The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought
2023 book by George Steinmetz / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought: French Sociology and the Overseas Empire is a book by American sociologist, author and academic George Steinmetz.[1] It was published by Princeton University Press in 2023 and is part of its Princeton Modern Knowledge series.[2] The book is a historical exploration of the development of modern French sociology within the context of the French empire post-World War II. Steinmetz argues, based on a prosopgraphic reconstruction of the postwar French sociology field, that around half of the rise of social sciences was intertwined with imperial efforts to control colonies, particularly between the late 1930s and the 1960s. Steinmetz goes beyond the "decolonial" discourse, aiming to uncover the feedback effects of colonial knowledge on sociology's ordinary production. The book employs a new methodological approach, blending contextual factors, intellectual dynamics within the social sciences, and close readings of sociological texts, to examine the colonial engagement of prominent sociologists like Raymond Aron, Jacques Berque, Georges Balandier, and Pierre Bourdieu.[3]
Author | George Steinmetz |
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Original title | The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought: French Sociology and the Overseas Empire |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Princeton Modern Knowledge |
Subject | Colonialism and post-colonialism, sociology, French colonial history |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Princeton University Press |
Publication date | 2023 |
Pages | 576 |
ISBN | 9780691237428 |