Understanding Contemporary Society

Understanding Contemporary Society: Theories of the Present is a comprehensive textbook to guide students through the complexities of social theory today. Over 30 chapters, written by an international team of contributors, demonstrate clearly the practical applications of social theory in making sense of the modern world. Students are both introduced to the most significant theories and guided through the major social developments which shape our lives.

Key features of the book are: clearly structured and readable prose; bullet pointed summaries and annotated further reading for each topic; makes complex issues accessible to undergraduates; focuses on relevance and practicality; chapter lay-out which is ideal for teaching and seminar readings.

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