Why Current Affairs Needs Social Theory

Television news is frequently disparaged by thoughtful commentators for its preoccupation with drama and spectacle at the expense of serious, in-depth, engagement with the critical issues it covers. Whilst insisting these charges possess more than a small dose of truth, Rob Stones argues for more emphasis to be placed on strengthening the capacities of audiences. Drawing from major traditions in social thought, and on academic media analysis, Stones provides the conceptual tools for audiences to bring greater sophistication to their interpretations, developing their capacity to think across items and genres.

A detailed account of an episode of the Danish political drama, Borgen, reveals the extent to which its viewers already deploy similar concepts and skills in order to follow its storylines. Stones shows how audiences can refine these skills further and demonstrates their value with respect to a wide range of current affairs texts, including: Israeli settlers on the West Bank; the Rwandan genocide; the Egyptian 'revolution'; the Obama administration's immigration reform bill; the bases of Germany's economic success; the conflict between 'red shirts' and 'yellow shirts' in Thailand; China's diplomatic relations with Burma; and scandals of mistreatment within the UK and Swedish healthcare systems.

The book shows that everyone's understanding of current affairs can be significantly enhanced by social theory. It will be relevant to students of sociology, politics, media studies and journalism at all levels.

Review:

"This is a fascinating book that operates at three levels. First it is a study of the social construction of news and current affairs. Secondly, it uses social theory to help us understand how the debasement of news and current affairs can be corrected. Thirdly, it illuminates the public value of social theory, and its ethical and political usefulness in the 21st century. I have argued that we need a new kind of social science to equip us to deal with the complex and profound problems facing the future of humankind in the 21st century, and that it is necessary for sub-fields and disciplines within the new public social science to locate their relevance and celebrate their public value. Rob Stones has done a wonderful job in showing why social theory is important in its own right, what it contributes to the ethical enrichment and value purpose of social science, and how it helps us understand features of contemporary social life." --John Brewer, author of The Public Value of the Social Sciences (Bloomsbury, 2013), Queen's University Belfast, UK

"Like Gramsci, Rob Stones is concerned to distinguish common sense from good sense. He believes it is social theory that makes the difference. With theory, people can employ good sense reading about current affairs. This is a deeply sophisticated, original, and ambitious book." --Jeffrey C. Alexander, Professor of Sociology, Yale University, USA

"Rob Stones has written an outstanding book illustrating the centrality of social theory to understanding the world around us. It should be read by all social scientists, as it demonstrates how theory illuminates the world and helps to explain the everyday. It is a Sociological Imagination for the 21st century." --Martin Smith, Professor of Politics, University of York, UK