PRACTICING SOCIOLOGY: Selected Fields

Practicing Sociology provides a conceptual and historical framework for the practice of applied sociology.
Chronicling the revitalization of the field of applied sociology, Dentler offers an interpretive history of how the field has evolved over the years, how it was transplanted from Europe into the U.S., how and why it declined during the latter years of the 20th century, and its recent rebound. Besides, this work profiles a variety of practicing sociologists and offers case studies in the fields of education, organizational development, work and labor, and program evaluation. Students, faculty, and practicing sociologists who wish to better understand the foundations and growth of applied sociology as well as the ways in which they can unify the field around the theoretical resources of symbolic interactionism and its offshoots in participation and client empowerment will find what they need in this accessible and unique text.

“This text attempts to lay the foundation and development of sociological practice over the past century and sets the tone for students to understand applied, clinical and sociological practice at the beginning of the 21st century.”
—Harry Perlstadt, Professor of Sociology, Michigan State University.

“I am struck by the depth and richness of this work. Dentler provides convincing evidence that should open the eyes of sociologists and students alike. He also demonstrates that the so-called objective and ‘value-free’ approach to sociology is itself a political response to the structural causes of everyday problems. In short, the greatest strength of this book is likely to be the re-introduction of an important aspect of the history of sociology that has either been forgotten or overlooked. Practicing Sociology is a book whose time has come.”
—Hayward Derrick Horton , Associate Professor of Sociology, State University of New York at Albany.