What are the aims of sociology? How do they relate to the classical tradition? How, today, can we understand the relation between sociology and its object of study? This volume interrogates the changing relationship between contemporary and classical sociology and the conceptual and theoretical foundations of the discipline. The contributors argue that recent historical and conceptual developments make a reconsideration of these questions timely. Excerpted from Sociological Objects (Ebk) Reconfigurations of Social Theory by Geoff Cooper, Andrew King, Ruth Rettie All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.