A Good Book, In Theory: Making Sense Through Inquiry, Third Edition

by Alan Sears, James Irvine Cairns

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442600782
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press, Higher Education Division
Publication date:	03/13/2015
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Alan Sears is Professor of Sociology at Ryerson University. He is the author of The New Left: A History of the Future (2014) and co-author with James Cairns of The Democratic Imagination: Envisioning Popular Power in the Twenty-First Century (2012).


James Cairns is Associate Professor, Social and Environmental Justice, at Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford. He is the author (with Alan Sears) of A Good Book, In Theory: Making Sense Through Inquiry (2015) and The Democratic Imagination: Envisioning Popular Power in the Twenty-First Century (2012).

Table of Contents

List of Thinking Points

Acknowledgements

Preface: Users' Guide for Students and Instructors



1. An Interesting Idea, In Theory

2. Theory Matters

3. But How Do You Know?

4. You Are Here: Mapping Social Relations

5. The Real World: Making Sense of Perceptions

6. Nature and Culture: The Social Construction of Distinctions

7. Making Time: Clocking Social Relations

8. Conclusion: The Politics of Social Theory



Glossary

References

Index

What People are Saying About This

Genevieve LeBaron

This vibrant, entertaining book is packed with tools not only to foster independent, theoretical thinking but also to enable students to understand why these abilities matter in the twenty-first century.

Aziz Choudry

A refreshing, thoughtful, and passionate book about social theory that is engaging and accessible.

Shahrzad Mojab

...a passionate, candid, and personal text about a subject that is dreaded as abstract, complex, and boring...

Mark Rubinfeld

A Good Book, In Theory is a great book in practice; cogent and comprehensive, relevant and readable, it will excite and enrich the social theory class experience for even the most theory-averse students.

Editorial Reviews

This vibrant, entertaining book is packed with tools not only to foster independent, theoretical thinking but also to enable students to understand why these abilities matter in the twenty-first century.—Genevieve LeBaron, University of Sheffield
A Good Book, In Theory is a great book in practice; cogent and comprehensive, relevant and readable, it will excite and enrich the social theory class experience for even the most theory-averse students.—Mark Rubinfeld, Westminster College
...a passionate, candid, and personal text about a subject that is dreaded as abstract, complex, and boring...—Shahrzad Mojab, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto

From the Publisher