Understanding Contemporary Society

Gary Browning is Professor in Political Theory for Oxford Brookes University. He joined the Department in September 1991. He lectures on political theory, teaching undergraduate courses on political thought, democracy, freedom, justice and the community and on global political theory on the Masters programme in International Politics. Professor Frank Webster comes from a small coal-mining village in the south west of County Durham in North East England. He attended Coundon Junior School from 1956-62 and Spennymoor Secondary School from 1962-69, then read Sociology at the University of Durham (BA, MA, 1972, 1974). He completed his formal studies at the London School of Economics (LSE, PhD 1978

Theory, Theorists and Themes - Gary Browning, Abigail Halcli and Frank Webster A User's Guide to Understanding the Present PART ONE: THEORIES Postmodernism - Christopher Norris A Guide for the Perplexed Post-Feminism - Mich[gr]ele Barrett Post-History - Krishan Kumar Living at the End Post-Marxism - Terrell Carver Post-Colonialism and Beyond - Don Robotham Reflexive Modernization - Ted Benton Narrative - Susan Stephenson Rational Choice Theory - John Scott Complexity Theory - Tim Blackman Contemporary Liberalism - Gary Browning Democracy - Nick Hewlett Liberal and Direct Communitarianism - Elizabeth Frazer New Thinking in International Relations - Kimberly Hutchings Utopia and Dystopia - Stephen Crook PART TWO: THEMES Post-Modernity - David Lyon Globalization - Barrie Axford Restructuring - Andy Kilmister Cities in the Global Economy - Saskia Sassen Cultural Studies - Rick Maxwell Intellectuals - Carl Boggs Higher Education - Frank Webster Mass Communication - Kaarle Nordenstreng The Web - Vincent Mosco Nationalism - Murray Low Islam - Sarah Ansari Cultural Pluralism Today - Avigail Eisenberg Families and Households - Mary Maynard The Body - Chris Shilling Intimate Choices - Ken Plummer Environmentalism - David Pepper Social Movements - Abigail Halcli Social Inequalities - Harriet Bradley Coming to Terms with Complexity