American Society

Never before published, American Society is the product of Talcott Parsons' last major theoretical project. Completed just a few weeks before his death, this is Parsons' promised 'general book on American society'. It offers a systematic presentation and revision of Parson's landmark theoretical positions on modernity and the possibility of objective sociological knowledge. Even after the passage of many years, American Society imparts a remarkably provocative interpretation of US society and a creative approach to social theory.

Preface, by Giuseppe Sciortino, Foreword, by Jeffrey C. Alexander, Introduction: The Action of Social Structure, by Giuseppe Sciortino, Chapter 1 Introduction, Chapter 2 The Societal Community and Its Environments, Chapter 3 Some Highlights of the Historical Background, Chapter 4 Values and Other Structural Features of the Societal Community, Chapter 5 Some Substantive Structures of the Emerging Societal Community, Chapter 6 Social Class as Axis of Cleavage-Integration, Chapter 7 The Gemeinschaft Complex in American Society I: Ethnicity, Chapter 8 The Gemeinschaft Complex II: Kinship, Religion, Style of Life, Education, Chapter 9 Communication and Collective Decision Making: The Mass Media and the Political Process (Three Fragments), Chapter 10 Individuality and Institutionalized Individualism, Notes, Bibliography, Index, About the Editor