Classical Cultural Sociology

Abstract

It is argued that a renewed reception of the works of the Polish and American scholar Florian Znaniecki should be carried out by any so–called ‘cultural turn’ in sociology. If the new cultural sociology is to obtain firm and broader theoretical grounds, it needs to transcend its mere reaction against structural–functional normativism in search of classic studies of cultural dynamics such as those of Florian Znaniecki. The reasons behind the blurring of Znaniecki's influence upon 20th–century sociologists, including Talcott Parsons and Alfred Schutz, are investigated through a general examination of the reception contexts of his work. An overview of Znaniecki's general theoretical contribution to cultural sociology is simultaneously presented.