The Crisis Paradigm

This book examines how 20th century theorists have used a discourse of crisis to frame their conceptualizations of modernity. Through an investigation of four key thinkers (Georg Lukács, Hannah Arendt, Reinhart Koselleck and Jürgen Habermas), Gilbert argues that scholars in the social sciences and humanities should be cautious of treating crises as explananda for research. Instead, the book calls for sociological analysis of the role of crisis within social scientific discourse, and examines how crisis has been used as a conceptual frame for legitimating theoretical agendas. Gilbert's sociology of concepts approach presents crisis as a paradigm of modern thought, and, more generally, reflects on how concepts can become the carriers of diverse intellectual traditions and debates. The Crisis Paradigm will be of interest to students and scholars of social and critical theory, politics, sociology and history, as well as those working in thefields of media studies, communication and discourse analysis.

Draws attention to the way crisis works as a theoretical frame Trace the evolution of this intellectual paradigm throughout the broader history of the 20th century Suggests that the crisis paradigm continues to influence even meta-theoretical reflections of modernity

Autorentext
Andrew Simon Gilbert is an Honorary Research Associate in Sociology at La Trobe University, Australia, and works at the National Ageing Research Institute. He is a Commissioning Editor for the journal Thesis Eleven.

Klappentext
In an extremely well-timed work, Gilbert critically explores the notion of crisis in political and social theory. This thoughtful scrutiny is an important contribution to the human sciences not only reminding us of the crucial reflexive demands of our disciplines, but also providing a vista onto major intellectual currents of turbulent 20th century modernity and foregrounding the ways these currents remain in play today. A brilliant and compelling read. Chamsy el-Ojeili, Lecturer in Sociology, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand This book examines how 20th century theorists have used a discourse of crisis to frame their conceptualizations of modernity. Through an investigation of four key thinkers (Georg Lukács, Hannah Arendt, Reinhart Koselleck and Jürgen Habermas), Gilbert argues that scholars in the social sciences and humanities should be cautious of treating crises as explananda for research. Instead, thebook calls for sociological analysis of the role of crisis within social scientific discourse, and examines how crisis has been used as a conceptual frame for legitimating theoretical agendas. Gilbert's sociology of concepts approach presents crisis as a paradigm of modern thought, and, more generally, reflects on how concepts can become the carriers of diverse intellectual traditions and debates.
The Crisis Paradigm will be of interest to students and scholars of social and critical theory, politics, sociology and history, as well as those working in the fields of media studies, communication and discourse analysis.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Introduction: The Crisis Paradigm.- Chapter 2. Georg Lukács: Rationality and Crisis.- Chapter 3. Reinhart Koselleck: Demoralizing Crisis.- Chapter 4. Hannah Arendt: Crisis as Modernity's Choice.- Chapter 5. Jürgen Habermas: With and Against the Crisis Paradigm.- Chapter 6. Conclusion.