Critical Social Theory: Culture, History, and the Challenge of Difference / Edition 1

by Craig Calhoun, Charles Lemert

Overview

In this outstanding reinterpretation - and extension - of the Critical Theory tradition, Craig Calhoun surveys the origins, fortunes and prospects of this most influential of theoretical approaches. Moving with ease from the early Frankfurt School to Habermas, to contemporary debates over postmodernism, feminism and nationalism, Calhoun breathes new life into Critical Social Theory, showing how it can learn from the past and contribute to the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557862884
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	09/06/1995
Series:	Twentieth Century Social Theory Series
Pages:	356
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Craig Calhoun is Professor of Sociology and History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the editor of Habermas and the Public Sphere (1992) and Social Theory and the Politics of Identity (Blackwell, 1994).

Table of Contents

Introduction.

1. Rethinking Critical Theory.

2. Interpretation, Comparison and Critique.

3. Cultural Difference and Historical Specificity.

4. Postmodernism as Pseudohistory: The Trivialization of EpochalChange.

5. Habitus, Field and Capital: Historical Specificity in theTheory of Practice.

6. The Standpoint of Critique? Feminist Theory, Social Structureand Learning from Experience.

7. The Politics of Identity and Recognition.

8. Nationalism and Difference: The Politics of Identity WritLarge.

Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"This is social theory at its very best. In a host of domains -concerning cultural difference, postmodernism, the politics ofidentity, and nationalism - Calhoun breaks new ground." CharlesTaylor

"This is a very well informed and very rigorous critical surveyof Critical Social Theory." Pierre Bourdieu

"A brilliant synthesis of theory and history: Calhoun works atthe cutting edge, facing the future but carrying his traditionswith him." Peter Beilharz

"This book explores Critical Theory's origins, but moreimportantly it also shows how certain contemporary writers, despitenot usually being recognised as such, have as much claim to thetitle 'critical theorist' as did Adorno and Horkheimer. It is thisessential extension of critical analysis into today's body oftheoretical concerns that gives the book its particularimportance." Alan Sica

From the Publisher