About the Press
An independent publishing house built on a simple conviction — that serious scholarship deserves to be read widely, and read well.
Social Science Press publishes books in the humanities and the social sciences, with a strong concentration in history, politics, sociology and anthropology. Our list is chosen for the quality of its scholarship and reflects a range of views rather than a single position — we publish on gender, for example, without being a feminist press.
We believe serious scholarship should be widely read. Our books are written lucidly, so that they are accessible to a large readership beyond the academy, and they are examined by experts before they are accepted for publication. Production is closely supervised and made competitive with international standards.
“It would not be an exaggeration to say that Social Science Press has become a brand name for quality books.”
On 20 January 1999, the first book to bear the Social Science Press imprint became a reality. It was Income Poverty and Beyond, edited by Raja Chelliah and R. Sudarshan and offered to the Press by the United Nations Development Programme. The book sold well and was reprinted several times, and it remains in print today. The following year the Press published three more titles, and the list grew steadily from there.
Founded by Esha Beteille, the Press was built on a clear idea: to develop a good academic list that would serve the scholarly community and society at large by disseminating knowledge. Alongside its work on India and South Asia, it makes writing on the region from France, Germany and elsewhere available in English translation — often for the first time — and has a growing list of regional writing in translation.
Milestones
Key moments in the life of the Press.
On 20 January 1999, Income Poverty and Beyond, edited by Raja Chelliah and R. Sudarshan and offered by the UNDP, becomes the first title to carry the Social Science Press imprint.
Three more titles follow the next year, and the catalogue begins to take shape across history, politics, sociology and anthropology.
Writing on India and South Asia from France, Germany and elsewhere is brought to readers in English translation, often for the first time.
The Uncommon Histories series is developed — slim, engagingly written books that carry new knowledge to readers outside the academy.
Social Science Press books are read across India and South Asia, held in university libraries in the UK and the US, and displayed on the shelves of the World Bank and the United Nations.
Leadership
Owner & President
Radha Beteille is the owner and president of Social Science Press. Her association with the house goes back to its very first book: she edited Income Poverty and Beyond in 1999, while still sitting her Board examinations.
She leads the Press with a straightforward conviction — that a publisher's first responsibility is to the quality of its books. Under her direction the house continues to commission carefully, to edit and produce to international standards, and to keep serious scholarship within reach of the wide readership it is written for.
What we stand for
We answer to the quality of the argument, not to the market. That freedom shapes everything we choose to publish.
Careful peer review and attentive editing stand behind every title that carries our imprint.
Scholarship should be affordable. We price our books so that students and teachers can actually own them.
Browse a catalogue a quarter-century in the making, across the disciplines of the social sciences.
View the catalogue