• a concise introduction to the major debates of the twentieth century, placing them in historical and philosophical context
• information on thinkers of the nineteenth and early twentieth century whose relevance to modern social thought is only now being recognized, e.g. Nietszche, Saussure, Simmel
• connections drawn between post-structuralist thinkers like Foucault and Derrida and the founding figures of sociology: Marx, Weber and Durkheim
• a completely rewritten chapter on the 'Synthesisers' - Bourdieu, Habermas and Giddens - and their attempts to generate a consensus from the apparently conflicting theories of their predecessors
• a new chapter reviewing the rise of British sociology, with particular reference to the political context and the changing role of 'class' in sociological thinking
• a new chapter describing the attempts of sociological theorists to explain current concerns, problems, and issues in the areas of gender, (homo)sexuality, and ethnicity in the context of the postcolonial world.

While retaining its emphasis and wealth of information on the founding figures of sociology, this fifth edition now features a new easy-to-read format, (with particular attention paid to the linking and cross-referencing of chapters), and includes much new material on contemporary social theory with particular reference to its attempts to tackle current problems and issues in the areas of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity in the postcolonial context.