Accessible and fun social science reads

Submitted by Sister Ray on May 19, 2017

Can anyone recommend any decent accessible reading on topics like Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Critical Theory etc. Yes I know about the libcom reading guides (which are great by the way) but they're full of heavyweight tomes and textbooks, I'm just looking for something light to read on my commute, that would serve as a good intro to some of these topics, preferably from a vaguely libertarian perspective. Maybe something a bit 'pop science'-y would do for me as I have no background in the social sciences, although I'm not afraid of complex theory if it's well explained. Would love to get stuck into something fun that sort of goes over the main ideas in certain fields, tells you a bit about the methods of inquiry etc. The main thing though is it would be great if it's just a good read / entertaining. Any thoughts?

Khawaga

6 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Khawaga on May 19, 2017

In general, the "Very Short Introduction to [phenomenon/theorist/whatever" (there's also the "How to read [name], which are also good) would be perfect for what you need. If you are interested in something a bit more specific within those disciplines, I may be able to suggest specific books. I doubt, however, that you'll find much from a "vaguely libertarian" perspective unless you count all the post-anarchist stuff that draw on post-stucturalist theory.

Sister Ray

6 years 10 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Sister Ray on May 21, 2017

Thanks Khawaga, that 'very short introduction to' series looks great, I've just been out and bought the ones on Sociology, Anthropology, Critical Theory and Postmodernism. I think that will give me enough to be dealing with for now but I may revive this thread in a few months time to ask about further reading. Cheers