The Basics is a highly successful series of accessible guidebooks which provide an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area in a jargon-free and undaunting format.
Intended for students approaching a subject for the first time, the books both introduce the essentials of a subject and provide an ideal springboard for further study. With over 50 titles spanning subjects from Artificial Intelligence to Women’s Studies, The Basics are an ideal starting point for students seeking to understand a subject area.
Each text comes with recommendations for further study and gradually introduces the complexities and nuances within a subject.
By Graham Oppy
October 11, 2018
Atheism: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to belief in the non-existence of deities. Atheism has long fascinated people but debate around this controversial position may seem daunting. In this lively and lucid book, Graham Oppy addresses the following important questions: • What ...
By Philip Clayton
October 11, 2018
Religion and science are arguably the two most powerful social forces in the world today. But where religion and science were once held to be compatible, many people now perceive them to be in conflict. This unique book provides the best available introduction to the burning debates in this ...
By Victoria S. Harrison
September 04, 2018
Eastern Philosophy: The Basics is an essential introduction to major Indian and Chinese philosophies, both past and present. Exploring familiar metaphysical and ethical questions from the perspectives offered by a range of eastern philosophies, including Confucianism, Daoism, the main Buddhist and ...
By David Greenham
August 14, 2018
Close reading is the most essential skill that literature students continue to develop across the full length of their studies. This book is the ideal guide to the practice, providing a methodology that can be used for poetry, novels, drama, and beyond. Using classic works of literature, ...
By Hilary M. Lips
August 14, 2018
Gender: The Basics is an engaging introduction to the influence of cultural, historical, biological, psychological, and economic forces on ways in which we have come to define and experience femininity and masculinity, and on the impact and importance of gender categories. Highlighting that there ...
By Marion Gibson
June 18, 2018
Witchcraft: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the scholarly study of witchcraft, exploring the phenomenon of witchcraft from its earliest definitions in the Middle Ages through to its resonances in the modern world. Through the use of two case studies, this book delves into ...
By Jennifer Sasser, Harry Moody
April 09, 2018
Human aging is a complex, multi-faceted experience that unfolds over an entire lifetime. While human aging is universal, it is also wildly variable, shaped by individual, social, cultural, political, geographic and historical contexts. Gerontology: The basics explores the field of research, ...
By Angela Jane Weisl, Anthony Joseph Cunder
March 23, 2018
Medieval Literature: The Basics is an engaging introduction to this fascinating body of literature. The volume breaks down the variety of genres used in the corpus of medieval literature and makes these texts accessible to readers. It engages with the familiarities present in the narratives and ...
By Bent Greve
February 12, 2018
Social and Labour Market Policy: The Basics is an engaging and accessible introduction to the subject, which explores the broad historical, social and economic factors which have affected the differing types of social and labour market policies found in welfare states. Drawing links between social ...
By Rekha Datta
December 14, 2017
Contemporary India: The Basics provides readers with a clear and accessible guide through the richness, diversity and complexity of twenty-first century India. It explores the reality of the country’s cultural diversity which creates both harmony and tension. Covering issues the country faces both ...
By Rhiannon Mason, Alistair Robinson, Emma Coffield
December 05, 2017
Museum and Gallery Studies: The Basics is an accessible guide for the student approaching Museum and Gallery Studies for the first time. Taking a global view, it covers the key ideas, approaches and contentious issues in the field. Balancing theory and practice, the book address important questions...
By Robert Hinshelwood, Tomasz Fortuna
October 27, 2017
Melanie Klein: The Basics provides an accessible and concise introduction to the life and work of Melanie Klein, whose discoveries advanced those of Freud and other analysts, deepening our insight into the unconscious domain of psychology in human beings. Klein began her work by developing a method...