By: Telile Fikru Badecha on November 1, 2013
Contemporary Social Theory by Anthony Elliott offers great insights to the current issues that we are facing in our time. What I appreciated about this book is that the author does not only present different social theorist arguments but he also discusses how those theories translate into everyday people’s lives. His discussion on society and…
By: Carol McLaughlin on November 1, 2013
In Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction Anthony Elliott takes the reader for an expansive overview. Someone may liken it to a plane ride from the vantage point of an open-air cockpit. Another may feel as if they have been on a thrill ride where you only have a limited view of what is ahead. In…
By: Julie Dodge on November 1, 2013
I am a social worker. We social workers are pragmatists; we recognize that part of what we do is read and study the theories of many other disciplines and strive to apply them in the social context. I am also, by personality, drawn first to concepts, and then identify the pieces which contribute to the…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on November 1, 2013
I approached the subject of contemporary social theory with much interest, but also with much hesitation. My past education deals with, well that of education, biology, theology, cultures, and missiology. Though I know I must have traveled through the realms of social theory I must have done it indirectly and never did so directly. This…
By: rhbaker275 on November 1, 2013
At the outset of his book, “Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction,”[1] Anthony Elliott indicates that he will cover the spectrum of social concepts (of which he list thirteen to name a few) and the “significant assessments of society – of the complex ways in which we live” (p.8). I could relate to Elliott’s story-line as…
By: Sharenda Roam on November 1, 2013
According to Edwin H. Friedman in his book “A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix,” three interlocking characteristics of an imaginatively gridlocked system are: “an unending treadmill of trying harder, looking for answers rather than reframing questions; and either/or thinking that creates false dichotomies.”(Kindle, 684) Regarding the “treadmill of trying…
By: John Woodward on November 1, 2013
For me, venturing into Anthony Elliott’s Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction was like going to London for my first face-to-face with my LGP4 cohort. I had heard the names of Marcuse, Adorno, Bathes, Foucault and Derrida for years and read about them in hundreds of books and articles. But they were merely names attached to vague…
By: Richard Volzke on October 31, 2013
I have to admit that this week’s book by Anthony Elliott, Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction, did not resonate with me and I found it difficult to follow what the author was trying to say. Elliott’s attempt to define society was intriguing, but I have to wonder if he, and we, are making this issue more…
By: David Toth on October 31, 2013
Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat was a defining look at the dynamic of globalization that enabled the reader to embrace the largest global dynamics and understand how they worked together. In Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, Edwin Friedman accomplishes much the same feat inregard to leadership as he puts forth a…
By: Sandy Bils on October 31, 2013
We live in a leadership-toxic climate. The system is toxic itself, because we live in a chronically anxious society, almost like a seatbelt-society, that is more oriented towards security than adventure. In this circumstance of anxiety most of the time a resistance to leadership doesn’t occur out of problematic issues, but merely out of the…
By: Bill Dobrenen on October 31, 2013
“It’s all about networking.” Do you want a job? Network. Do you want some open doors? Network. Do you want to be successful? Network. Do you want to be better equipped for life? Network. Is the old concept of networking still valid in 2013? What do we mean by networking? Are we talking about people…
By: Garrick Roegner on October 31, 2013
Sam Houston and Edwin Friedman There is a sense that the world faces a crisis of leadership. Europe is embroiled in a seemingly intractable economic crisis, much of their own doing. The US struggles with the continual threat of government shutdown. The millennial generation’s response seems just as dysfunctional in this liquid world as popularly…
By: Ashley Goad on October 31, 2013
Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction is a complex read, to say the least. While I am sure author Anthony Elliot is an expert in social theory, his ability to express concepts in a succinct, simple manner is wretched. His wordy, verbose statements sent my thoughts into a tailspin; however, if I were reading this over…
By: Deve Persad on October 31, 2013
A child is standing in the middle of a fair ground. Around her are the smells of hotdogs, sounds of laughter, stuffed animals hang low and are waiting to be won, there are rides and there are games. It’s an adventure waiting to be engaged. None of these experiences are unfamiliar. She’s read about them,…
By: Chris Ellis on October 31, 2013
A Failure of Nerve by Thomas Friedman is unlike any leadership book I’ve ever read, and that’s mostly a good thing. To be honest, my brain is almost in overload mode because his notion of how to be a leader and to bring about change in family, organization and society comes from a different vantage…
By: Richard Rhoads on October 31, 2013
I have always been intrigued by the stories in Greek mythology. One of my favorites is the story of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was the King of Ephyra (same city as Corinth)and was the son of King Aeolus of Thessaly. As the tale goes, Sisyphus who struggled with chronic deceitfulness was banished to a life of rolling…
By: Fred Fay on October 30, 2013
Many people are concerned about the faith of the young people in our churches and especially the emerging young adults as they transition into the adult world. I have heard parents say in frustration to youth, “Why don’t you just grow up.” Which is curious, because that is just what they want to do, but…
By: gfesadmin on October 27, 2013
#dminlgp: How We Got Here Comments On Theology: by David Ford. To best describe… dminlgp: How We Got Here Comments On Theology: by David Ford. To best describe what I was able to read in David Ford’s work on theology is, answers to how we got where we are today in our world of complex…
By: gfesadmin on October 27, 2013
#dminlgp: Looking at Ecclesiology dminlgp: In the book, Christian Theology: An Introduction, Alister McGrath does a great job in presenting the material in a simple and rewarding manner. At first glance I was a bit overwhelmed by all the material in the book. However, McGrath extends a gracious “do not be afraid”- he assures the…
By: Raphael Samuel on October 27, 2013
Comments On Theology: by David Ford. To best describe what I was able to read in David Ford’s work on theology is, answers to how we got where we are today in our world of complex and diverse theological beliefs. Ford gives an amazing historical overview of the development of the christian faith and its…
