The boundary between economics and sociology is presently being redefined - but how, why, and by whom? Richard Swedberg answers these questions in this thought-provoking book of conversations with well-known economists and sociologists. Among the economists interviewed are Gary Becker, Amartya Sen, Kenneth Arrow, and Albert O. Hirschman; the sociologists include Daniel Bell, Harrison White, James Coleman, and Mark Granovetter.The picture that emerges is that economists and sociologists have paid little attention to each other during most of the twentieth century: social problems have been analyzed as if they had no economic dimension and economic problems as if they had no social dimension. Today, however, there is a dialogue between the two fields, as economists take on social topics and as sociologists become interested in rational choice and 'new economic sociology.'The interviewees describe how they came to challenge the present separation between economics and sociology, what they think of the various proposals to integrate the fields, and how they envision the future. The author summarizes the results of the conversations in the final chapter. The individual interviews also serve as superb introductions to the work of these scholars.

理查德·斯威德伯格，曾任瑞典斯德哥爾摩大學社會學係副教授，現任美國康奈爾大學社會學係教授，專業領域是經濟社會學。

主要著作有：《經濟社會學原理》(2003)，《巴剋斯·韋伯及其經濟社會學思想》(1988)，《熊彼特傳》(1991)，《經濟社會學：過去與現在》(1997)等；並與尼爾·斯梅爾策閤編《經濟社會學手冊》(1994)，與彼特·赫斯特羅姆閤編《社會機製：一種社會理論的分析的方法》等。