Content area
Full Text
Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory. 6th ed. Irving Zeitlin. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1997. 406 pages. $61.00.
Zeitlin's sixth edition of Ideology is one of the leading texts on contemporary sociological theory. This volume, recognizable for including significant male and female social theorists of the classical period, is a valuable tool for the study of advanced sociological theories. Although it is an advanced text effective for the post-doctoral level, its theoretical content makes it a suitable, but complex, study for the undergraduate and graduate level. The text offers limited subject organization. Zeitlin combines the theoretical work of scholars who most influence the theorist. This causes complexity and decreases reader comprehension.
The following evaluation of Ideology focuses on organization with respect to teaching. To analyze Zeitlin's text, I compared it to other theory texts: Turner's The Emergence of Sociological Theory (1995), Ritzer's Classical Sociological Theory (1996), and Morrison's Formalions of Modern Sociological Thought (1995).
Zeitlin's text is divided into four major parts: The Enlightenment, Reactionary Thought, The Marxian Watershed, and The Debate with Marx's Ghost. Zeitlin...