Contested Knowledge

In the sixth edition of Contested Knowledge, social theorist Steven Seidman presents the latest topics in social theory and addresses the current shift of 'universalist theorists' to networks of clustered debates. * Responds to current issues, debates, and new social movements * Reviews sociological theory from a contemporary perspective * Reveals how the universal theorist and the era of rival schools has been replaced by networks of clustered debates that are relatively 'autonomous' and interdisciplinary * Features updates and in-depth discussions of the newest clustered debates in social theory intimacy, postcolonial nationalism, and the concept of 'the other' * Challenges social scientists to renew their commitment to the important moral and political role social knowledge plays in public life 

Preface vii Acknowledgments x Introduction 1 Part I The Rise of the Classical Tradition 7 Introduction to Part I 9 1 The Idea of a Science of Society: The Enlightenment and Auguste Comte 11 2 The Revolutionary Theory of Karl Marx 22 3 The Promise of Sociology: Emile Durkheim 36 4 The Ironic Social Theory of Max Weber 48 Afterword to Part I 61 Part II Rethinking the Classical Tradition: American Sociology 65 Introduction to Part II 67 5 The Grand Theory of Talcott Parsons, Peter Berger, and Thomas Luckmann 70 6 The Scientific Theory of Randall Collins and Peter Blau 86 7 The Moral Sociology of C. Wright Mills and Robert Bellah 97 Afterword to Part II 113 Part III Rethinking the Classical Tradition: European Theory 115 Introduction to Part III 117 8 The Critical Theory of Jurgen Habermas 119 0002773796.indd 5 6/14/2016 3:36:19 PM v i Contents 9 Stuart Hall and British Cultural Studies 132 10 The Critical Sociology of Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu 140 Afterword to Part III 152 Part IV Revisions and Revolts: The Postmodern Turn 155 Introduction to Part IV 157 11 The Postmodern World of Jacques Derrida, Jean-Francois Lyotard, and Jean Baudrillard 159 12 Michel Foucault s Disciplinary Society 175 13 Zygmunt Bauman s Sociology of Postmodernity 188 Afterword to Part IV 197 Part V Revisions and Revolts: Identity Politics and Theory 201 Introduction to Part V 203 14 Feminist Theory/Masculinity Studies 205 15 Critical Race Theory/White Studies 226 16 Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Theory/Heterosexual Studies 239 17 Colonial Discourse Studies 254 Afterword to Part V 263 Part VI Revisions and Revolts: Theories of World Order 267 Introduction to Part VI 269 18 From Nation to Globe: David Held and Mary Kaldor 271 19 Global Capitalism: Immanuel Wallerstein and Manuel Castells 281 20 The Return of Empire? Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, David Harvey and Michael Mann 290 Afterword to Part VI 300 Part VII The Rise of Postdisciplinary Theory 303 Introduction to Part VII 305 21 Theorizing Postcolonial Nationalism: A Case of Domain Theorizing 308 22 Jeffrey Alexander: Reconstructing Democratic Theory in an Age of Disillusionment 320 23 Nancy Fraser: The Case for Radical Democracy 331 Afterword to Part VII 341 Index 344