History and Social Theory
by Peter Burke
Category: Social Science

What is the use of social theory to historians, and of history tosocial theorists? In clear and energetic prose, a pre-eminentcultural historian here offers a far-reaching response to thesedeceptively simple questions. In this classic text, now revised andupdated in its second edition, Peter Burke reviews afresh therelationship between the fields of history and the social sciencesand their tentative convergence in recent decades. Burke first examines what uses historians have made - or mightmake - of the models, methods, and concepts of the social sciences,and then analyzes some of the intellectual conflicts, such as theopposition between structure and human agency, which are at theheart of the tension between history and social theory. Throughout,he draws from a broad range of cultures and periods to illustratehow history, in turn, has been used to create and validate socialtheories. This new edition brings the book up to date with theaddition of examples and discussions of new topics such as socialcapital, globalization and post-colonialism. The second edition of History and Social Theory will continue tostimulate both students and scholars across a range of disciplineswith its challenging assessment of the roles of history and socialscience today.