Ordinary Knowledge: Introduction to Interpretative Sociology: An Introduction to Interpretative Sociology - Hardcover

Maffesoli, Michel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0745611184 ISBN 13: 9780745611181

Publisher: Polity, 1996

Synopsis

Ordinary Knowledge * A provocative and challenging book which argues for a defiant innovation of thought* Puts forward a compelling argument: that everyday life should be regarded as a privileged object of investigation* The author is one of the leading sociologists of fin de siecle culture and society. . Full description

About this title

Review:

"Maffesoli's feel for the local places him in the vanguard of postmodern sociology. Maffesoli's scholarship, his insight into contemporary subjectivity and his understanding of relativism make this book an important intervention in the field of contemporary cultural analysis." Roy Boyne, School of Human Studies, University of Teesside

"Maffesoli develops his arguments with the same elegance and sensitivity to style to which he draws attention in social life itself. There can be no doubt that Maffesoli is one of the leading sociological analysts of the fin de siècle." William Outhwaite, School of European Studies, University of Sussex

From the Back Cover:

In this important and stylish book, Michel Maffesoli argues that it is impossible to reduce knowledge to a conception of science inherited from the nineteenth century. Instead, he argues, we must go beyond intellectual conformities based on limited and archaic moral or political foundations. This approach emphasizes the growing importance of information and communication in modern societies.

Maffesoli suggests that sociologists have too often succumbed to the "positivist fascination" of analytical formalism and dualistic thinking. Rather than viewing society as a finished product, he develops an approach which seeks to analyse, in all their nuances and contradictions, the new forms of social life - particularly everyday life - which are beginning to emerge in the late twentieth century.

A timely contribution to current debates, Ordinary Knowledge will be welcomed by students and researchers in sociology and social theory.

About this edition

• Publisher: Polity
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0745611184
• ISBN 13: 9780745611181
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208