LEGAL THEORY AND SOCIAL-THEORY

While social theory and legal theory were once closely intertwined, co ntemporary American sociology pays scant attention to recent developme nts in legal theory. But the problems that legal theory currently wres tles with are very similar to those with which sociology is now centra lly concerned. This essay reviews major schools of thought in contempo rary legal theory to introduce sociologists to some potentially useful literatures on the meaning of rationality; on critical theory; on the importance of gender, race, and class in understanding social institu tions; on the interpretive turn; on the relationship between structure and agency; and on the revival of pragmatism.