Overview

This refreshing and accessible text demonstrates how social theory can be made into an intelligible discourse that touches upon key aspects of everyday life. The abstraction and formalism of much contemporary social theory is criticized as unnecessarily 'scholastic' for the beginner. David Harris maintains that the main problems in studying the subject are not intrinsic to social theory, but derive from how the subject is taught as a university discipline. Teach Yourself Social Theory uses non-specialist terms to introduce more complex themes, and incorporates a web site with questions and reading guides to some of the classic works.

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9780803976870

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Social theory is a very difficult subject to teach and it is one that students generally find hard to get to grips with. Teach Yourself Social Theory offers a highly original and comprehensive resource that will be welcomed by students and teachers alike. In an exceptionally wide-ranging text that discusses the classical and contemporary contributions to social theory that students need to know about Harris manages to address the complex issues intrinsic to the field with admirable clarity. From the opening chapters on Marxism and Functionalism to the later chapters on Feminism, Otherness, Foucault, and Postmodernism Teach Yourself Social Theory offers a thoughtful account of the distinctive features of the various perspectives employed in contemporary social analysis to make sense of social life. Teach Yourself Social Theory offers students a well-organized cognitive map of the landscape of social theory and where and when appropriate more specific online reading guides that will allow students to deepen their understanding of particular perspectives and approaches. Harris has produced a very effective social theory text that will be widely appreciated by both students and teachers' - Barry Smart, Professor of Sociology, University of Portsmouth

Author Information

David Harris is Senior Lecturer in Social Sciences, College of St Mark & St John, Plymouth

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