Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T17:20:23.391Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Introduction

The Practice of Deparochializing Political Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2020

Melissa S. Williams
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Get access

Summary

This introductory chapter articulates the unifying vision for the volume: that comparative political theory is a transformative and intergenerational practice for the discipline as a whole, in our teaching as well as our research. It is not a niche subfield of political theory, of interest only to specialized experts in particular thought traditions around the world, but is salient to all political theorists, regardless of their methodological or theoretical commitments, who seek modes of political inquiry and analysis that are salient for the twenty-first-century challenges of a now-globalized modernity. The chapter canvasses the structural obstacles to the transformation of the discipline, explores its tendencies to reproduce itself in the image of “the Western canon,” and situates the task of comparative political theory within the larger frame of the tasks of political theory simpliciter. It also addresses the fact that the practice of deparochializing political theory may vary depending on a particular scholar’s location in the world and position in the global academy. Finally, it provides an overview of the contributors’ past contributions to “deparochializing political theory” and a summary of their chapters’ arguments.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×