Portrait of Lord Melvyn Bragg, host of In Our Time

Social theories

Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena. A tool used by social scientists, social theories relate to historical debates over the validity and reliability of different methodologies (e.g.

8 episodes

Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:

  1. Anarchism

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Anarchism and why its political ideas became synonymous with chaos and disorder.

    7 December 2006

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    Featuring: John Keane, Ruth Kinna, Peter Marshall

     
  2. Existentialism

    Melvyn Bragg discusses existentialism, a twentieth century philosophy of everyday life concerned with the individual, and his or her place within the world.

    28 June 2001

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    Featuring: A. C. Grayling, Christina Howells, Simon Critchley

     
  3. Feminism

    Melvyn Bragg discusses the rise of Feminism and the subsequent empowerment of women. What have been the most lasting changes for women in the last century and what is there still left to achieve?

    7 January 1999

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    Featuring: Helena Cronin, Germaine Greer

     
  4. Multiculturalism

    Melvyn Bragg examines whether it is possible to define how attitudes to race and identity have changed in the 20th century, given its vast shifts of population, cultures and peoples.

    13 May 1999

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    Featuring: Stuart Hall, Avtar Brah

     
  5. Progress

    Melvyn Bragg examines whether while mankind has grown in years and knowledge, it has also progressed in terms of happiness and a truer understanding of the human condition.

    18 November 1999

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    Featuring: Anthony O'Hear, Adam Phillips

     
  6. Rawls' Theory of Justice

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss A Theory of Justice by John Rawls, first published in 1971, a work that's been called the most influential book in 20th-century political philosophy.

    19 January 2023

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    Featuring: Fabienne Peter, Martin O'Neill, Jonathan Wolff

     
  7. Social Darwinism

    Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Social Darwinism, a school of thought which attempted to apply Darwin's ideas about evolution to human society.

    20 February 2014

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    Featuring: Adam Kuper, Gregory Radick, Charlotte Sleigh

     
  8. The Social Contract

    Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Social Contract. A key idea in political philosophy, it states that political authority is held through a contract with those to be ruled.

    7 February 2008

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    Featuring: Melissa Lane, Susan James, Karen O'Brien