---
title: Social Theory
description: Social theory examines the foundational and contemporary frameworks used to interpret social phenomena. Learners will analyze the ideas of key theorists to understand how social order, power dynamics, and historical change shape modern societies.
category: social-sciences
subcategory: sociology
difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced
url: /subject/social-theory
---

# Social Theory

Social theory examines the foundational and contemporary frameworks used to interpret social phenomena. Learners will analyze the ideas of key theorists to understand how social order, power dynamics, and historical change shape modern societies.

## Available Resources

3 Books • 1 Websites

## Podcasts

### 1. Give Theory a Chance

**Author:** The Society Pages

Podcast from The Society Pages, hosted by sociologist Kyle Green, in which scholars each pick one theorist or concept that shaped their work and explain why. Listeners hear abstract theory grounded in concrete research problems.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en-US | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://thesocietypages.org/theory

**Tags:** sociology, social-theory, theorists, interviews

### 2. New Books in Critical Theory

**Author:** Marshall Poe

Podcast from the New Books Network in which hosts interview scholars about recently published books in critical theory, spanning Frankfurt School thought, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism, political theory and cultural critique. Listeners can follow current academic arguments and identify new monographs worth reading.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/politics-society/critical-theory/

**Tags:** critical-theory, cultural-studies, author-interviews, continental-philosophy

## Books

### 1. Distinction

**Author:** Pierre Bourdieu

Bourdieu's 1979 study of French survey data arguing that taste in music, food and art maps onto class position and functions as cultural capital. Readers gain the habitus, field and capital vocabulary used throughout contemporary sociology of culture.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0684803356?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, sociology

### 2. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

**Author:** Erving Goffman

Goffman's 1959 account of social life as theatre: people manage impressions through front-stage performance, backstage relaxation, props and teamwork. Readers acquire a dramaturgical vocabulary for analysing ordinary interaction, from job interviews to service work.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385094027?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, sociology

### 3. Classical Sociological Theory

**Author:** Craig Calhoun (ed.)

Wiley-Blackwell anthology of primary readings from Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, Du Bois and Mead, with editorial introductions placing each in context. Readers work from the original texts rather than secondhand summaries of classical sociology.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470655674?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, sociology

## Websites

### 1. theoryculturesociety.org

Official site for the peer‑reviewed journal Theory, Culture & Society, focused on social theory, culture, and contemporary society. It hosts current and past articles, journal news, and information for authors, including submission guidelines and editorial board details.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://theoryculturesociety.org

**Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, sociology

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