New Directions in Sociological Theory

Phenomenological sociology and ethnomethodolgy are two new and significant
developments in modern sociological theory. Traditional sociology takes for granted that the social
world has an objective existence; it does not query the commonsense assumptions that are grounded in
experience. Ethnomethodological studies, on the other hand, seek to treat practical activities,
practical circumstances, and practical sociological reasoning as topics of empirical study. By
paying to the most commonplace activities of daily life the attention usually accorded extraordinary
events, it seeks to learn about them as phenomena in their own right.New Directions in Sociological
Theory is the result of a course of lectures given by the authors at Goldsmiths' College, University
of London. Part I is an analysis of traditional sociology, including such topics as "Sociology and
the Social World," "Varieties of Positivism," "Functionalism and Systems Theory," and "Theory,
Methodology, and Conceptualization," Part II discusses phenomenological alternatives, including
"Phenomenological Philosophy and Sociology," "Some Neglected Questions about Social Reality,"
"Methodology and Meaning," and "On Harold Garfinkel's Ethnomethodology," a study of one of the most
important ethnomethodologists of today.