Social Theory in the Twentieth Century and Beyond

This second edition of Patrick Baert's widely acclaimed Social Theory in the Twentieth Century has been brought right up-to-date with cutting-edge developments in social theory today. It offers an easy-to-read but provocative account of the development of social theory, covering a range of key figures and classic schools of thought. The authors also bridge the gap between philosophy and social theory, locating the theoretical views of individuals such as Giddens, Foucault and Habermas within wider historical traditions.The revised edition includes new material on actor-network theory, French pragmatist sociology and cultural sociology, as well as new theorists such as Zygmunt Bauman, Ulrich Beck, Manuel Castells, Saskia Sassen, Randall Collins, Michael Mann, and Theda Skocpol. The authors conclude with a bold, new pragmatist agenda for social theory and the social sciences.Written in a lively style and avoiding jargon, Social Theory in the Twentieth Century and Beyond is aimed at students who wish to gain an understanding of the main debates and dilemmas driving social theory. It will continue to be a standard introduction to modern social theory for students in sociology, politics and anthropology.

Patrick Baert is Reader in Social Theory at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge Filipe Carreira da Silva is Research Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon