Contested Knowledge

Steven Seidman is Professor of Sociology at State University of New York at Albany. He is a world-renowned social theorist working in the areas of social theory, culture, sexuality, comparative sociology, theory of democracy, nationalism, and globalization. He is the author and editor of several books, including Embattled Eros: Sexual Politics and Ethics in Contemporary America (1992), The Postmodern Turn: New Perspectives on Social Theory (editor, 1995), Queer Theory/Sociology (Blackwell, 1996), The New Social Theory Reader: Contemporary Debates (edited with Jeffrey C. Alexander, 2001), and Beyond the Closet: The Transformation of Gay and Lesbian Life (2002).

Preface vii Acknowledgments x Introduction 1 Part I The Rise of the Classical Tradition 7 Introduction to Part I 9 1 The Idea of a Science of Society: The Enlightenment and Auguste Comte 11 2 The Revolutionary Theory of Karl Marx 22 3 The Promise of Sociology: Emile Durkheim 36 4 The Ironic Social Theory of Max Weber 48 Afterword to Part I 61 Part II Rethinking the Classical Tradition: American Sociology 65 Introduction to Part II 67 5 The Grand Theory of Talcott Parsons, Peter Berger, and Thomas Luckmann 70 6 The Scientific Theory of Randall Collins and Peter Blau 86 7 The Moral Sociology of C. Wright Mills and Robert Bellah 97 Afterword to Part II 113 Part III Rethinking the Classical Tradition: European Theory 115 Introduction to Part III 117 8 The Critical Theory of Jurgen Habermas 119 9 Stuart Hall and British Cultural Studies 132 10 The Critical Sociology of Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu 140 Afterword to Part III 152 Part IV Revisions and Revolts: The Postmodern Turn 155 Introduction to Part IV 157 11 The Postmodern World of Jacques Derrida, Jean-Francois Lyotard, and Jean Baudrillard 159 12 Michel Foucault's Disciplinary Society 175 13 Zygmunt Bauman's Sociology of Postmodernity 188 Afterword to Part IV 197 Part V Revisions and Revolts: Identity Politics and Theory 201 Introduction to Part V 203 14 Feminist Theory/Masculinity Studies 205 15 Critical Race Theory/White Studies 226 16 Lesbian, Gay, and Queer Theory/Heterosexual Studies 239 17 Colonial Discourse Studies 254 Afterword to Part V 263 Part VI Revisions and Revolts: Theories of World Order 267 Introduction to Part VI 269 18 From Nation to Globe: David Held and Mary Kaldor 271 19 Global Capitalism: Immanuel Wallerstein and Manuel Castells 281 20 The Return of Empire? Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, David Harvey and Michael Mann 290 Afterword to Part VI 300 Part VII The Rise of Postdisciplinary Theory 303 Introduction to Part VII 305 21 Theories of "the Other" 307 22 Intimate Life in the "West" 318 23 Nationalism and the Crisis of Postcolonial Nations 330 Afterword to Part VII 342 Index 345