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...sociology and social theory around the world.
In particular, he developed the theory of structuration, which is the understanding of the relationship between individuals and the conditions around them. We should view life in society as a series of ongoing activities and practices that people carry on, but which at the same time reproduce larger institutions.
Most recently he has been at the forefront of developing ideas in left of centre politics. He has helped to popularise the idea of the 'Third Way'. The Third Way represents the renewal of social democracy in a world where the views of the old left have become obsolete, while those of the new right are inadequate and contradictory. A new social democratic agenda is emerging that is integrated, robust and wide-ranging, which can also rekindle political idealism.
Giddens has travelled to many countries around the world talking to political leaders and heads of state about the development of third way politics.
Giddens was educated at the University of Hull and the London School of Economics. At the LSE, he wrote a dissertation on ‘Sport and Society in Contemporary Britain’. He has taught at the University of Leicester and subsequently at Cambridge, where he was Professor of Sociology.
From 1997 to 2003 he was Director of the LSE. He is currently a Life Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge.
He was made a Life Peer in May 2004.
He has honorary degrees from 15 universities. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Science and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
He is the author or editor of 40 books translated into over 40 different languages. His first work, Capitalism and Modern Social Theory, has been continuously in print for more than three decades.
Several of his other books have become academic bestsellers. He has written the leading textbook in sociology, which has sold a million copies worldwide since it was first published in 1988.
He has sat on the board of various public organisations, including the Institute of Public Policy Research.
Giddens’s impact upon politics has been profound. His advice has been sought by political leaders from Asia, Latin America and Australia, as well as from the US and Europe. He has had a major impact upon the evolution of New Labour in the UK. He took part in the original Blair-Clinton dialogues from 1997 onwards.
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- Changes affecting our lives today
- On the Edge: living with global capitalism
- Social Change
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