical perspectives result from the interaction of the unique biographies of theorists with the sociohistorical, ideological, and disciplinary settings within which they work, and that the relative popularity of perspecitives on the subject within the discipline has varied over time as the setting has changed.

Reviews

Although filled with insights about stratification, this book's primary purpose is to critique the career of social inequality as a concern in sociology. Thus, it is rooted more in the sociology of knowledge and the philosophy of science than in the sociology of stratification. Grimes examines 20th-century shifts in both the theoretical orientations and in the approaches to measurement for class' in American social science. From single-site community studies to national surveys, and through periods of domestic economic expansion and decline, the combination of social climate, scholars' particular backgrounds, and the stage of disciplinary development is explored to explain the rising theoretical hegemony of functionalism until midcentury and the increasing credibility of neo-Marxist and neo-Weberian alternatives thereafter. Grimes inspects the ideological assumptions implicit in the range of methods, operationalizations, and interpretations, as well as tendencies toward convergence and divergence in sociological thinking about class. His analysis includes all the major publications one would expect, and concludes with an appraisal of Eric Olin Wright's contributions to contemporary class analysis. This is a well-documented publication for advanced students and faculty, with an excellent set of references.-Choice
"Although filled with insights about stratification, this book's primary purpose is to critique the career of social inequality as a concern in sociology. Thus, it is rooted more in the sociology of knowledge and the philosophy of science than in the sociology of stratification. Grimes examines 20th-century shifts in both the theoretical orientations and in the approaches to measurement for class' in American social science. From single-site community studies to national surveys, and through periods of domestic economic expansion and decline, the combination of social climate, scholars' particular backgrounds, and the stage of disciplinary development is explored to explain the rising theoretical hegemony of functionalism until midcentury and the increasing credibility of neo-Marxist and neo-Weberian alternatives thereafter. Grimes inspects the ideological assumptions implicit in the range of methods, operationalizations, and interpretations, as well as tendencies toward convergence and divergence in sociological thinking about class. His analysis includes all the major publications one would expect, and concludes with an appraisal of Eric Olin Wright's contributions to contemporary class analysis. This is a well-documented publication for advanced students and faculty, with an excellent set of references."-Choice

Author Bio

MICHAEL D. GRIMES is Associate Professor of Sociology at Louisiana State University. In his career, he has produced over 40 publications including 20 articles in academic journals on various aspects of political, gender, racial/ethnic, and class inequality.