DYNAMICS OF DEVELOPMENT OF THEORETICAL SOCIOLOGY

The dynamics of development of theoretical sociology reflects the evolution of sociological thinking and includes several main stages. At the initial stage (late 19th - early 20th century) it was formed as a science by classical sociologists such as Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. At a later stage (mid-20th century) structural functionalism and conflict theories were developed by Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton. In the modern period (late 20th to early 21st century), new approaches such as postmodernism, symbolic interactionism, and feminist sociology emerged. Nowadays (21st century), globalization and technological development have defined new directions of sociological research, giving way to digital sociology and big data analysis. This dynamic process shows how theoretical sociology adapts to changes in society and is enriched by scientific research.