Contested Knowledge: Social Theory in the Postmodern Era

"Uncommonly graceful, richly descriptive, courageous. No-one to date has given so complete an account of social theory - from its Enlightenment origins to the latest postmodern word." Charles Lemert, Wesleyan University. " Contested Knowledge presents a vigorous argument for social theory that is re-connected to public intellectual life and the moral concerns of real people. Along the way Seidman shows how such an understanding of theory provides a closer link to practical research than current alternatives are able to do. Avoiding esoteric jargon, the book describes where social theory stands today in a way that is a pleasure to read." Robert N. Bellah, University of California, Berkeley. "A highly readable and engaging discussion of the canon of social theory (Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Parsons) and the challenges launched by critical theorists and by various postmodern lines of theorizing. Seidman's approach to postmodernism is refreshingly broad, attuned not only to French poststructuralism but also to the "new social knowledges" developed by feminists, lesbians and gay men, and people of color. Contested Knowledge is an important contribution to current reassessments of the social theory canon." Barrie Thorne, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. "An important book." Thesis Eleven .