Bøker av Randall Collins

Sex, smoking, and social stratification are three very different social phenomena. And yet, argues sociologist Randall Collins, they and much else in our social lives are driven by a common force: interaction rituals. Interaction Ritual Chains is a major work of sociological theory that attempts to develop a "e;radical microsociology."e; It proposes that successful rituals create symbols of group membership and pump up individuals with emotional energy, while failed rituals drain emotional energy. Each person flows from situation to situation, drawn to those interactions where their cultural capital gives them the best emotional energy payoff. Thinking, too, can be explained by the internalization of conversations within the flow of situations; individual selves are thoroughly and continually social, constructed from the outside in. The first half of Interaction Ritual Chains is based on the classic analyses of Durkheim, Mead, and Goffman and draws on micro-sociological research on conversation, bodily rhythms, emotions, and intellectual creativity. The second half discusses how such activities as sex, smoking, and social stratification are shaped by interaction ritual chains. For example, the book addresses the emotional and symbolic nature of sexual exchanges of all sorts--from hand-holding to masturbation to sexual relationships with prostitutes--while describing the interaction rituals they involve. This book will appeal not only to psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists, but to those in fields as diverse as human sexuality, religious studies, and literary theory.

The US Army has developed a secret base in the outback of Australia with the aim of controlling time travel. When a young Australian man, Matthew Fraser, inadvertently interferes with the Army's latest experiment, he is ruthlessly hunted down and captured. After exhibiting the ability to bounce back a few minutes in time, Matthew is used as a pawn by the Army while they try to replicate his power of time travel. Meanwhile, terrorists hatch a plot to explode three nuclear bombs within the United States. Now Matthew and his new-found colleagues hope to use his abilities in a race against time to thwart the terrorists in their desire to unleash a nuclear nightmare.

"What is charisma? And how does it generate influence and power? World-renowned sociologist Randall Collins explores these questions in a highly readable exploration of charisma and how charisma elevated Jesus, Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia, Hitler, Churchill, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, and Madame Mao Zedong"--

Explores the lives and ideas of the social thinkers who have shaped and continue to forge traditions in sociology. Focusing on the great names in the field, this book weaves biographical and conceptual details into a tapestry of the history of social thought of the 19th and 20th centuries.

An updated edition of Randall Collins's classic work, which represented the most powerful and comprehensive statement of conflict theory in its time.

In Max Weber: A Skeleton Key Randall Collins gives a concise overview of the work of one of sociology's greatest classic thinkers. The many strands of Weber's theorizing and the breadth and scope of his historical comparisons are here brought clearly into focus. This is an ideal text for students in sociology.

In this new interpretation of Weberian sociology, Professor Collins draws attention to important but neglected aspects of Weber's writings and shows how Weber's theory of the rise of capitalism, his theory of politics and his conflict theory of the family can inform an analysis of current world issues.

Collins traces the movement of philosophical thought in ancient Greece, China, Japan, India, the medieval Islamic and Jewish world, medieval Christendom, and modern Europe. He focuses on the social locations where sophisticated ideas are formed: the patterns of intellectual networks and their inner divisions and conflicts.