Book Description

This edited volume examines the critical issues of the 21st century through the prism of Ernest Gellner's work. The contributors look critically at Gellner ́s legacy, questioning whether he remains an inspiration for today's social theorists. Chapters proactively probe Gellner's thoughts on a variety of pressing topics-modernity, postcolonialsm, nationalism, and more-without losing sight of current debates on these issues. This volume further brings these debates to life by having each chapter followed by a comment by an academic peer of the chapter author, thus transforming the text into a lively and dynamic conversation. Petr Skalník is Emeritus Extraordinary Professor at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. Previously he taught at Comenius University, Leiden University, University of Cape Town, Charles University and the University of Pardubice. He has edited and co-edited over two dozen books over the course of his career, and is the 2006 recipient of the Chevalier dans l ́Ordre des Palmes Académiques. From 1992 to 1997 he served as the Ambassador of Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic to Lebanon, and from 2003 to 2013 he was Vice-President of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.