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Restless Ideas: Contemporary Social Theory in an Anxious Age
How do we make sense of the rise of political strongmen like Trump and Erdoğan, or the increase in hate crimes and terrorism? How can we understand Brexit and xenophobic, anti-immigrant sentiments and policies? More importantly, what can we do to make it all stop?
In Restless Ideas, Tony Simmons illustrates how social theory provides us with the skills for more informed observation, analysis and empathic understanding of social behaviour and social interaction. Social theory deepens our understanding of the world around us by empowering us to become practical theorists in our own lives.
Simmons traces the roots of contemporary social theory back to the works of the early structural functionalists, systems theorists, conflict theorists, symbolic interactionists, and ethnomethodologists, and incorporates contemporary social thinkers theorizing from the margins who are redefining the canon. Later chapters focus on the current influence of structuration theory, feminist and queer theory, Indigenous theory, third wave critical theory, postmodernism and poststructuralism, and liquid and late modernity theories and globalization theories.
In Restless Ideas, Tony Simmons illustrates how social theory provides us with the skills for more informed observation, analysis and empathic understanding of social behaviour and social interaction. Social theory deepens our understanding of the world around us by empowering us to become practical theorists in our own lives.
Simmons traces the roots of contemporary social theory back to the works of the early structural functionalists, systems theorists, conflict theorists, symbolic interactionists, and ethnomethodologists, and incorporates contemporary social thinkers theorizing from the margins who are redefining the canon. Later chapters focus on the current influence of structuration theory, feminist and queer theory, Indigenous theory, third wave critical theory, postmodernism and poststructuralism, and liquid and late modernity theories and globalization theories.
360 pages, Paperback
Published May 19, 2020
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 9, 2021
There's actually 580 pages, not the 360 that Goodreads says.
Disclosure: written by a close friend I've known for decades.
I was a little disappointed, not by the book, but by the state of social studies revealed by it. The book is a survey of the social theories over about the last century, showing their strengths as weaknesses. It is a little sad that there are so many with little sign of convergence.
The later chapters are the most useful, as a good survey of the more activist theories from marginalized groups; a good counter to the US States trying to ban Critical Theory.
Disclosure: written by a close friend I've known for decades.
I was a little disappointed, not by the book, but by the state of social studies revealed by it. The book is a survey of the social theories over about the last century, showing their strengths as weaknesses. It is a little sad that there are so many with little sign of convergence.
The later chapters are the most useful, as a good survey of the more activist theories from marginalized groups; a good counter to the US States trying to ban Critical Theory.
Displaying 1 of 1 review