About this title: These essays, by widely
respected scholars in fields ranging from social and
political theory to historical sociology and cultural
studies, illuminate the significance of the
public/private distinction for an increasingly wide
range of debates. Commenting on controversies
surrounding such issues as abortion rights, identity
politics, and the requirements of democratization, many
of these essays clarify crucial processes that have
shaped the culture and institutions of modern societies.
In contexts ranging from friendship, the family, and
personal life to nationalism, democratic citizenship,
the role of women in social and political life, and the
contrasts between western and (post-)Communist
societies, this book brings out the ways the various
uses of the public/private distinction are
simultaneously distinct and interconnected. "Public and
Private in Thought and Practice" will be of interest to
students and scholars in disciplines including politics,
law, philosophy, history, sociology, and women's
studies. Contributors include Jeff Weintraub, Allan
Silver, Craig Calhoun, Daniela Gobetti, Jean L. Cohen,
Jean Bethke Elshtain, Alan Wolfe, Krishan Kumar, David
Brain, Karen Hansen, Marc Garcelon, Oleg Kharkhordin.
Jeff Weintraub teaches political and social theory at
Williams College. Krishan Kumar is professor of social
and political thought in Eliot College at the University
of Kent at Canterbury.
Utopias and the
Millennium
Stephen Bann and Krishan Kumar (Editors)
About this title:
The essays in this book explore the relationship between
utopianism and millennialism. As we approach our own
millennium this timely reflection of political and
literary utopias covers figures as diverse as Robinson
Crusoe and William Burroughs.
Utopias and Anti-Utopias in Modern Times
Synopsis
This study focuses on the latest phase of the literary
tradition of utopia, from the 19th century to the
present, in Europe and America. It aims to show how
modern versions of utopia and anti-utopia engage in
debate about the future of modern society, and
especially the role of socialism and science within it.
The book asks whether socialism will lead to freedom and
fulfillment or to tyranny and conformity, and whether
science will free us or enslave us.
Dilemmas of
Liberal Democracies: Studies in Fred Hirsch's Social
Limits to Growth
by Krishan Kumar and Adrian Ellis
Prophecy and
Progress: The Sociology of Industrial and Pre-Industrial
Society
Synopsis
In recent years a chorus of futurologists has sprung up,
some pessimistic, some not. However all are concerned
with the future of the industrial society. This book
takes a close look at industrial society, past and
present, in order to evaluate these miltifarious claims.
The author begins with the industrial revolution itself,
examining the ideas it inspired, especially the idea of
progress and the balance of confidence and despair about
industrialism. Moving on to the post-industrial idea, Dr
Kumar arrives at the conclusion that much of it is
plausible only because of a widespread misconception of
what "classic" industrial society was all about. He
concludes with a discussion of whether we can expect a
future society that genuinely goes "beyond
industrialism".
From
Post-Industrial to Post-Modern Society: New Theories of
the Contemporary World
In this lucid and insightful study of a crucial area
of current debate, Krishan Kumar introduces and assesses
the rival claims of three hotly contested theories of
contemporary social, cultural and economic change: the
idea of the information society, and the theories
of post-Fordism and post-modernity.
Explaining how these theories developed and why they
have held such an appeal in our era, the author provides
the most readable and evenly-balanced account to date of
three very different, but overlapping, paradigms of
contemporary social thought.
In a new and substantial
introduction, Kumar places the three key approaches
within the context of contemporary discourse on
globalization. From Post Industrial to Post-Modern
Society is essential reading for anyone seeking to
understand contemporary theories of social, cultural,
and economic change.
1989 Revolutionary Ideas and Ideals
"With
thoroughness and insight, Kumar scans the vast
canvas of the slow and relentless implosion of
the communist system, and presents his
investigation with exemplary clarity and
elegance. This achievement will be difficult to
match, and all further trials to grasp the logic
of the seminal events of 1989 would have to
engage with Kumar's though-providing synthesis."
- Zygmunt Bauman, University of Leeds/Warsaw
University
In 1989, from
East Berlin to Budapest and Bucharest to Moscow,
communism was falling. The walls were coming
down and the world was being changed in ways
that seemed entirely new. The conflict of ideas
and ideals that began with the French Revolution
of 1789 culminated in these revolutions, which
raised the prospect of the "return of Europe" of
East and Central European nations, the
"restarting of their history," even, for som,
the "end of history." What such assertions and
aspirations meant, and what the larger events
that inspired them mean-not just for the
world-are the questions Krishan Kumar explores
in 1989.
The Rise of
Modern Society: Aspects of the Social and Political
Development of the West
Synopsis
What is the sociological theory of industrialism? How
far do the actual histories and practices of industrial
societies fit this theory? The studies in this volume
examine many of the economic, social, political and
cultural changes caused by the industrialization of
society. They look at continuities and discontinuities
through pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial
societies before considering particular aspects: for
example, the shortcomings of the Marxist theory of class
are highlighted by their application to
nineteenth-century English society; the theory of
revolution is examined for its relevance to the
conditions of advanced industrial societies; the
changing meanings and changing practices of work and
employment are traced; and the current problems of
Britain are used to point the way to the future of other
societies. These essays, by a noted social theorist,
should be of value to those concerned with the history
and future of modern society.
Political Agenda
of Education: A Study of Colonialist and Nationalist
Ideas
About this title:
In this revised edition, the author sharpens the focus
and range of the original, arguing as his main thesis
that colonialist and nationalist ideas and practices in
education in India are not antagonistic. The new edition
incorporates the complex terrain of gender, enriching
the earlier discussion of caste, class and religion. It
draws upon biographies and cultural history to highlight
the revolutionary context in which girls' education made
its reluctant start in the 19th century. In the new
section on women's education, the author brings into
focus the same set of linkages - between the emerging
system of education and its policies, the social
structure and ethos - which makes this an innovative
study of educational ideas and practices. There are also
some important additions to the discussion of caste and
identity.
Utopianism
Book Description
Utopia has become a vague term, synonymous almost with
the Good Society or the Good Time. It is applied to the
dreams and visions of all peoples and all times: from
backward-looking myths of the Golden Age to the future
prospect of a glorious Millennium, from Paradise Lost to
Paradise Regained.
This book argues utopia should be seen as a much more
specific tradition of social and political thought. It
has cultural and historical boundaries. A Western
concept, it arose in the West as a specific and highly
original way of dealing with the novel problems of
modern Western society. Its themes are the
characteristic ones of modern Western social thought:
power, inequality, democracy, science. But, as a form of
imaginative fiction, its treatment of these themes is
distinctive and compelling. Far from being merely
fantasy or wish-fulfilment, utopia is a critical
rehearsal of the dilemmas of modern society and, at the
same time, a prescriptive account of the best way of
resolving them.
From its first appearance in the "Utopia" of Thomas More
in 1516, utopia has undergone numerous changes of focus
and concern. But its form has remained remarkably
resilient. As we approach the end of the second
christian millennium, there are clear signs - for
example the emergency of feminist and ecological utopias
- that utopia has by no means exhausted is power either
as a tool of critical analysis or as a constructive
vision of future possibilities.
