The History of Western Social Theory, by Alan MacFarlane, Cambridge University


These lectures were presented by Alan MacFarlane in November 2001 in the Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge. They were part of a course on theory and methods in anthropology designed for second year social anthropology undergraduates. Above, watch Lecture 1: A Map of Social Theories, 1000-2000. The remaining lectures follow below:

Lecture 2: The Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Lecture 3: Adam Smith (1723-1790)

Lecture 4: Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859)

Lecture 5: Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Lecture 6: Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

Lecture 7: Max Weber (1864-1920)

Lecture 8: Ernest Gellner (1925-1995)

Lecture 9: F.W.Maitland (1850-1906)

You will find this course added to our collection, 1,700 Free Online Courses from Top Universities.

Support Open Culture

We’re hoping to rely on our loyal readers rather than erratic ads. To support Open Culture’s educational mission, please consider making a donation. We accept PayPal, Venmo (@openculture), Patreon and Crypto! Please find all options here. We thank you!


Quantcast
Open Culture was founded by Dan Colman.