Classical Sociological Theory and Foundations of American Sociology

Reviewed by Cara Berg Powers, Instructor, Worcester State University on 6/29/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Primarily focused on Marx, Engels, Durkheim, and Weber, there is also a section on Early American theorists, which does make an attempt to indicate the ways in which the European theorists' work laid the groundwork for the work of US theorists like Jane Addams and WEB Dubois. In each of the theorist sections, there is a comprehensive look at their major perspectives and contributions. It's hard to say if it's a lack of comprehensiveness or if organization would help pull this out more, but I was surprised at the lack of highlighting of Durkheim's contributions about Sociological Imagination.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book's straightforward tone and lack of editorializing makes the book's accuracy clear. There is not a strong bias, with the exception of the framing.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Because of the historical nature of the book, it's context is contemporary, but the information is resilient to obsolescence.

Clarity rating: 3

The writing of the book is clear, however the organization of chapters and headings could be more intuitive.

Consistency rating: 4

There is consistency in the terminology and framework, though again, the organization is a bit confusing at times.

Modularity rating: 4

The section breaks with questions are very helpful, but the lack of consistency across the sections in how they are broken down into smaller section does make the overall modularity a little bit of a challenge.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

This part was the most challenging. I wish there was more consistency with the different sections having an internal flow.

Interface rating: 5

Very easy to navigate the online version of the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No distracting errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Because of the specific cultural context of the theorists in question, there are no obvious issues.