By Alex Young Pedersen, 2012
According to ISA –
International Sociological Association the top 100 most important and influential books are listed below.
In 1998 at the
ISA World Congress of Sociology held in Montreal, Canada the Programme Committee had carried out a survey among its members in order to identify ten most influential books for sociologists. ISA members were asked to list five books published in the twentieth century which were most influential in their work as sociologists. 16% of ISA members (455 out of 2785) participated in the survey. This is the collected results of the survey.
The absolute number one according to ISA members. Twenty pro cent ranked it among the top ten books. Key concepts are modern bureaucracy, charismatic authority, modern Capitalism, and goal-rational social action. The overall thesis of this two volume work concerns the de-mystification and rationalization of our world, the famous iron cage thesis.
2. Charles Wright Mills Sociological Imagination
In a normative account Mills describes the need for what he calls the sociological imagination. Without it we are unable to understand the society in which we live. We are also unable to understand ourself and our place and role within society.
In a critique and revision of the sociological functionalist theory of Talcott Parsons Robert K. Merton sought to pave the way for a less abstract set of theories which he termed "theories of the middle range". He tried to construct a paradigm that would act as a guide for fruitful functional analysis.
4. Max Weber The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
In this seminal work Weber argues that the changing of values amongst certain protestant groupings especially Calvinists leads to a certain behavior that can be characterized as capitalist. The values of capitalism can be found in Benjamin Franklins pamphlet Advise to a Young Tradesman according to Weber.
The social reality is a social construct. Society is a human product but it also has a objective reality in itself. Berger and Luckmann tries to formulate their sociology as a sociology of knowledge. We must try to understand the processes whereby knowledge is created, transferred and ultimately underpins our conception of reality.
The other candidates are:
