Title: Theorizing power /
Authors: Hearn, Jonathan.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan,
Year: 2012
Subjects: Power (Social sciences)
Abstract: "If we're interested in why society changes and develops, and if we want to identify the forces that influence our personal beliefs and choices, then we must have an understanding of the nature and scope of human power. This distinctively clear text critically evaluates how power is defined, conceptualized and theorized. Spanning 500 years of thinking in the field, the book examines ideas from classical and contemporary thinkers, from Machiavelli to Michael Mann. Theories are firmly rooted in their historical context alongside real-life examples to explain their relevance to our lives today. Theorizing Power highlights the significance of power across all areas of social life, including gender, religion, morality and identity. It is the ideal text to stimulate thinking and debate on the subject of power for all students of sociology and politics."--Publisher's website.
Contents: Part I. Conceptualizing power: -- 1. Introducing key issues: -- Introduction -- Physical versus social power -- Power 'to' versus power 'over' -- Asymmetrical versus balanced power -- Power as structures versus agents -- Actual versus potential power -- Conclusion -- 2. Meet the family- domination, authority and legitimacy: -- Introduction -- The 'dominant' academic discourse on power -- Bringing authority and legitimacy back in -- Max Weber's complicated legacy -- Recapitulation -- Part II. Theorizing power: -- 3. European sources: -- Introduction -- Early modern harbingers: Machiavelli and Hobbes -- Theorists of modernity: Marx, Durkheim and Weber -- Return to Italy: classical elitism and Gramsci -- Conclusion -- 4. American debates: -- Introduction -- Power: community structures and national elites -- The power of positive function -- Power hides its face -- Conclusion -- 5. Epistemological approaches: -- Introduction -- Barnes: self-fulfulling prophecies --^