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History and Sociology in the New Economic Sociology: A Discourse in Search of a Method

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Interpreting the Past, Understanding the Present

Abstract

This chapter involves a critical examination of the articulation of historical and sociological modes of analysis within what has come to be called the ‘new economic sociology’. It will demonstrate that the use of historical data within many of the best-known and best-respected texts in this field is both casual and tendentious. Such conclusions raise serious questions about the capacity of contemporary sociologists to utilise historical material in a satisfactory way.

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Authors

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Stephen Kendrick Pat Straw David McCrone

Copyright information

© 1990 The British Sociological Association

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Penn, R. (1990). History and Sociology in the New Economic Sociology: A Discourse in Search of a Method. In: Kendrick, S., Straw, P., McCrone, D. (eds) Interpreting the Past, Understanding the Present. Explorations in Sociology. British Sociological Association Conference Volume Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20786-2_10

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