R&L Logo R&L Logo
  • GENERAL
    • Browse by Subjects
    • New Releases
    • Coming Soon
    • Chases's Calendar
  • ACADEMIC
    • Textbooks
    • Browse by Course
    • Instructor's Copies
    • Monographs & Research
    • Reference
  • PROFESSIONAL
    • Education
    • Intelligence & Security
    • Library Services
    • Business & Leadership
    • Museum Studies
    • Music
    • Pastoral Resources
    • Psychotherapy
  • FREUD SET
Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
share of facebook share on twitter
Add to GoodReads

Poststructuralism and the Politics of Method

Andrew M. Koch

Since the time of Plato, political philosophy has attempted to create a secure basis upon which to build the prescriptive claims for political action. However, if knowledge is a human construction, not the discovery of some essential reality, is it possible to support collective acts by reference to such foundational claims? If not, we must rethink our understanding society, politics, and the exercise of power. Beginning with the premise that our knowledge of political and social life is historical and contingent, Andrew Koch seeks to re-conceptualize our understanding of politics and power. Koch moves the discussions of power and politics away from search for foundational truths. Viewing politics and power through an epistemological lens, he explores what our understanding of politics and power looks like in the wake of deconstruction and genealogy. Koch begins with a general overview of the poststructuralist epistemology. From there the work contrasts this position with the interpretive sociology of Max Weber, uses deconstruction to politicize the work of Niklas Luhmann, and explores the implications of deconstruction for democracy, Marxist theory, institutional power, and anarchist politics.
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
Lexington Books
Pages: 156 • Trim: 6½ x 9½
978-0-7391-1408-7 • Hardback • June 2007 • $113.00 • (£87.00)
978-0-7391-1409-4 • Paperback • May 2007 • $57.99 • (£45.00)
Subjects: Philosophy / Reference, Political Science / History & Theory
Andrew Koch is associate professor of political science at Appalachian State University.
Chapter 1 Poststructuralism and Political Philosophy
Chapter 2 The Methods of Inquiry: Weber and Poststructuralism
Chapter 3 Niklas Luhmann, Jacqeus Derrida and the Politics of Epistemological Closure
Chapter 4 Democracy and Personal Autonomy
Chapter 5 Marx, Derrida, and the Politics of Emancipation
Chapter 6 Conclusion: The Epistemological Crisis in Contemporary Politics
In a series of articles and books over a period of several years, Professor Andrew Koch has grappled with the most interesting and challenging problems at the center of the methodological and policy debates of the political and social sciences. In this book, accepting that 'all political orders use power and are, on some level, repressive,' and that all present political orders are unyieldingly committed to absolutist secular or sacred conceptions of knowledge and human nature, Professor Koch offers a poststructural reformation of the political that abandons the reliance on absolutes and opens up space for counter-discourses of liberation, diversity, and a more open view of our collective political future. Professor Koch's book is a welcome addition to current debates about the need for a fundamental reorientation of thinking about human prospects on planet Earth.
— Edward M. Wheat, University of Southern Mississippi


This is a book well worth reading for its comprehensive sweep and the succinctness of its exposition of all aspects of post-structuralism.
— Horst Hutter, Concordia University


Poststructuralism and the Politics of Method

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
Summary
Summary
  • Since the time of Plato, political philosophy has attempted to create a secure basis upon which to build the prescriptive claims for political action. However, if knowledge is a human construction, not the discovery of some essential reality, is it possible to support collective acts by reference to such foundational claims? If not, we must rethink our understanding society, politics, and the exercise of power. Beginning with the premise that our knowledge of political and social life is historical and contingent, Andrew Koch seeks to re-conceptualize our understanding of politics and power. Koch moves the discussions of power and politics away from search for foundational truths. Viewing politics and power through an epistemological lens, he explores what our understanding of politics and power looks like in the wake of deconstruction and genealogy. Koch begins with a general overview of the poststructuralist epistemology. From there the work contrasts this position with the interpretive sociology of Max Weber, uses deconstruction to politicize the work of Niklas Luhmann, and explores the implications of deconstruction for democracy, Marxist theory, institutional power, and anarchist politics.
Details
Details
  • Lexington Books
    Pages: 156 • Trim: 6½ x 9½
    978-0-7391-1408-7 • Hardback • June 2007 • $113.00 • (£87.00)
    978-0-7391-1409-4 • Paperback • May 2007 • $57.99 • (£45.00)
    Subjects: Philosophy / Reference, Political Science / History & Theory
Author
Author
  • Andrew Koch is associate professor of political science at Appalachian State University.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Chapter 1 Poststructuralism and Political Philosophy
    Chapter 2 The Methods of Inquiry: Weber and Poststructuralism
    Chapter 3 Niklas Luhmann, Jacqeus Derrida and the Politics of Epistemological Closure
    Chapter 4 Democracy and Personal Autonomy
    Chapter 5 Marx, Derrida, and the Politics of Emancipation
    Chapter 6 Conclusion: The Epistemological Crisis in Contemporary Politics
Reviews
Reviews
  • In a series of articles and books over a period of several years, Professor Andrew Koch has grappled with the most interesting and challenging problems at the center of the methodological and policy debates of the political and social sciences. In this book, accepting that 'all political orders use power and are, on some level, repressive,' and that all present political orders are unyieldingly committed to absolutist secular or sacred conceptions of knowledge and human nature, Professor Koch offers a poststructural reformation of the political that abandons the reliance on absolutes and opens up space for counter-discourses of liberation, diversity, and a more open view of our collective political future. Professor Koch's book is a welcome addition to current debates about the need for a fundamental reorientation of thinking about human prospects on planet Earth.
    — Edward M. Wheat, University of Southern Mississippi


    This is a book well worth reading for its comprehensive sweep and the succinctness of its exposition of all aspects of post-structuralism.
    — Horst Hutter, Concordia University


ALSO AVAILABLE

  • Cover image for the book The Body of Faith: God in the People Israel
  • Cover image for the book Ways of Wisdom: Readings on the Good Life
  • Cover image for the book What is Philosophy?
  • Cover image for the book J.L. Austin and the Law: Exculpation and the Explication of Responsibility
  • Cover image for the book Museum Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Hegelian Philosophy, Second Edition
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Wittgenstein's Philosophy, Second Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Foundations of Knowledge
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Leibniz's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Mill's The Subjection of Women: Critical Essays
  • Cover image for the book Freedom to Believe: Essays and Letters
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Schopenhauer's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Kant and Kantianism
  • Cover image for the book The Myth of Sisyphus: Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility
  • Cover image for the book Language and Other Abstract Objects
  • Cover image for the book When the Norns Have Spoken
  • Cover image for the book Transformative Philosophy: Socrates, Wittgenstein, and the Democratic Spirit of Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Kierkegaard's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Truth and Symbol
  • Cover image for the book The Good Rebel: Understanding Freedom and Morality
  • Cover image for the book Philosophies of Love
  • Cover image for the book Towards Synergism: The Cosmic Significance of the Human Civilizational Project
  • Cover image for the book Converse in the Spirit: William Blake, Jacob Boehme, and the Creative Spirit
  • Cover image for the book Staring into the Void: Spinoza, Master of Nihilism
  • Cover image for the book Rational Thinking: A Study in Basic Logic
  • Cover image for the book Desperately Seeking Ethics: A Guide to Media Conduct
  • Cover image for the book The Existential Philosophy of Paull Tillich
  • Cover image for the book Developing Moral Imagination: Case Studies in Practical Morality
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Wittgenstein's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Ethics
  • Cover image for the book Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations
  • Cover image for the book The Global Philosophers: World Politics in Western Thought, 1st Edition
  • Cover image for the book William Harvey and the Use of Purpose in the Scientific Revolution: Cosmos by Chance or Universe by Design?
  • Cover image for the book The Tyranny of Survival and other Pathologies of Civilized Life
  • Cover image for the book Existential Phenomenology and the World of Ordinary Experience: An Introduction
  • Cover image for the book The Other Machiavelli: Republican Writings by the Author of 'The Prince'
  • Cover image for the book Introduction to Philosophy and Applied Psychology: Conversational Topics in Philosophy and Psychology: A Book of Workshops
  • Cover image for the book Truth and Knowledge: On Some Themes in Tractarian and Russellian Philosophy of Language
  • Cover image for the book The Return of the King: The Intellectual Warfare Over Democratic Athens
  • Cover image for the book Understanding Marx
  • Cover image for the book Proceedings of the Sixth International Kant Congress: Current Continental Research, Volume 1
  • Cover image for the book The Body of Faith: God in the People Israel
  • Cover image for the book Ways of Wisdom: Readings on the Good Life
  • Cover image for the book What is Philosophy?
  • Cover image for the book J.L. Austin and the Law: Exculpation and the Explication of Responsibility
  • Cover image for the book Museum Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Hegelian Philosophy, Second Edition
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Wittgenstein's Philosophy, Second Edition
  • Cover image for the book The Foundations of Knowledge
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Leibniz's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Mill's The Subjection of Women: Critical Essays
  • Cover image for the book Freedom to Believe: Essays and Letters
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Schopenhauer's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Kant and Kantianism
  • Cover image for the book The Myth of Sisyphus: Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility
  • Cover image for the book Language and Other Abstract Objects
  • Cover image for the book When the Norns Have Spoken
  • Cover image for the book Transformative Philosophy: Socrates, Wittgenstein, and the Democratic Spirit of Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Kierkegaard's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Truth and Symbol
  • Cover image for the book The Good Rebel: Understanding Freedom and Morality
  • Cover image for the book Philosophies of Love
  • Cover image for the book Towards Synergism: The Cosmic Significance of the Human Civilizational Project
  • Cover image for the book Converse in the Spirit: William Blake, Jacob Boehme, and the Creative Spirit
  • Cover image for the book Staring into the Void: Spinoza, Master of Nihilism
  • Cover image for the book Rational Thinking: A Study in Basic Logic
  • Cover image for the book Desperately Seeking Ethics: A Guide to Media Conduct
  • Cover image for the book The Existential Philosophy of Paull Tillich
  • Cover image for the book Developing Moral Imagination: Case Studies in Practical Morality
  • Cover image for the book The A to Z of Wittgenstein's Philosophy
  • Cover image for the book Historical Dictionary of Ethics
  • Cover image for the book Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations
  • Cover image for the book The Global Philosophers: World Politics in Western Thought, 1st Edition
  • Cover image for the book William Harvey and the Use of Purpose in the Scientific Revolution: Cosmos by Chance or Universe by Design?
  • Cover image for the book The Tyranny of Survival and other Pathologies of Civilized Life
  • Cover image for the book Existential Phenomenology and the World of Ordinary Experience: An Introduction
  • Cover image for the book The Other Machiavelli: Republican Writings by the Author of 'The Prince'
  • Cover image for the book Introduction to Philosophy and Applied Psychology: Conversational Topics in Philosophy and Psychology: A Book of Workshops
  • Cover image for the book Truth and Knowledge: On Some Themes in Tractarian and Russellian Philosophy of Language
  • Cover image for the book The Return of the King: The Intellectual Warfare Over Democratic Athens
  • Cover image for the book Understanding Marx
  • Cover image for the book Proceedings of the Sixth International Kant Congress: Current Continental Research, Volume 1
facebook icon twitter icon instagram icon linked in icon NEWSLETTERS
ABOUT US
  • Mission Statement
  • Employment
  • Privacy
  • Accessibility Statement
CONTACT
  • Company Directory
  • Publicity and Media Queries
  • Rights and Permissions
  • Textbook Resource Center
AUTHOR RESOURCES
  • Royalty Contact
  • Production Guidelines
  • Manuscript Submissions
ORDERING INFORMATION
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • National Book Network
  • Ingram Publisher Services UK
  • Special Sales
  • International Sales
  • eBook Partners
  • Digital Catalogs
IMPRINTS
  • Rowman & Littlefield
  • Lexington Books
  • Hamilton Books
  • Applause Books
  • Amadeus Press
  • Backbeat Books
  • Bernan
  • Hal Leonard Books
  • Limelight Editions
  • Co-Publishing Partners
  • Globe Pequot
  • Down East Books
  • Falcon Guides
  • Gooseberry Patch
  • Lyons Press
  • Muddy Boots
  • Pineapple Press
  • TwoDot Books
  • Stackpole Books
PARTNERS
  • American Alliance of Museums
  • American Association for State and Local History
  • Brookings Institution Press
  • Center for Strategic & International Studies
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
  • Fortress Press
  • The Foundation for Critical Thinking
  • Lehigh University Press
  • United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
  • Other Partners...