The Escape from Jurisprudence: Talcott Parsons and the Foundations of the Sociology of Law.

The modern sociology of law is intellectually rooted in the foundational works of Max Weber and Emile Durkheim. Institutionally, however, the sociological study of law has also grown out of developments within legal scholarship, specifically the perspective of sociological jurisprudence. I argue that the decisive turning point towards the development of a distinctly sociological approach to law, rooted in the sociological classics and based on the perspectives that have emanated since then, was offered by Talcott Parsons. Yet, Parsons's critical role as a founder of the sociology of law has not been sufficiently recognized. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]