Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective

Peter L. Berger

Apr 2011 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

DIVThe most popularly read, adapted, anthologized, and incorporated primer on sociology ever written for modern readers/divDIV /divDIVAcclaimed scholar and sociologist Peter L. Berger lays the groundwork for a clear understanding of sociology in his straightforward introduction to the field, much loved by students, professors, and general readers. Berger aligns sociology in the humanist tradition—revealing its relationship to the humanities and philosophy—and establishes its importance in thinking critically about the modern world./divDIV /divDIVThroughout, Berger presents the contributions of some of the most important sociologists of the time, including Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, and Thorstein Veblen./div

Ratings and reviews

This text illuminated the mysterious concept of a sociologist. Before reading I had very little more to say about what a sociologist does and who he is other than someone who studies interactions between people, and somehow looks at larger institutions as well. Now I have more accurate insight into sociology, which according to Berger not simply an academic discipline, but also a form of consciousness and a pastime.

With plenty of empirical data, Berger uses many clear examples as he carefully entices you from testing the waters of sociology to emersing yourself in the deep end. If you're brave enough, you will see your true self as you open the hood of your mind.

not bad

About the author

Peter L. Berger (1929–2017) was an award-winning scholar and author and one of the most important modern American sociologists. Berger graduated from Wagner College in New York in 1949 before receiving his master’s degree and doctorate from The New School in New York in 1950 and 1954, respectively. Berger was a professor emeritus of religion, sociology, and theology at the University of Boston and director of the Institute for the Study of Economic Culture, which studies relationships between economic development and sociocultural change. Berger’s works include Invitation to Sociology (1963), The Social Construction of Reality (1966) with Thomas Luckmann, The Sacred Canopy (1967), and A Rumor of Angels (1969).