Political Theory - by Paul Schumaker (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Utilizing 100 key readings, The Political Theory Reader explores the rich tradition of ideas that shape the way we live and the great issues in political theory today.

• Allows students to see how competing ideological viewpoints think about the same political issues
  
• Provides readers with direct access to authors covered in the From Ideologies to Public Philosophies text
  
• Facilitates discussions by having readings arranged thematically throughout text
  
• Extracts of works specifically chosen to focus on topics central to issues covered in chapters.

From the Back Cover

The Political Theory Reader is a collection of more than 80 important readings that address the contested philosophical assumptions and competing principles of politics. Included are key selections by canonical figures in the history of political thought, the founders of the major ideological perspectives of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and leading contemporary political theorists and philosophers. After opening chapters on the nature of political theory and selections introducing the major ideologies of the past 200 years, the readings are then arranged thematically, providing alternative perspectives on 11 great issues of politics, ranging from conceptions of human nature and the nature of political knowledge to questions of authority, citizenship, and justice. This structure not only helps to illustrate the diversity and evolution of political thinking, but also encourages the comparative evaluation of competing viewpoints.

Aimed at those coming new to the study of political theory, the Reader offers a carefully organized selection of unparalleled breadth, allowing students to see how different ideological voices express their beliefs about the great issues of politics and how political theory has evolved in its discussion of these issues.

Review Quotes

"Edited by Paul Schumaker, who is professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas, and just published by Wiley-Blackwell, this is an outstanding and definitive publication which will become a standard text for students of politics." (Orange Standard, June 2010)

"This [book] one offers at best a taste of political theory's intellectual richness." (Sacramento Book Review, June 2010)

About the Author

Paul Schumaker is Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas, where he has taught courses in political theory and community politics since 1972. Dr Schumaker has authored several books on political theory, including Critical Pluralism, Democratic Performance, and Community Power (1991). His most recent book is the political theory textbook From Ideologies to Public Philosophies (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008).