Max Weber

Max Weber (1864-1920)

Weber (the W pronounced as if it were a V ) is considered one of the founding fathers of modern sociology. Born in Germany, Weber seems to have been at best ambivalent at the prospect of being given the status of sociologist. He was a prolific writer with a diversity of interests in religion, history and sociology. In this lecture we can only touch upon a few of those diverse interests. By way of an introduction to the work of Weber I will make mention of his thoughts on the appropriate sociological method as well as his insights into the dynamic relationship between religion and human culture.
Weber's place in the `sociological imagination' is assured. Of all the so-called 'founding fathers' the present sociological 'school' of thought known as the Neo-weberians is testimony to his continuing influence on contemporary sociology.