Rethinking Analytical Sociology

Hardback

Rethinking Analytical Sociology

9781035317738 Edward Elgar Publishing
Daniel Little, Professor of Philosophy, Department of Language, Culture, and the Arts, University of Michigan-Dearborn and Professor of Sociology and Public Policy, Department of Sociology and Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, USA
Publication Date: March 2025 ISBN: 978 1 03531 773 8 Extent: c 256 pp
This discerning book outlines the methods, assumptions and achievements of analytical sociology, presenting it as a valuable research approach in the social sciences. Daniel Little argues that analytical sociology provides an ambitious basis for understanding and explaining a range of important social phenomena, while also engaging critically with several key theoretical assumptions of the approach that limit its generality.

Copyright & permissions

Recommend to librarian

Your Details

Privacy Policy

Librarian Details

Download leaflet

Print page

More Information
Critical Acclaim
More Information
This discerning book outlines the methods, assumptions and achievements of analytical sociology, presenting it as a valuable research approach in the social sciences. Daniel Little argues that analytical sociology provides an ambitious basis for understanding and explaining a range of important social phenomena, while also engaging critically with several key theoretical assumptions of the approach that limit its generality.

Chapters highlight analytical sociology’s empirical successes in public health, network analysis and political applications. Little demonstrates that current thinking in the field is limited by narrow conceptions of methodological individualism and the actor, and considers social issues such as racial health disparities in the USA, the rise of far-right authoritarian movements and the organizational causes of technology disasters within a broader theoretical framework. He argues that analytical approaches can be enriched through greater engagement with other areas of contemporary sociology, ultimately emphasizing that analytical sociology is a powerful tool when it acknowledges and moves beyond its preconceived limitations.

Rethinking Analytical Sociology is an essential tool for academics and students in sociology, political science, public health, public policy, and other social sciences. Its insights will also greatly benefit researchers seeking to understand new developments in the field.
Critical Acclaim
‘Rethinking Analytical Sociology is a masterful critique of the contributions and limits of methodological individualism, mechanism-based explanations, and rational choice theory. Daniel Little makes a convincing case for pluralism in the social sciences, to include not only analytical sociology but also new institutionalism, contentious politics, meso-level explanations, a variety of human motivations, and a wide range of methods. The result is a vision of social science better equipped to address the crisis of democracy, inequality, climate change, populism, migration and technological, economic, and cultural change.’
– Andrew Bennett, Georgetown University, USA

‘Daniel Little’s book provides an accurate and up-to-date interpretation of the foundational assumptions of analytical sociology, along with a critical assessment of them. Little demonstrates how relaxing some of these assumptions and engaging more actively with other approaches to explanatory sociology could broaden the scope of analytical sociology. Little has produced an insightful, wide-ranging book that is highly recommended for anyone interested in analytical sociology.’
– Tuukka Kaidesoja, University of Eastern Finland, Finland

My Cart