Discourses on Liberation: An Anatomy of Critical Theory

Kim (sociology, Sogang U., Korea) rereads the work of such worthies as Bourdieu, Giddens, and Habermas. Rather than taking each as an individual and attempting to distill applications, Kim asserts that reading critical theorists together can create a practical basis for progressive social change. He begins by describing how to rethink theory and practice and works through Bourdieu's theory as a way to liberate humans from symbolic violence, Gidden's double hermeneutic and the problem of language game change, the failure of Habermas's hermeneutic reconstructionism, and Rorty's critique of the will to power, among other topics. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)