Editing Talcott Parsons (section)

===Public conferences===
In 1955 to 1956, a group of faculty members at [[Cornell University]] met regularly and discussed Parsons' writings. The next academic year, a series of seven widely attended public seminars followed and culminated in a session at which he answered his critics. The discussions in the seminars were summed up in a book edited by [[Max Black]], ''The Social Theories of Talcott Parsons: A Critical Examination''. It included an essay by Parsons, "The Point of View of the Author".<ref>Max Black (ed.) ''The Social Theories of Talcott Parsons: A Critical Examination.'' Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1961. The original edition was published by Prentice-Hall, [[Englewood Cliffs]], [[New Jersey]], in 1961.</ref> The scholars included in the volume were Edward C. Devereux Jr., Robin M. Williams Jr., Chandler Morse, Alfred L. Baldwin, [[Urie Bronfenbrenner]], Henry A. Landsberger, [[William Foote Whyte]], Black, and Andrew Hacker. The contributions converted many angles including personality theory, organizational theory, and various methodological discussions. Parsons' essay is particularly notable because it and another essay, "Pattern Variables Revisited",<ref>Talcott Parsons, "Pattern Variables Revisited: A Response to Robert Dubin." ''American Sociological Review,'' Vol.25. no.4. August 1960.</ref> both represented the most full-scale accounts of the basic elements of his theoretical strategy and the general principles behind his approach to theory-building when they were published in 1960.

One essay also included, in metatheoretical terms, a criticism of the theoretical foundations for so-called [[conflict theory]].