The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought

Modern social thought ranges widely across the social sciences, to philosophy, political theories and doctrines, cultural ideas and movements, and the influence of the natural sciences. This Dictionary provides an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the main themes of social thought, principal schools and movements of thought, and those institutions that have been the subject of social analysis or engendered significant doctrines and ideas. Detailed entries cover major currents of thought, philosophical and cultural trends, and the individual social sciences from anthropology to welfare economics. These are supplemented by shorter accounts of specific concepts and phenomena.This second edition of this popular volume updates about 200 entries and includes new material on the internet, ethnic cleansing and other topics. Each entry includes suggestions for further reading, and the volume contains a bibliography of all sources cited within the text.

Preface. Note. Contributors. Introduction. Dictionary Entries A–Z. Bibliography.

William Outhwaite is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex. He is the author of Understanding Social Life: The Method Called Verstehen (second edition, 1986), Concept Formation in Social Science (1983), New Philosophies of Social Science: Realism, Hermeneutics and Critical Theory (1987), and Habermas: A Critical Introduction (1994). He edited The Habermas Reader (1996), The Blackwell Dictionary of Twentieth–Century Social Thought (with Tom Bottomore, 1993) and The Sociology of Politics (with Luke Martell, 1998).

‘This is still the best dictionary around and an effective antidote to the inflated importance given to current gurus of social thought. Students could abandon their textbooks and follow this reference trail.’ Margaret Archer, University of Warwick <!––end––> ‘The scholarship is formidable, the topics serious. But this is also a reference book that is fun to read, often sharp, ironic, and barbed – a distillation of current Social Thought as well as a dictionary.’ Stephen Turner, University of South Florida ‘This book is an indispensable tool for social, political, and intellectual inquiry in general. William Outhwaite has produced a valuable compendium of the key figures, central concepts, influential movements, and important institutions of the modern era. The sum impressively surpasses not only the parts but the peer competitors.’ James Der Derian, Brown University and University of Massachusetts Amherst ′Students new to the volume will find it remains a valuable guide.′ David Jary, University of Birmingham