Marx's sociology is reinterpreted as a form of realist social theory in this book which extends Roy Bhaskar's philosophical realism into the social sciences. The book puts forward an anti-reductive ontology of society, identifying a stratified social world in which individuals, practices and structures are the key levels. Within this framework the key task of realist social theory is to investigate the dialectical interplay between these key levels in shaping historical processes and systemic outcomes. By constructing historical materialism as realist social theory it becomes possible to...
Marx's sociology is reinterpreted as a form of realist social theory in this book which extends Roy Bhaskar's philosophical realism into the social sc...
In recent years, methodological debates in the social sciences have increasingly focused on issues relating to epistemology. Realism and Sociology makes an original contribution to the debate, charting a middle ground between postmodernism and positivism. Critics often hold that realism tries to assume some definitive account of reality. Against this it is argued throughout the book that realism can combine a strong definition of social reality with an anti-foundational approach to knowledge. The position of realist anti-foundationalism that is argued for is developed and defended...
In recent years, methodological debates in the social sciences have increasingly focused on issues relating to epistemology. Realism and Sociology...
Cecil Davies' The Adelphi Players: The Theatre of Persons represents a uniquely interesting contribution to our understanding of touring British theatre in the mid-twentieth-century, post-war period. This book will interest everyone - whether student, academic or general reader - who wants to know more about issues concerning the recent history of British theatre. In their values and aims, the Adelphi Players pre-empted many of the post-war developments that we associate with the non-commercial, fringe and community theatre movement. In Richard Heron Ward founder of the...
Cecil Davies' The Adelphi Players: The Theatre of Persons represents a uniquely interesting contribution to our understanding of touring Brit...
The field of composition theory has emerged as part of the intellectual turmoil and set of pedagogical debates which have beset higher education since the 1960s and is, at the beginning of the 21st century revolutionizing the theory and praxis of higher education. As part of that programme of scholarly self-examination, composition theorists have sought to establish the proper role of written composition in the overall goals of liberal education, as well as the best methods and means by which composition practices can promote the intellectual development and the expressive capacities of...
The field of composition theory has emerged as part of the intellectual turmoil and set of pedagogical debates which have beset higher education since...
This volume develops and defends critical realism whilst engaging critically with existentialist philosophy in a number of ways. The work of existentialist thinkers as diverse as Kierkegarrd, R.D. Laing, Heideggar and Sartre is discussed at length and Andrew Collier argues that there is much to be learnt from their work, especially in Heidegger's critique of the technological view of the world. However the book concludes with a defence of objectivity against the various forms of subjectivism advanced by the existentialists.
This volume develops and defends critical realism whilst engaging critically with existentialist philosophy in a number of ways. The work of existenti...
Poststructuralism, particularly through the writings of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, has achieved remarkable success in challenging our belief in natural sex categories and instincts. Here, Carrie Hull endorses the progressive ideals of poststructuralism while demonstrating the superiority of a realist account of sex and sexuality. Embracing biological and cultural variability, Hull nonetheless shows that the sexed body is naturally structured and deeply meaningful.
Poststructuralist philosophers have argued that biological sex is a continuum rather than a binary, and...
Poststructuralism, particularly through the writings of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, has achieved remarkable success in challenging our belie...
The twenty-first century is characterized by extremes of poverty and wealth, of scarcity and abundance. The vast inequalties of wealth distribution between the developed west and the impoverished developing world is a complex problem. This book recognises that Africa in particular has manifested this global disgrace and symbolizes the nature of poverty to the western world.
In order to truly emancipate the poverty stricken around the world we must necessarily understand the reasons for its existence. In a departure from traditional critical realist theory, Gruffydd-Jones argues the...
The twenty-first century is characterized by extremes of poverty and wealth, of scarcity and abundance. The vast inequalties of wealth distribution...
Recent years have seen a dramatic re-emergence of interest in ontology. From philosophy and social sciences to artificial intelligence and computer science, ontology is gaining interdisciplinary influence as a popular tool for applied research. Contributions to Social Ontology focuses specifically on these developments within the social sciences. The contributions reveal that this revived interest in social ontology involves far more than an unquestioning acceptance or application of the concepts and methods of academic philosophers. Instead as ontology permeates so many new...
Recent years have seen a dramatic re-emergence of interest in ontology. From philosophy and social sciences to artificial intelligence and computer...
