A Beginner's Guide to Social Theory
- Shaun Best - University of Manchester, UK
Social Theory
At last, a book that makes social theory for undergraduates a pleasure to teach and study. The book offers a comprehensive overview of social theory from classical sociology to the present day. Students are guided through the work of Durkheim, Marx and Weber, functionalism, action perspectives, feminism, postmodernism and contemporary thinkers like Anthony Giddens, Michel Foucault, J[um]urgen Habermas, Frederic Jameson, Judith Butler, Gilles Deluze, Manuel Castells, Luce Irigary, Naomi Woolf and Camille Paglia. The book presents clear accounts of these contributions and employs an extensive range of activities that encourage the reader to evaluate the work of given theorists and approaches.
The book is:
- Comprehensive
- Student-friendly
- Accurate
- Unpatronising
It offers lecturers and students an ideal study resource for undergraduate modules in social theory.
`This book is accessible, as a beginner's guide should be, but without an over-simplification of the arguments. It should prove an immensely durable text for generations of students to come' - John Hughes, Professor of Sociological Analysis, Lancaster University
It provides a good introduction to social theory, but it still adopts the traditional approach of dividing theory by schools of thought. I would have find it more useful if the book would use social theory in a more topical way
A great guide to social theory - includes all the main theories and great activities allowing students to evaluate the theorists and their approaches.
Unlike other social theory books - this is an easy read and flows well.
