Abstract
Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt was a major figure of macro- and comparative-historical sociology. His work connected the comparative study of institutions, a Weberian interest in world religions, and Martin Buber's lead on human creativity, intertwining structural differentiation and institutional analysis with a cultural-interpretative approach to the dynamics of continuity and change in historical and modern societies. He connected the study of power and institutions with the search for trust and meaning. Among his contributions are studies stressing the role of agency, structure, and culture in processes of change; a critical assessment of modernization studies; institutional and civilizational analyses, among them of Japan and Jewish civilization; and the approach of multiple modernities.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences: Second Edition |
Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
Pages | 321-326 |
Number of pages | 6 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780080970875 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780080970868 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 26 Mar 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Charisma
- Civilizational analysis
- Collective identities
- Comparative-historical sociology
- Culture and institution-building
- Japanese civilization
- Jewish civilization
- Macro-sociology
- Multiple modernities
- Revolutions
- Social change
- Social exchange
- Sociological theory
- Tradition and modernization