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Social theory

About: Social theory is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11421 publications have been published within this topic receiving 624898 citations.


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Book
01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: Turner as mentioned in this paper examines the recent debate about orientalism in relation to postmodernism and the process of globalization and provides a profound critique of many of the leading fissures in classical orientalisms.
Abstract: It is often thought that the development of capitalism and the modernization of culture have brought about a profound decline of religious belief and commitment. The history of Christianity in the last two decades appears to be a good illustration of this general process of secularization with the undermining of belief and commitment as Western cultures became industrial and urban. However, in the twentieth century we have seen that Islam continues to be a dominant force in politics and culture not only in the Orient but in Western society. In this challenging study of contemporary social theory, Bryan Turner examines the recent debate about orientalism in relation to postmodernism and the process of globalization. He provides a profound critique of many of the leading fissures in classical orientalism. His book also considers the impact of the notion of the world in sociological theory. These cultural changes and social debates also reflect important change in the status and position of intellecuals in modern culture who are threatened, not only by the levelling of mass culture, but also by the new opportunities posed by postmodernism. He takes a critical view of the role of sociology in these developments and raises important questions about the global role of English intellectuals as a social stratum. Bryan Turner's ability to combine these discussions about religion, politics, culture and intellectuals represents a remarkable integration of cultural analysis in cultural studies.

284 citations

Book
02 Jun 2015
TL;DR: Foucault and the Government of Disability as mentioned in this paper is the first book-length investigation of the relevance and importance of the ideas of Michel Foucault to the field of disability studies and vice versa.
Abstract: "Foucault and the Government of Disability" is the first book-length investigation of the relevance and importance of the ideas of Michel Foucault to the field of disability studies-and vice versa. Over the last thirty years, politicized conceptions of disability have precipitated significant social change, including the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, the redesign of urban landscapes, the appearance of closed-captioning on televisions, and the growing recognition that disabled people constitute a marginalized and disenfranchised constituency. The provocative essays in this volume respond to Foucault's call to question what is regarded as natural, inevitable, ethical, and liberating, while they challenge established understandings of Foucault's analyses and offer fresh approaches to his work. The book's roster of distinguished international contributors represents a broad range of disciplines and perspectives, making this a timely and necessary addition to the burgeoning field of disability studies. "A serious step forward not only for disability studies but for the range of theoretical positions associated with Foucault. "Foucault and the Government of Disability" will provide for years to come a basis for rethinking Foucault's impact on social theory as well as a foundation for active political struggle against the oppression of people with disabilities."-- Tobin Siebers, University of Michigan "Testimony to the enduring power of Foucault's work to stimulate new ways of thinking about and resisting the pernicious effects of normalization within modern societies... Critically engaging Foucault as well as received interpretations of his work, this collection is intended for readers of Foucault as well as critical disability theorists. It delivers on its promise to stimulate us to think differently about both disability and Foucault." -- Jana Sawicki, Williams College Shelley Tremain teaches in the Philosophy Department of the University of Toronto at Mississauga.

284 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that we still lack an understanding of what methodological nationalism actually is and that we remain unable to answer the substantive problem methodological nationalism poses to social theory: how to understand the history, main features and legacy of the nation-state in modernity.
Abstract: The equation between the concept of society and the nation-state in modernity is known as methodological nationalism in scholarly debates. In agreement with the thesis that methodological nationalism must be rejected and transcended, this article argues that we still lack an understanding of what methodological nationalism actually is and, because of that, we remain unable to answer the substantive problem methodological nationalism poses to social theory: how to understand the history, main features and legacy of the nation-state in modernity. The first section of the article reconstructs the origins of the critique of methodological nationalism in the 1970s and differentiates between its logical and historical versions. It then critically reviews the most salient critique of methodological nationalism in contemporary social theory, that of Ulrich Beck. The final part of the article assesses the thesis of social theory’s immanent methodological nationalism by demonstrating how social theory’s equivocatio...

284 citations

Book
01 Mar 1996
TL;DR: In this article, an accessible introduction to the philosophy of social research which relates philosophical ideas to actual research practice is presented, making use of illustrations from the UK, US and Europe to examine specific problems and broader issues.
Abstract: This is an accessible introduction to the philosophy of social research which relates philosophical ideas to actual research practice. The book makes effective use of illustrations from the UK, US and Europe to examine specific problems and broader issues. The book is intended for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in social research methods within sociology, social policy, politics, social psychology, human geography; philosophy of social science and social theory courses; and as a personal reference for professional researchers.

283 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of literature was carried out to identify the characteristic themes of social integration, social inclusion and social participation, and the analysis revealed four key themes central to all three concepts: friendships/relationships, interactions/contacts, perception of the pupil with SEN and acceptance by classmates.
Abstract: Maximizing the interaction between pupils with and without special needs is generally considered an important aspect of inclusion. However, it is frequently questioned whether pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in regular classrooms have interactions and friendships with their peers. In order to be able to evaluate these relationships, it is necessary to clarify concepts such as social participation, social integration and social inclusion. At the moment there is much ambiguity regarding these concepts. This article aims to elucidate on these concepts and reveal its characteristic themes. An analysis of literature was carried out to identify these concepts. In the final analysis, 62 articles were included. This analysis showed that the concept social integration and the related concepts of social inclusion and social participation are often described inaccurately, with only a few researchers providing explicit definitions or descriptions. In the majority of articles, implicit descriptions can be derived from instruments used to measure social integration, social inclusion or social participation: it is apparent there is much overlap among the use of concepts by researchers. Based on the analysis of the 62 articles, it can be concluded that the concepts social integration, social inclusion and social participation are used as synonyms. In our opinion, social participation is the most suitable concept. The analysis of literature reveals four key themes central to all three concepts: friendships/relationships, interactions/contacts, perception of the pupil with SEN and acceptance by classmates.

283 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
202323
202241
2021232
2020308
2019305
2018326