Middle Mass and the Pitt: A Critical Review of Peter Saunders's Sociology of Consumption

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Burrows ◽  
Tim Butler
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Critical Commentary ◽  
Sociology Of Consumption ◽  
Mode Of Consumption

This review provides critical commentary on the sociology of consumption recently developed by Peter Saunders in the new edition of his Social Theory and the Urban Question and elsewhere. Comment is made on the politics of socialized consumption, the sociology of consumption sector cleavages and the concept of a privatized mode of consumption. Note is also made of the methodological critique of realism and the assertion of a Weberian alternative which underpins the contribution. It is argued that although the approach provides some insights it tends to get locked into a series of unproducive conceptual and methodological polarities in its attempt to undermine the supposed hegemonic position of Marxism within contemporary urban studies.

scholarly journals Reflections on five years of the Summer Institute in Urban Studies

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802091010
Author(s):  
Kevin Ward ◽  
Timothy Bunnell
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Summer Institute ◽  
Current State ◽  
Critical Commentary ◽  
The Future ◽  
State Of The Field

This critical commentary introduces the Summer Institute in Urban Studies (SIUS) in the context of the wider inter-disciplinary discussions over the future of urban studies. It outlines the context out of which the institute first took place in Manchester in 2014 and how it has evolved across four subsequent iterations, the most recent of which was held in Singapore in July 2018. We document and discuss the profile of those who have participated in the four institutes and reflect upon some of the challenges that have emerged through discussions on the current state of the field of urban studies and its various possible futures. In conclusion, this critical commentary reflects on what we have learnt from the four institutes to date as we plan for #SIUS2020.

On the Borders of Social Theory: Learning from other Regions

1992 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Slater
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Final Part ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
Important Sense ◽  
First World ◽  
Western Ethnocentrism

In the first section of the paper a few general remarks concerning three lineages of universalism are outlined; these comments act as an introduction to a more detailed examination of ‘Euro-Americanism’. In this second section, the main focus of analysis falls on examples taken from the literature of critical urban studies. In the final part, a briefly stated case is made for learning from the South. It is suggested that it is not only crucial to question all forms of Western ethnocentrism, but that by scrutinizing critically the historical constitution of the relations between the First World and the societies of the periphery, the realities of the West can be better comprehended. In fact, it is argued that without such a connection First World geographers will not be able to grasp the meanings and dispositions of the societies in which they live, and in this important sense will remain ‘intellectual prisoners of the West’.

scholarly journals Introduction to the Theme: Jews and Cities, between Utopia and Dystopia

AJS Review ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Eli Lederhendler
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Jewish Studies ◽  
Research Center ◽  
Religious Philosophy ◽  
Spatial Construction ◽  
Critical Interest ◽  
Selection Of

The collective discussion embodied in the following group of essays is the outgrowth of a three-year-long symposium on Jewish and urban studies conducted at the Hebrew University's Scholion Interdisciplinary Research Center in the Humanities and Jewish Studies from 2009 to 2012. The synergy that animated our weekly discussions owed something to the fact that, rather than chiming in on similar notes, we partook of a wide sampling of reading and analysis. We came from different disciplines, with different agendas: scholars of literary criticism, adepts of social theory, historians, cultural analysts, an expert in religious philosophy, and a landscape architect with a critical interest in the culture and politics of spatial construction. The broad sweep of our discussions was greater than will be evident from this selection of papers, since our circle of discussants continually swelled and altered during those three years, reshuffling the range of participants and topics. However, most of those whose work is represented in this sampling were present throughout the entire three-year project.

Feminist reconstructions of universalism and the discourse of human rights

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
The Public ◽  
Women’S Experiences ◽  
Women's Experiences ◽  
Universal Principles ◽  
The Public Sphere

In recent years, universal principles and, in turn, the universalistic discourse of human rights, have fallen under critical review by feminist scholars. This is part of a more general suspicion of a search for universalism and abstraction in law: feminist legal scholars have highlighted and critiqued the gendered dimension of such an approach.1Particular concepts fundamental to political, legal and social theory such as justice,2equality,3freedom4and rights5have been under the spotlight to see if their structure leads to detrimental consequences for women. Criticisms of rights have taken a variety of forms with rights being seen as too individualistic, reinforcing existing power imbalances, failing to account for women’s experiences and focusing too much on the public sphere.

scholarly journals Exploring urban paradigms tackling COVID-19 in blogs communities: The case of SDG 11: استكشاف تصدي النماذج الفكرية الحضرية لـكوفيد-19 في مجتمعات المدونات: حالة الهدف 11 للتنمية المستدامة

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-35
Author(s):  
Hisham G. Abusaada, Abeer M. Elshater Hisham G. Abusaada, Abeer M. Elshater
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Planning Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
The Social ◽  
Urban Planning And Design

This article provides a systematic and critical review of urban paradigms that incorporate economic and cultural diversity, information technology, and competitiveness considering the SDG 11. It explores the possibility of discussing future research using sets of research topics and words of coexistence predefined in urban planning and design literature. This work uses a deductive approach, content analysis and systematic and critical review to highlight the social challenges that address social distancing strategy reflected in SDG 11. The authors systematically focused on blogs published online in 2020, specifically in urban studies, social sciences, planning theory, and public health. They tested their reliability against articles included in the Scimago rank. The findings provide a toolkit with social and behavioural settings, mobility, infrastructure, and urbanization in the post-pandemic era. This study recommended a review of the importance of taking blogs that discuss new urban intellectual models to confront the Coronavirus when developing sustainable cities and societies according to SDG11, after ensuring their reliability.

scholarly journals Neo-meidevalism in contemporary social theory

2013 ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Gajic
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Cultural Renewal ◽  
Systemic Transformation ◽  
Crisis Of Modernity ◽  
Hedley Bull ◽  
Medieval Model ◽  
Contemporary Social Theory

?Neo-medievalism? has become well known concept in contemporary social theory. It is widely used by historians, sociologists of culture and international relations theorists, not only for the critical reconsideration of heritage from ?historical? Middle Ages, but also for the easier and more accurate distinguishing of their cultural-historical and international-political aspirations through analogies with contemporary social processes. This paper deals with the emergence of ?neo-medieval motives? in social theory and philosophy since Romanticism, throughout ?catholic cultural renewal? and ?Russian religious renaissance?, up to their influences on ?theories of crisis of modernity? from the first half of 20th century and on significant works of Spengler, Toynbee, Ortega y Gasset and Pitirim Sorokin. Then, author follows the revival of interests for Middle Ages in the seventies of the last century along with the onset of postmodernism, and also the first use of ?neo-medieval model? for explanation of international relations transformation (in the work of Hedley Bull and his followers). Finally, contemporary ?neo-medieval? tendencies in scientific approaches are being observed - from the systemic transformation from a modern to a postmodern political economy, throughout urban studies, sociology and philosophy seeking again the indisputable epistemological support in religion and tradition.

scholarly journals Images of Modernity in the 21st Century: Altermodernism

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. V. Pavlov ◽  
Y. V. Erokhina
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Negative Answer ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Actual Problem ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time Diversity ◽  
Contemporary Social Theory

The article discusses an actual problem of the contemporary social theory – a problem of post-postmodernism that is the answer to the question: what comes to replace the supposedly outdated postmodernism. Post-postmodernism in an umbrella term that brings together various concepts like digimodernism, automodernism, metamodernism, hypermodernism, supermodernism, etc. One of the replacing postmodernism theories is the French curator and art theorist Nicolas Bourriaud’s concept that was called “altermodern” or “other modernism.” In his previous books Bourriaud proposed to rewrite modernism and, as the result, developed a new theory. The concept appeared in 2009 when Bourriaud presented the exhibition in London, timed to the publication of his manifesto Altermodern, and edited and published the book of collected papers of the same title. Globalization, which opened borders for art, is a central concept of the altermodernism theory. The main terms of altermodern are heterochrony (time diversity) and viatorisation (nomadism). The main social subject of the alternodern era is a free travelling artist, who interprets the meanings of “rewritten” art for the public. They are “rewritten” because Bourriaud proposes to use phenomena and products of past ages to make them work in a new way. However Bourriaud’s concept should be considered critically, as it was formerly done by several researchers. The article proposes a critical review that answers to the question: to what extent the idea of altermodern is heuristic and therefore it could compete with other concepts that abolish postmodern. The author gives a negative answer to this question first of all because altermodern just borrows a lot of elements of the language and apparatus of postmodernism and actually does not offer anything new.

scholarly journals A Commentary on Ambedkar’s Posthumously Published “Philosophy of Hinduism”

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Rajesh Sampath
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Philosophical Investigation ◽  
Intrinsic Dimension ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Critical Commentary

This paper offers a critical commentary of Ambedkar's posthumously published "The Philosophy of Hinduism," which was discovered shortly after his death.  Given previous, considerable contributions in the fields of law, economics, political and social theory, the work appears to be the beginnings of what remains an incomplete treatise on a new area of investigation for Ambedkar.  In this work, Ambedkar tackles the murky and opaque sub-field of philosophy, namely the philosophy of religion.  This paper unpacks some of Ambedkar's key insights on the nature of the philosophy of religion to test what elements - considered from a philosophical point view - constitute a religion.  Furthermore, given the historical paradigmatic shifts in the nature of religion from antiquity to modernity, Ambedkar identifies two conceptual revolutions from which he will introduce two criteria - utility and justice - to evaluate the nature of Hinduism as a religion.  Given his life-long quest to understand Hinduism and caste, ultimately, Ambedkar's goal to overcome what he says is the systemic and structural inequality of caste in the Indian social order leads him to certain negative conclusions: namely whether Hinduism can be characterized as a religion if in fact modern religions must have a foundation in some intrinsic dimension of social justice.  This paper constitutes Part I of a longer commentary.  The aspiration is that a longer Part II will ultimately extend Ambedkar's philosophical investigation into new domains for which he did not have the opportunity to explore.

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