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The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought, Volume 1: From Plato to Nietzsche
Edited by: Andrew Bailey, Samantha Brennan, Will Kymlicka, Jacob Levy, Alex Sager, Clark Wolf
Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2008. ISBN: 9781551117423, 1110 pp.
This comprehensive volume contains much of the important work in political and social philosophy from ancient times until the end of the nineteenth century. The anthology offers both depth and breadth in its selection of material by central figures, while also representing other currents of political thought. Thucydides, Seneca, and Cicero are included along with Plato and Aristotle; Al-Farabi, Marsilius of Padua, and de Pizan take their place alongside Augustine and Aquinas; Astell and Constant are presented in the company of Locke, Rousseau, and Wollstonecraft.
The editors have made every effort to include translations that are both readable and reliable. Every selection has been painstakingly annotated, and each figure is given a substantial introduction highlighting his or her major contribution within the tradition. In order to ensure the highest standards of accuracy and accessibility, the editors have consulted dozens of leading academics during the course of the anthology’s development (a number of whom have contributed introductory material as well as advice). The result is an anthology with unparalleled pedagogical benefits, and one that truly breaks new ground.
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“The selections are broader than in other works I have seen. The annotation is, as advertised, fuller than is usual in such works, and consistently helpful. All in all, this is an impressive work—by far the best political anthology I have seen.” - George Klosko, Henry L. and Grace Doherty Professor, University of Virginia
“This is an admirable collection of primary readings, including sources not usually available in volumes of this kind. The introductory materials and annotations by the editors provide clear orientation on the primary texts, while noting debated questions. Highly recommended.” - Douglas Moggach, University of Ottawa
“Quite simply, this is a fantastic anthology. It includes not just the standard readings from the western canon but also important ones left out of most anthologies, including several by women. The anthology includes concise, accurate, and extremely helpful introductions, which include, uniquely, a discussion of ‘common misperceptions’ of each work. These introductions are perfectly pitched for an undergraduate audience.” - Darren Walhof, Grand Valley State University
“Broadview has long been one of my favorite presses because of its commitment to affordable but high-quality texts. This two-volume project in general and its first, historical volume in particular live up to that ideal, including extremely thoughtful but succinct editorial introductions and incorporating more than the most obvious canonical figures. Particularly heartening is to see included here many frequently-ignored woman theorists. Their inclusion is of more than antiquarian interest or a sign of the editors catering to current trends: the texts are important and help significantly enrich students' understanding, especially of the development of modern thought. I definitely intend to use The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought in my introductory theory course in the future.” - Mika LaVaque-Manty, University of Michigan
“With its broader-than-usual range of political thinkers, including in particular more women authors, and its critical apparatus, the first volume of The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought will be a most welcome resource for courses introducing students to political thinking from Thucydides to Nietzsche.” - Matthias Fritsch, Concordia University
“This unique volume accomplishes what few anthologies are able to: it is, at the same time, an excellent teaching tool and an indispensible part of any scholar's library. Its scope reflects thoughtful and inclusive choices. The explanatory commentaries which precede the work of each theorist are well presented, helpful, and in some cases, clear muddy waters by directly tackling common misconceptions. This is a ‘must-have’ resource for anyone studying or teaching political theory today.” - Avigail Eisenberg, University of Victoria
“This is a remarkable anthology, offering invaluable range and depth both in its selection of historical texts, and in the illuminating introductions which preface the work of each thinker. It will be a rich resource for students and tutors at all levels of the study of social and political ideas.” - Gideon Calder, University of Wales, Newport
The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought, Volume 2: The Twentieth Century and Beyond
Edited by: Andrew Bailey, Samantha Brennan, Will Kymlicka, Jacob Levy, Alex Sager, Clark Wolf
Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2008. ISBN: 9781551118994, 900 pp.
The second volume of this comprehensive anthology covers the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The anthology is broad ranging both in its selection of material by figures traditionally acknowledged as being of central importance, and in the material it presents by a range of other figures. The material in this volume is presented in three sections. The first, “Power and the State,” includes selections by such figures as Goldman, Lenin, Weber, Schmitt, and Hayek. Among those included in the “Race, Gender, and Colonialism” section are de Beauvoir, Gandhi, Fanon, and Young. The third and by far the longest section, “Rights-Based Liberalism and its Critics,” focuses on the many interrelated directions that social and political philosophy has taken since the publication of John Rawls’s ground-breaking A Theory of Justice in 1971.
In order to better meet the needs of today’s students, the editors have made every effort to include accurate and accessible translations of the readings. Additionally, every selection has been painstakingly annotated, and each figure is given a substantial introduction highlighting her or his major contributions within the tradition. For figures of central importance, the editors have included extended introductions that place the figure in the context of intellectual history as well as of political thought. In order to ensure the highest standards of accuracy and accessibility, the editors have consulted dozens of leading academics during the course of the volume's development (many of whom have contributed introductory material as well as advice). The result is an anthology with unparalleled pedagogical benefits; The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought sets the new standard for social and political philosophy instruction.
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“This is a wonderful collection, with great introductory essays: it is the ideal point of entry to social and political theory over the last century. We should all be grateful to the editors for selecting and contextualizing so rich a body of materials.” - Kwame Anthony Appiah, Princeton University
“This excellent collection of essays situates the questions of the oppressed and colonized against and within traditional mainstream political thought. Bringing the diverse contributions of feminism and other liberation struggles to the forefront, it offers a new approach to the teaching and study of social and political theory. Carefully edited readings are augmented with accessible introductions that trace the historical developments of political ideologies. Spanning traditions and ideological divides, The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought is wonderfully adaptable to a variety of courses in political theory or history of political thought at virtually every level of higher education.” - Sally J. Scholz, Villanova University
“This anthology offers an invaluable, wide-ranging, and inclusive overview of recent political thought organized around central questions and themes in political theory throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A detailed introduction to each section and each author provides a rich historical background to theories and theorists. Courses that utilize this volume will have abundant resources from which to familiarize students with the complexity and diversity of political thought from the past hundred plus years.” - Colleen Murphy, Texas A&M University
“This authoritative, comprehensive and highly accessible anthology manages to bring together key texts of some of the most important political theorists of our age. The selections have not only been chosen with a keen eye for excellence, but are preceded by very helpful introductory essays. It should prove an invaluable guide for students and scholars alike.” - R.B.J. Tinnevelt, Radboud University Nijmegen
“An outstanding collection of readings drawn from classical and contemporary political thought. The immensely helpful introductions to each of the three central parts will greatly assist students in understanding the context and significance of each figure's work.” - Gillian Brock, University of Auckland
“This volume is a very bold collaborative effort which deserves rich praise for its meticulous attempt to encompass such a broad swathe of mainly twentieth-century political thought readings in a manageable compass. … [The anthology’s] aim to move beyond the more standard ideas of post-1970s rights-based philosophical liberalism into a wide range of readings concerned with power, the state, gender, race, and so forth, is also to be fulsomely welcomed. The volume provides a much more detailed and historically accurate picture of political thought in this period than one encounters in many other synoptic volumes. Overall the editors are to be congratulated for having put together this volume in such a scholarly and thoughtful manner, and for having provided full and helpful introductions for a student readership. It should be of great utility for courses in political thought.” - Andrew Vincent, Sheffield University