Table of Contents

List of contributors; Preface; 1. Introduction: The Return of Grand Theory Quentin Skinner; 2. Hans-Georg Gadamer William Outhwaite; 3. Jacques Derrida David Hoy; 4. Michel Foucault Mark Philp; 5. Thomas Kuhn Barry Barnes; 6. John Rawls Alan Ryan; 7. Jurgen Habermas Anthony Giddens; 8. Louis Althusser Susan James; 9. Claude Levi-Strauss James Boon; 10. The Annales historians Stuart Clark; Bibliography; Index of names.

Promotional Information

The essays discuss major figures such as Gadamer, Derrida, Foucault, Habermas, Althusser and Levi-Strauss, giving valuably lucid introductory studies of some difficult but unquestionably major thinkers of our time.

Reviews

'... lucid and stimulating introduction ... a vivid panorama.' John Dunn, New Society 'All the essays are of a high quality, written by respected authorities. All are analytically sound and critically challenging.' Theory, Culture and Society '... the volume provides an excellent introduction to some of the most important themes in contemporary social and political theory'. Contemporary Sociology