Dictionary of the Social Sciences

1,800 entries

Oxford's unprecedented Dictionary of the Social Sciences is designed to break down the barriers between social science disciplines, as well as to make social scientific language comprehensible to general readers. Collecting anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, human geography, cultural studies, and Marxism in one volume, the Dictionary presents concise, clearly written definitions of more than 1,500 important terms. Entries are true definitions, not extended essays or summaries. Ranging from 50 to 500 words, they succinctly define terms within each specific discipline and acquaint readers with the intellectual issues at stake when the terms are used. The entries draw on classic and contemporary scholarship, and include basic terms, concepts, theories, schools of thought, methodologies, techniques, topics, issues, and controversies. In addition to terminology, the Dictionary includes nearly 275 biographies of major figures—from Franz Boas to John Maynard Keynes to Max Weber, whose work has had a profound impact on the various fields