Science, Class & Society: On the Formation of Sociology & Historical Materialism

by Göran Therborn

Sligh creasing to DJ. Pencil marks in book (mostly underlining and check marks.)

Genres: Sociology

461 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Göran Therborn is a professor of sociology at Cambridge University and is amongst the most highly cited contemporary Marxian-influenced sociologists. He has published widely in journals such as the New Left Review, and is notable for his writing on topics that fall within the general political and sociological framework of post-Marxism. Topics on which he has written extensively include the intersection between the class structure of society and the function of the state apparatus, the formation of ideology within subjects, and the future of the Marxist tradition.

Reviews

[Geoff Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading this after some years was impressed. Very good although it starts oddly. Perceptive discussion of origins of sociology from a Marxist perspective, he defines classical sociology as an alternative response to capitalism. Final part is his Althusserian interpretation of Marxism. Best attempt I have seen to make sense of Althusser's theory of science and actually link it to empirical analysis. I liked argument that science explains by the unfamiliar.