Concepts of the Self, 2nd Edition

“What Anthony Elliot accomplished in the first edition of Concepts was remarkable. Here, a second time around, he does it still again – even better! No-one writing today has the range and depth of Elliott’s understanding of self-theory. He writes with confidence, clarity, and great care of all the prominent concepts of self. No-one I know can write so reliably of the classic theorists in the same concise book as of the newest queer and postmodern ones. No reader, whether student or scholar, will want to be without this brilliant book – a claim certified by the thousands of students who enjoyed the first edition.”

Charles Lemert, Wesleyan University

“This great little book contains everything you wished but did not dare to ask about the meaning of the ‘self’ – one of the thorniest, most contentious, exciting and enraging issues of our times and our lives in these times. To the questions you might have asked or are likely to ask yet, Elliott offers answers that are carefully weighted, balanced and realistic – drawing from the vast treasury of sociological insights and moving freely between the variety of complementary even if ostensibly adversary perspectives. Elliott’s book is good to read, to learn and to think with. It helps to understand what it means to ‘have a self’ and ‘to be oneself’ – an understanding that itself is a foremost condition of both.”

Zygmunt Bauman, Universities of Leeds and Warsaw