Abstract

"An Invitation to Critical Sociology is an eloquent introduction to some of the crucial issues in contemporary society. Linking the works of three prominent classical sociologists, George Herbert Mead, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, Hansen presents the central theme of critical sociology -- the nature of individual consciousness and its relations to society. The central ideas and issues addressed by these men are examined in terms of involvement, criticism, and exploration, the elements of critical sociology. Concerned with the fare of the individual in industrializing societies, each emphasizes a different element: Mead, involvement through self-and-other awareness; Marx, social criticism; and Weber, the joining of critical involvement and social criticism to explore life's possibilities and limitations. Through historical illustration Hansen demonstrates the significance of each theory. An Invitation to Critical Sociology stimulates thought, raises questions and arguments, and suggest new ways of looking at man and society." -- Back of cover.