Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry

Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry PDF Author: Devereaux Kennedy
Publisher: Cognella Academic Publishing
ISBN: 9781516546343
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry: Making Sense of Social Life gives students the tools they need to uncover, describe, and evaluate the theorizing that underlies social studies, and then shows them how to do their own theorizing. This hybrid text analyzes well-known social studies addressing contemporary issues of interest to students. It instructs through examples that demonstrate how social scientists use concepts, data, and methods as raw materials to construct images of social reality in order to address specific problems. Through these examples readers learn to evaluate the soundness of theorizing, assess the coherence of concepts, weigh the merits of methodological approaches, and consider how data is employed to address social and intellectual problems. Study questions and assignments in each chapter show students how to do their theorizing on topics and problems of interest to them. The first undergraduate text of its kind to focus on the actual work of theorizing, rather than simply surveying already established theories, Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry is an engaging text for undergraduate social theory and social problems courses.

Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry

Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry PDF Author: Devereaux Kennedy
Publisher: Cognella Academic Publishing
ISBN: 9781516546343
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry: Making Sense of Social Life gives students the tools they need to uncover, describe, and evaluate the theorizing that underlies social studies, and then shows them how to do their own theorizing. This hybrid text analyzes well-known social studies addressing contemporary issues of interest to students. It instructs through examples that demonstrate how social scientists use concepts, data, and methods as raw materials to construct images of social reality in order to address specific problems. Through these examples readers learn to evaluate the soundness of theorizing, assess the coherence of concepts, weigh the merits of methodological approaches, and consider how data is employed to address social and intellectual problems. Study questions and assignments in each chapter show students how to do their theorizing on topics and problems of interest to them. The first undergraduate text of its kind to focus on the actual work of theorizing, rather than simply surveying already established theories, Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry is an engaging text for undergraduate social theory and social problems courses.

Social Theorizing and Social Inquiry (First Edition)

Social Theorizing and Social Inquiry (First Edition) PDF Author: Devereaux Kennedy
Publisher: Cognella Academic Publishing
ISBN: 9781516516476
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry: Making Sense of Social Life gives students the tools they need to uncover, describe, and evaluate the theorizing that underlies social studies, and then shows them how to do their own theorizing. This hybrid text analyzes well-known social studies addressing contemporary issues of interest to students. It instructs through examples that demonstrate how social scientists use concepts, data, and methods as raw materials to construct images of social reality in order to address specific problems. Through these examples readers learn to evaluate the soundness of theorizing, assess the coherence of concepts, weigh the merits of methodological approaches, and consider how data is employed to address social and intellectual problems. Study questions and assignments in each chapter show students how to do their theorizing on topics and problems of interest to them. The first undergraduate text of its kind to focus on the actual work of theorizing, rather than simply surveying already established theories, Exploring the Roots of Social Theory and Inquiry is an engaging text for undergraduate social theory and social problems courses.

Inquiry Into Inquiries

Inquiry Into Inquiries PDF Author: Arthur Fisher Bentley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258376116
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description


What Is a Case?

What Is a Case? PDF Author: Charles C. Ragin
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521421881
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The concept of the case is a basic feature of social science research and yet many questions about how a case should be defined, selected, and judged are far from settled. The contributors to this volume probe the nature of the case and the ways in which different understandings of the concept affect the conduct and the results of research. The contributions demonstrate that the work of any given researcher is often characterised by some hybrid of these basic approaches, and it is important to understand that most research involves multiple definitions and uses of cases, as both specific empirical phenomena and as general theoretical categories.

Social Science Research

Social Science Research PDF Author: Anol Bhattacherjee
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781475146127
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.

Using Social Theory

Using Social Theory PDF Author: Michael Pryke
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1847876684
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
`If there is a single question that presses upon the intellect of the current generation of social scientists, it is surely: "what do the great insights of social theory imply for the way we conduct research and write about the social world?". Until now there has been no single text to turn to that explores the epistemological complexities of field work, the problems of writing and language, and of the logics of inquiry that link theory, method and evidence. Using Social Theory is a magisterial effort to open up the black-box of research methods, and to provide students, in a way that no other comparable text has done, with a road map for the practice of the contemporary human sciences′ - Michael Watts, Chancellor′s Professor of Geography and Director Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley `From "theory talk to making it walk", Using Social Theory is one of the most useful and interesting books on the market. The authors demonstrate how to use philosophy and social theory as an indispensable toolkit for passionate and rigorous research. Essential reading for students and teachers in the social sciences and humanities′ - Professor Elspeth Probyn, Department of Gender Studies, University of Sydney Have you ever stopped to wonder about the influences that underpin research? If you are thinking about doing a piece of research, what difference might it make to the question you ask, to your approach to empirical work, analysis and writing of research, if you are influenced by one theoretical approach rather than another? The chapters in this innovative guide share a common belief that thinking alongside ideas, philosophical persuasions, is an integral part of the research process; it is not an optional extra. It sets out ways to encourage the researcher to think through three key moments of the research process: the production of a research question; fieldwork; and analysis and writing. As the authors demonstrate, research is not simply `done′: it has to be thought about and thought through. The book′s accessible style makes it suitable for anyone wishing to engage ideas in research in the social sciences and humanities.

Culture/Power/History

Culture/Power/History PDF Author: Nicholas B. Dirks
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691228000
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 635

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Book Description
The intellectual radicalism of the 1960s spawned a new set of questions about the role and nature of "the political" in social life, questions that have since revolutionized nearly every field of thought, from literary criticism through anthropology to the philosophy of science. Michel Foucault in particular made us aware that whatever our functionally defined "roles" in society, we are constantly negotiating questions of authority and the control of the definitions of reality. Such insights have led theorists to challenge concepts that have long formed the very underpinnings of their disciplines. By exploring some of the most debated of these concepts--"culture," "power," and "history"--this reader offers an enriching perspective on social theory in the contemporary moment. Organized around these three concepts, Culture/ Power/History brings together both classic and new essays that address Foucault's "new economy of power relations" in a number of different, contestatory directions. Representing innovative work from various disciplines and sites of study, from taxidermy to Madonna, the book seeks to affirm the creative possibilities available in a time marked by growing uncertainty about established disciplinary forms of knowledge and by the increasing fluidity of the boundaries between them. The book is introduced by a major synthetic essay by the editors, which calls attention to the most significant issues enlivening theoretical discourse today. The editors seek not only to encourage scholars to reflect anew on the course of social theory, but also to orient newcomers to this area of inquiry. The essays are contributed by Linda Alcoff ("Cultural Feminism versus Post-Structuralism"), Sally Alexander ("Women, Class, and Sexual Differences in the 1830s and 1840s"), Tony Bennett ("The Exhibitionary Complex"), Pierre Bourdieu ("Structures, Habitus, Power"), Nicholas B. Dirks ("Ritual and Resistance"), Geoff Eley ("Nations, Publics, and Political Cultures"), Michel Foucault (Two Lectures), Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ("Authority, [White] Power and the [Black] Critic"), Stephen Greenblatt ("The Circulation of Social Energy"), Ranajit Guha ("The Prose of Counter-Insurgency"), Stuart Hall ("Cultural Studies: Two Paradigms"), Susan Harding ("The Born-Again Telescandals"), Donna Haraway ("Teddy Bear Patriarchy"), Dick Hebdige ("After the Masses"), Susan McClary ("Living to Tell: Madonna's Resurrection of the Fleshly"), Sherry B. Ortner ("Theory in Anthropology since the Sixties"), Marshall Sahlins ("Cosmologies of Capitalism"), Elizabeth G. Traube ("Secrets of Success in Postmodern Society"), Raymond Williams (selections from Marxism and Literature), and Judith Williamson ("Family, Education, Photography").

Studying History

Studying History PDF Author: Jeremy Black
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1137478608
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
This best-selling guide will help you get to grips with the larger themes and issues behind historical study, while also showing you how to formulate your own ideas in a clear, analytical style. Fully updated throughout, further advice on using web-based sources and avoiding plagiarism will equip you with the tools you need to succeed on your course.

A Good Book, In Theory

A Good Book, In Theory PDF Author: Alan Sears
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1442600977
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This highly original and compelling book offers an introduction to the art and science of social inquiry, including the theoretical and methodological frameworks that support that inquiry. The new edition offers coverage of post-modernism and Indigenous ways of knowing, as well as a discussion of the research process and how to communicate arguments effectively. The result is a book that blends the best of earlier editions with updates that provide a strong foundation in critical thinking, rooted in the social sciences but relevant across disciplines.

The Nemesis of Power

The Nemesis of Power PDF Author: Harald Kleinschmidt
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 9781861890580
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
The Nemesis of Power is the first book to look at the history of international relations theories. Many theorists have investigated the nature of power, studying it in its social, political, economic, intellectual and physical contexts in order to define it. Rather than present yet another definition, Harald Kleinschmidt shows how the theorists themselves have perceived and handled the concept of power and how conduct in international relations has been evaluated. Taking a broad look at international relations theories from the Roman Empire to the modern transformation of the European world picture, Kleinschmidt bridges the gap between theory and history by subjecting theory to the logic and method of historical inquiry. Drawing on original sources, he reads international relations theories against their social and cultural contexts, placing an emphasis on the ways in which changes in theory are reflections of a wider pattern of changes in culture.