Social theory and regional studies in the global age /

In the introduction to these 16 highly specialized essays, editor Arjomand (Stony Brook Univ., SUNY) states that the level of "world regions is back on the agenda of metropolitan social theory." This is a level of analysis between the nation state and the evolving global or world society. The essays were written by senior scholars/specialists and are organized into three parts. These range from the conceptual/theoretical (five essays) to the historical (four essays) to specific case studies (seven essays). The inclusion of a number of the case studies is questionable. For instance, one study deals with the case of Arab Iranians of Bushehr and the final contribution explores the development of sociology in modern India. Specialists and nonspecialist historians and sociologists are likely to benefit from a reading of papers by Edward A. Tiryakian, Willfried Spohn, and Wolf Schafer in part 1. The volume is dedicated to the late Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt (1923-2010), whose concepts of "axial civilizations" and "multiple modernities," among others, are found throughout the volume. --Mark Oromaner, Hudson County Community College