Open University Press Culture: Reinventing the Social Sciences (Concepts in the Social Sciences)

In the past three decades there has been a transformation in the ways that social science has been conducted. In order to understand what is happening, we have to explore the implications of a rethinking of the meaning of culture, from a hierarchical system of classification to a contested space. This introduction to the concept of culture examines the ways in which we approach social enquiry, and argues that cultural theory can help to overcome problems in disciplinary and interdisciplinary analysis. The author explores how changes in the meaning of "culture" have pinpointed key shifts in the way we research society, and draws on contemporary sociology, psychology, politics and geography to consider the ways in which cultural transformation has changed the landscape of social research. He concludes with a persuasive and focused discussion of the centrality of culture. This text should be of interest to undergraduate students and postgraduate researchers in cultural studies, sociology and other disciplines interested in the cultural dimension of social science.