The New Social Theory Reader

The last decade has seen a dramatic shift in the nature of social theory as it is practised and as it is taught within the social sciences.

The disciplinary divisions which used to divide the social sciences from the humanities are breaking down and the stronger engagement of social theory with social change brings into debate issues of justice, equality, and authenticity which were once considered too dangerously value laden for social science theorising. This comprehensive reader will give undergraduate students access in a structured way to the writers and works which have shaped this exciting and yet daunting field.

Throughout, key figures are placed in debate with each other and the editorial introductions give an orienting overview of the main points at stake and the areas of agreement and disagreement between the protagonists.

The first section sets out some of the main schools of thought, including Habermas and Honneth on New Critical Theory, Bourdieu and Luhmann on Institutional Structuralism and Jameson and Hall on Cultural Studies. Thereafter the reader becomes issues-based, looking at: * normative concepts such as justice and truth * formations of social change including nationalism, multiculturalism, globalisation * aspects of identity such as gender, sexuality, race, postcoloniality. The New Social Theory Reader is an essential companion for students who will not just use it on their theory course but return to it again and again for theoretical foundations for substantive subjects and issues.

Jurgen Habermas, Axel Honneth, Marshall Sahlins, James Clifford, Niklas Luhmann, Michel Foucault, Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, Frederic Jameson, Stuart Hall, Michael Walzer, John Rawls