UCD Authors Focus: Andreas Hess

Judith Shklar was a formative political thinker whose oeuvre defies traditional labels, and whose legacy is subtle but substantial. Her work emerged, as one observer has pointed out, between the end of ideology" discussions of the 1950s and the early 1990s discussion of the "end of history." Shklar contributed significantly to American political thought by arguing for a new, more skeptical and stripped-down version of liberalism that intends to bring political theory and real-life experiences closer together. This book is the first to comprehensively explore how Shklar's ideas emerged, how her political theory developed, and the impact and legacy she left behind."

This book provides a short introduction to the emergence and development of sociology in Ireland until the present day. While there were some early nineteenth century forerunners, the institutionalization of sociology as an academic discipline came relatively late. For a long time the development of sociology was strongly influenced by the Catholic Church, and Catholic sociology remained the dominant paradigm until a slow secularization process phased this out. From the 1970s onwards the discipline witnessed periods of growth and professionalization. However, these development and achievements were never conflict-free and by the mid 1980s, sociology in Ireland entered a period of critical self-reflection in which old established paradigms were questioned and new themes and topics emerged.

This ground-breaking volume is a follow-up to Intellectuals and Their Publics. In contrast to the earlier book, which was mainly concerned with the activity of intellectuals and how it relates to the public, this volume analyses what happens when sociology and sociologists engage with or serve various publics.

The ever changing role of an intellectual in this new age of political uncertainty is innovatively focused on within this exciting collection of essays. Its provocative studies and multifaceted responses promote a vigorous debate of individual case studies and will be of particular interest for sociologists, political theorists and historians of ideas.

Three institutions that are of particular importance to Basque history and culture form the main subject of this book: the <I>baserria (the Basque farmstead), the <I>cofradía (the fraternity of fishermen) and the <I>txoko (gastronomic society). In this study the three institutions are seen as windows; once we look through these windows, we get an opportunity to see the larger picture - namely the structural components of a rich plebeian culture and moral economy. While the investigation of <I>baserri culture provides insights into Basque rural life and the radical changes that occurred with industrialization, the <I>cofradía allows the reader to see the connection that the Basque Country has with the sea. The third institution, the <I>txoko or <I>sociedad gastronómica, represents a more recent and urban phenomenon and reflects an effort to come to terms with urbanization and the anonymous forms of modern life. The book closes with some reflections on cultures that have been somewhat reluctant to modernize.

This reader provides substantial extracts from the core texts in the field of American social and political thought. It demonstrates the rich intellectual tradition of the United States, giving an unparalleled understanding of American society and politics through the reproduction of key writings from a wide variety of thinkers. The first part covers the core traditions of American social and political thought--American Exceptionalism, Political Theology, Republicanism, Liberalism, and Pragmatism. In the second part, texts have been selected to demonstrate the ways in which these traditions have been applied to a broad range of issues and conditions. Exceptionally well-written and jargon-free, with helpful introductions and selections from Frederick Jackson Turner, Max Weber, Michael Sandel, John Rawls, C. Wright Mills, Sheldon Wolin, Judith N. Shklar, bell hooks, Michael Walzer and Richard Rorty, among others, American Social and Political Thought will be the core text in the field.