Search results for ""Author Tony Simmons""

How do we make sense of the rise of political strongmen like Trump and Erdoğan, or the increase in hate crimes and terrorism? How can we understand Brexit and xenophobic, anti-immigrant sentiments and policies? More importantly, what can we do to make it all stop? In Restless Ideas, Tony Simmons illustrates how social theory provides us with the skills for more informed observation, analysis and empathic understanding of social behaviour and social interaction. Social theory deepens our understanding of the world around us by empowering us to become practical theorists in our own lives. Simmons traces the roots of contemporary social theory back to the works of the early structural functionalists, systems theorists, conflict theorists, symbolic interactionists, ethnomethodologists and sociobiologists — and incorporates contemporary social thinkers theorizing from the margins who are redefining the canon. Later chapters focus on the current influence of structuration theory, third wave critical theory, sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, postmodernism and poststructuralism, postcolonialism, liquid and late modernity theories and globalization theories. The politics of sexual, racial, Indigenous and ethnic minorities are analyzed through the prism of theoretical perspectives such as queer theory, standpoint and intersectional theory, postcolonial and Indigenous theory and critical race theory, while the ongoing struggles for gender equality and justice are examined through the generational perspectives of feminist theories.

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Revitalizing the Classics is a lively introductory text that relates classical social theories to contemporary social events. This updated definition of “the classics” avoids the Eurocentrism and androcentrism of many textbooks of social theory by including both non-European and women social thinkers. Besides highlighting the work of Ibn Khaldun and first wave feminist scholars, this book utilizes interactive figures, original source sidebars and current illustrative examples to provide a critical alternative to the standard texts in the field. In the process, Tony Simmons shows just how relevant classical social theories are in our present world, offering us analysis and clarification of a range of issues, from war, poverty and environmental destruction, to the sensory overload experienced in the digital age and even our personal relationships and interactions. Social theories are helpful – even necessary – to help us understand and, most importantly, be critical of the issues, systems and institutions in our world today.Revitalizing the Classics introduces students to a wide range of classical theorists and applies their theories to present-day examples: thus Durkheim’s ideas are invoked to explore “anomie” in the digital world as well as the “altruistic” elements of suicide bombings in contemporary combat zones. Similarly, Ibn Khaldun’s concept of “asabiyya” is used to explain the tribal code of the Taliban; Marx is summoned to explain the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor in Canada and around the world; and Pareto is enlisted to describe the “circulation of elites” in post-communist and post-colonial societies. Other sections explore and analyze the global war on terrorism and the Arab Spring. The book also includes a glossary of key concepts, giving readers an instant explanation of major terms and ideas used in each chapter. The combination of accessible writing and contemporary analysis provides a text that will empower readers to theorize and analyze many current events for themselves.

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