THE CURRENT STATE OF SOCIAL THEORY: AN INTRODUCTION

The following papers represent a selection from presentations made to the Theory Session of the 1995 Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association in Washington, D.C. The papers document the broad diversity of styles and topics of sociological theorizing. While this diversity appears to many as an impediment to science and paradigmatic closure, others celebrate it as a sign of intellectual liveliness and excitement. Without taking sides in this debate, one can appreciate the range of the papers published here, and one may even discern some commonalities, such as the attempt to bridge the gaps between various ideological camps and perspectives. If anything, what holds this collection together is a willingness to engage a variety of arguments, and to listen to what other schools of thought have to offer. In my view, this is the foremost task of theory today, for theory is uniquely equipped to detect unity in diversity. Without this effort, sociology is in danger of disintegrating altogether.