#god this is making me want to read social theory again UGH i'm in PAIN

[clandestinegardenias]

as someone who stumbled upon your panopticon kp meta and spent the last two days researching the surveillance theory while ripping my hair out, i need you to recommend me some books or even academic articles on social theory that you think are important or interesting. i’m still in undergrad and am finishing up my social psych class (which was very surface level, “i can google it and understand it” kind of stuff), anything that you think is interesting to look into, please tell me!!! doesn’t even have to be social theory, any books or journals that you liked, let me know because i will read the heck out of them 😵‍💫

Sorry this took me so long to answer, anon! I wanted to wait until I got back into my office and had access to my books.

Okay so first, this is THE BEST ASK I HAVE EVER RECEIVED. I am LOVING that you want to read social theory because of my kp meta, this is my crowning achievement, my glory in life.

Ahem. Okay. SO, a few selected recommendations for people wanting to dig a little deeper into social theory.

Note: Most of these are in the public domain and can be found for free by googling them with 'pdf'. Also available at libraries!

Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault

If you loved the panopticon meta, this is for you. Foucault can be REALLY dense, so this isn't exactly an easy read, but it's utterly FASCINATING. While the focus is on the evolution of modern-day prisons, the theories are broadly applicable to the structure of our society more generally and how we monitor and control bodies. also good for analyzing kink in kinnporsche

2. Capitalism and Modern Social Theory by Anthony Giddens

If you're really curious about the three big classical social theorists (Marx, Durkheim, and Weber) but don't want to, say, read all of Capital, this is a great place to start. Giddens analyzes the main big ideas from each of these theorists and gives you some great context and background. You wanna engage with the Marxist debate around rich kid Mile funding his own gay mafia fantasy? Start here.

3. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman

This book changed my LIFE. It connects the personal, internal sense of self with the way that self-understanding is formed through society and social interactions. If you're intrigued by how Kinn presents one 'self' around his family and an entirely different one around Porsche, this is your book. It's got dramaturgical analysis, it's got looking-glass self, it's got it ALL. Note: For a slightly more confusing but equally enthralling take on this topic, see Mind, Self and Society by George Herbert Mead.

4. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber

If Giddens gave you a taste of Weber and you can't get enough, go here. Again, life changing. Connects dominant Western religious attitudes with the rise of capitalism. More fun than it sounds. Iron cage of rationality, enchantment, and Weber was definitely into religious erotica so go here for all your VegasPete needs. also go to Discipline and Punish

5. Gender Trouble by Judith Butler

Read everything and anything by Butler, but start here. If you think gender is a scam and biological sex might be, too, this book will speak to your soul. If you want to talk about how Kinn performs the role of 'mafia boss' in a very gendered way, takes after his mom, uses soft power, etc. this book is your best friend. Also gets into sexuality, here's an amazing quote: "heterosexual melancholy is culturally instituted as the price of stable gender identities" WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, READ THIS.