"A rich and multifaceted web of disciplines, the social sciences are, by nature, in perpetual evolution. From their seventeenth- and eighteenth-century roots, they have grown to accommodate the major forces that have affected nearly every aspect of the way human beings live - from education, life expectancy, and the family model to urbanization, international relations, governmental models, and new technology and media. In their endeavor to understand and explain the implications of such dramatic flux, political scientists, anthropologists, economists, and other social scientists have spawned complex lexicons that can be daunting to the lay reader - indeed, even to the specialist working outside his or her field." "Oxford's unprecedented new 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." "The Dictionary of the Social Sciences is an invaluable tool for anyone in the social science disciplines. Experts crossing disciplines will find it as useful as nonspecialists interested in gaining a broader perspective on the social sciences."--BOOK JACKET.