Sociological Theory in the Classical Era, Fourth Edition is an innovative text/reader for courses in classical theory. It introduces you to important original works by sociology's key classical theorists while providing a thorough framework for understanding these challenging readings. For each theorist, the editors supply a biographical sketch, discuss intellectual influences and core ideas, and offer contemporary applications of those ideas. In addition to the seven major theorists covered, the book also connects their work to "Significant Others "—writers and thinkers who may have derived much of their own perspectives from Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Gilman, Simmel, Du Bois, and Mead.