For the students who asked in class about my personal research interests and favorite theorists, I would say that while I think we can learn from all of the theorists we read in this class, the sociologists who have most influenced my own thinking are Emile Durkheim, Marcel Mauss, and Pierre Bourdieu. Yes, my favorites are all cheese-eating surrender monkeys, I know.
GI
Also, in the area of "theory" (as opposed to my other sociological interests), I have been writing about the implications of contemporary cognitive science and psychology research on sociological theory (specifically, cultural theory and the sociology of morality), and vice-versa. You can find more about all of this on my web site if you are interested.
GI