A-Z Guide to Modern Social and Political Theorists

Book excerpt: The A-Z Guide to Modern Social and Political Theories is a companion volume to the already published A-Z Guide to Modern Literary and Cultural Theorists. It ranges widely through the social sciences and related areas to identify thinkers who have had a major impact on the development of modern social and political theory and given clear, accessible summaries of their work. While the accent is on the later twentieth century, several up-and-coming theorists are included to ensure a contemporary edge to the volume, classic names in the field from the earlier twentieth century are not neglected, and the collection also delves back into the nineteenth century for such founding figures of the social sciences as Marx and Comte. The volume is therefore both up-to-date and mindful of the sources of modern debates.