The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought: French Sociology and the Overseas Empire

A new history of French social thought that connects postwar sociology to colonialism and empire

In this provocative and original retelling of the history of French social thought, George Steinmetz places the history and development of modern French sociology in the context of the French empire after World War II. Connecting the rise of all the social sciences with efforts by France and other imperial powers to consolidate control over their crisis-ridden colonies, Steinmetz argues that colo...