Jāmi'ah'shināsī-yi Fāji'ah: Persiska (Farsi) 1403

Sociology has developed theories of social change in the fields of evolution, conflict, and modernization, viewing modern society as essentially unstable and conflict-driven. However, it has not seriously studied catastrophes. A Theory of Catastrophe develops a sociology of catastrophes, comparing natural, social, and political causes and consequences, and the social theories that might offer explanations. A catastrophe is a general and systematic breakdown of social and political institutions resulting, among other things, in what we could call a catastrophe consciousness. The Greek ‘catastrophe’ formed the conclusion of a dramatic sequence of strophes. The catastrophe was the final act of a drama, namely its denouement. Catastrophic denouements are without genocides, military occupations, plagues, famines, and earthquakes. A Theory of Catastrophe analyzes Pompeii, the Black Death, colonial genocide in North America, WWI and the Spanish Flu, Nazi Germany, and finally this terrorism, new wars, climate change, and pandemics. As a study of sociological theory, Bryan Turner discusses Spengler’s Decline of the West, Marxism as a theory of catastrophic capitalism, messianic movements, Weber on modernity, and risk society. He concludes by comparing optimism and pessimism, and the idea of inter-generational justice.