Taking It Big

C. Wright Mills and the Making of Political Intellectuals

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Taking It Big by Stanley Aronowitz, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stanley Aronowitz ISBN: 9780231509503
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: July 10, 2012
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Stanley Aronowitz
ISBN: 9780231509503
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: July 10, 2012
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

C. Wright Mills (1916–1962) was a pathbreaking intellectual who transformed the independent American Left in the 1940s and 1950s. Often challenging the established ideologies and approaches of fellow leftist thinkers, Mills was central to creating and developing the idea of the "public intellectual" in postwar America and laid the political foundations for the rise of the New Left in the 1960s. Written by Stanley Aronowitz, a leading sociologist and critic of American culture and politics, Taking It Big reconstructs this icon's formation and the new dimension of American political life that followed his work.

Aronowitz revisits Mills's education and its role in shaping his outlook and intellectual restlessness. Mills defined himself as a maverick, and Aronowitz tests this claim (which has been challenged in recent years) against the work and thought of his contemporaries. Aronowitz describes Mills's growing circle of contacts among the New York Intellectuals and his efforts to reenergize the Left by encouraging a fundamentally new theoretical orientation centered on more ambitious critiques of U.S. society. Blurring the rigid boundaries among philosophy, history, and social theory and between traditional orthodoxies and the radical imagination, Mills became one of the most admired and controversial thinkers of his time and was instrumental in inspiring the student and antiwar movements of the 1960s. In this book, Aronowitz not only reclaims this critical thinker's reputation but also emphasizes his ongoing significance to debates on power in American democracy.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

C. Wright Mills (1916–1962) was a pathbreaking intellectual who transformed the independent American Left in the 1940s and 1950s. Often challenging the established ideologies and approaches of fellow leftist thinkers, Mills was central to creating and developing the idea of the "public intellectual" in postwar America and laid the political foundations for the rise of the New Left in the 1960s. Written by Stanley Aronowitz, a leading sociologist and critic of American culture and politics, Taking It Big reconstructs this icon's formation and the new dimension of American political life that followed his work.

Aronowitz revisits Mills's education and its role in shaping his outlook and intellectual restlessness. Mills defined himself as a maverick, and Aronowitz tests this claim (which has been challenged in recent years) against the work and thought of his contemporaries. Aronowitz describes Mills's growing circle of contacts among the New York Intellectuals and his efforts to reenergize the Left by encouraging a fundamentally new theoretical orientation centered on more ambitious critiques of U.S. society. Blurring the rigid boundaries among philosophy, history, and social theory and between traditional orthodoxies and the radical imagination, Mills became one of the most admired and controversial thinkers of his time and was instrumental in inspiring the student and antiwar movements of the 1960s. In this book, Aronowitz not only reclaims this critical thinker's reputation but also emphasizes his ongoing significance to debates on power in American democracy.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book David Foster Wallace's Balancing Books by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book My South Seas Sleeping Beauty by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book The Nature and Future of Philosophy by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Deep Red by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book The End of the Soul by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Globalectics by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Transnational Social Work Practice by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Excessive Saints by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Documenting Cityscapes by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Antidemocracy in America by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Carried Away by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Best Practices for Social Work with Refugees and Immigrants by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Rethinking Investment Incentives by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Just Life by Stanley Aronowitz
Cover of the book Local Politics in Jordan and Morocco by Stanley Aronowitz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy