About the Book

Social criticism now needs to have an agenda of spiritual criticism which encompasses rational criticism. So begins “New Horizons of Social Theory: Conversations, Transformations and Beyond”, the intriguing new book by Indian social theorist Ananta Kumar Giri, which issues a stirring call for scholars of contemporary social theory and practice to grapple with late modernity’s most pressing social and political issues. The author brings together Western thought and Indian social theory in a work that ranges across an array of Indian texts and ideas hitherto ignored by Western scholarship. Included, along with the mainstays of Indian intellectual thought such as Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo, are lesser known Indian social theorists, economists, sociologists, and essayists who argue for transcendence of self-interest, social responsibility, and political renewal. Thoughtfully argued and lucidly written, this work seeks to make social theory a truly planetary conversation and offers seeking readers a genuine “transdisciplinary” learning experience, going beyond both Indian and European ethnocentrism.

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Contents

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About the Author / Editor

Ananta Kumar Giri is currently on the faculty of Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, India and has worked and taught in many universities in India and abroad including University of Kentucky, USA; Aalborg University, Denmark and Alber Ludwigs Universitat, Freiburg, Germany. He has an abiding interest in social theory and social movements. Dr. Giri has written numerous books in Oriya and English. Among his previous books are: “Global Transformations: Postmodernity and Beyond” (1998); “Sameekhya o Purodrusti” [Criticism and the Vision of the Future, 1999], “Building in the Margins of Shacks: The Vision and Projects of Habitat for Humanity” (2002); and “Reflections and Mobilizations: Dialogues with Movements and Voluntary Organizations” (2004).

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