Preface and Acknowledgements
PART I: CONCEPTUALIZING POWER
Introducing Key Issues
Meet the Family: Domination, Authority and Legitimacy
PART II: THEORIZING POWER
European Sources
American Debates
Epistemological Approaches
Evolutionary Approaches
PART III: INVESTIGATING POWER
Domination, Authority and Legitimacy in Liberal Society
Religion and Morality
Gender, Power and Patriarchy
Identity and Personhood
Conclusion: To and Over, Is and Ought.
JONATHAN HEARN is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He teaches on the topics of power, nationalism, and liberal forms of society. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Political Power, and is the author of Claiming Scotland: National Identity and Liberal Culture and Rethinking Nationalism: A Critical Introduction.
If we're interested in why society changes and develops, and if we want to identify the forces that influence our personal beliefs and choices, then we must have an understanding of the nature and scope of human power.
This distinctively clear text critically evaluates how power is defined, conceptualized and theorized. Spanning 500 years of thinking in the field, the book examines ideas from classical and contemporary thinkers, from Machiavelli to Michael Mann. Theories are firmly rooted in their historical context alongside real-life examples to explain their relevance to our lives today.
Theorizing Power highlights the significance of power across all areas of social life, including gender, religion, morality and identity. It is the ideal text to stimulate thinking and debate on the subject of power for all students of sociology and politics.