Social theory Books

Book SynopsisCritical Futures explores the evolving landscape of community-engaged research (CER) in a time of unprecedented social, political, and environmental crises. This collection brings together leading scholars, community researchers, and activists to examine the intersection of CER with social justice, decolonization, and transformation.The book explores the reimagining of CER and decolonizing research practices and offers case studies from the field. Through essays and contributions from a diverse group of scholars, the book highlights the need for ethical, equitable collaboration that transcends traditional academic hierarchies. It addresses topics including the role of solidarity in research, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CER, Indigenous and Two-Spirit community research, and the critical importance of addressing power dynamics in university-community partnerships.With a focus on justice and the creation of new collective possibilities, Critical Futures provides both theoretical frameworks and practical examples that inspire a rethinking of how community research can contribute to a more just and sustainable future. This collection is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of research that is rooted in social change and community engagement.

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Book SynopsisAn indispensable guide to the sociological theories behind crime, it outlines the principal theories of crime and rule-breaking, discussing them chronologically. Placing each theory in its European and North American contexts, the authors confront major criticisms that have been voiced against each theory, and construct defences where appropriate. Thoroughly revised and updated in its 7th edition, this is the clearest and most authoritative guide to crime and deviance, written by three leading names in the field.Trade ReviewI would say that while lesser books go straight to the 'deviance' aspect, this book does much more by addressing the 'sociology', situating the subject historically, culturally, and academically. * Jo Buckle, Glasgow Caledonian University *An excellent introduction to the sociology of deviance; it covers all the main theories and some that are not typically included with rich and varied examples. * Dr Luca Follis, Lancaster University Law School *I regard Understanding Deviance to be a triumph, a major achievement - and its reading essential to a balanced understanding of the field. * Erich Goode, Emeritus Professor, State University of New York at Stony Brook *Table of Contents1: Theoretical contexts: the changing nature and scope of the sociology of crime and deviance 2: Sources of knowledge about crime and deviance 3: The Chicago school 4: Functionalism: the Durkheimian legacy 5: Anomie and strain theory 6: Culture and subculture 7: Symbolic interactionism 8: Phenomenology 9: Control theories 10: Radical criminology 11: Feminist criminology 12: Victimology 13: Public criminology: theory and policy 14: The metamorphosis of the sociology of crime and deviance

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Book SynopsisConsidering Class: Theory, Culture and Media in the 21st Century offers the reader international and interdisciplinary perspectives on the importance of class analysis in the 21st century. Political economists, sociologists, educationalists, ethnographers, cultural and media analysts have contributed to this volume to provide a multi-dimensional account of current class dynamics.Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsNotes on Contributors i1 Introduction Deirdre O’Neill and Mike Wayne Part 1: Class Theory 2 Class and the Classical Marxist Tradition Joseph Choonara3 Social Class and Education Dave Hill4 Marxist Class Theory: Competition, Contingency and Intermediate Class Positions Jonathan Pratschke5 Class Segregation  Danny Dorling6 The ‘Secret’ of the Restoration: Increased Class Exploitation Maurizio Donato and Roberto Taddeo Part 2: Class and Culture 7 Exploitation, Oppression, and Epistemology Holly Lewis8 Peasants, Migrants and Self-Employed Workers: The Masks that Veil Class Affiliation in Latin America: The Argentine Case Marina Kabat and Eduardo Sartelli9 Capitalism, Class and Collective Identity: Social Movements and Public Services in South Africa Adrian Murray10 On Intellectuals Deirdre O’Neill and Mike Wayne11 The British Working Class Post-blair Consensus: We Do Not Exist Lisa Mckenzie12 From Class Solidarity to Cultural Solidarity: Immigration, Crises, and the Populist Right Ferruh Yilmaz13 Recovering the Australian Working Class Tony Moore, Mark Gibson and Catharine Lumby Part 3: Class and the Media 14 ‘Everything Changes. Everything Stays the Same’: Documenting Continuity and Change in Working Class Lives Anita Biressi15 Ghettos and Gated Communities in the Social Landscape of Television: Representations of Class in 1982 and 2015 Fredrik Stiernstedt and Peter Jakobsson16 Class, Culture and Exploitation: The Case of Reality tv  Milly Williamson17 Class Warfare, the Neoliberal Man and the Political Economy of Methamphetamine in Breaking Bad  Michael Seltzer18 ‘The Thing Is I’m Actually from Bromley’: Queer/Class Intersectionality in Pride (2014) Craig HaslopIndex

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Book SynopsisIn almost every human society some people get more and others get less. Why is inequity the rule in these societies? In The Origins of Unfairness, philosopher Cailin O''Connor firstly considers how groups are divided into social categories, like gender, race, and religion, to address this question. She uses the formal frameworks of game theory and evolutionary game theory to explore the cultural evolution of the conventions which piggyback on these seemingly irrelevant social categories. These frameworks elucidate a variety of topics from the innateness of gender differences, to collaboration in academia, to household bargaining, to minority disadvantage, to homophily. They help to show how inequity can emerge from simple processes of cultural change in groups with gender and racial categories, and under a wide array of situations. The process of learning conventions of coordination and resource division is such that some groups will tend to get more and others less. O''Connor offers solutions to such problems of coordination and resource division and also shows why we need to think of inequity as part of an ever evolving process. Surprisingly minimal conditions are needed to robustly produce phenomena related to inequity and, once inequity emerges in these models, it takes very little for it to persist indefinitely. Thus, those concerned with social justice must remain vigilant against the dynamic forces that push towards inequity.Trade ReviewIn The Origins of Unfairness Cailin O'Connor makes a number of excellent contributions to our understanding of social norms, discrimination, and inequity. O'Connor blends formal ethods from game theory with philosophical discussion and socio-cultural commentary. This combination and the book's accessible style mean it will be of interest to scholars from many disciplines. * Aja Watkins & Rory Smead, Economics and Philosophy *Carefully and clearly argued ... a powerful statement about how unfairness between genders and races is likely to arise in a wide variety of actual conditions ... O'Connor insightfully warns us that when we think we have made moral progress in fighting oppression, there will inevitably be new forms of unfairness to recognize and struggle against * Ann Cudd, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *Human groups across cultures and times have divided labor by gender. What explains this fact, along with related inequities in the division of resources? ... Cailin O'Connor illuminates this complicated story using evolutionary game-theoretic modeling. * William J. FitzPatrick, The Philosophical Review *

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Book SynopsisIn almost every human society some people get more and others get less. Why is inequity the rule in these societies? In The Origins of Unfairness, philosopher Cailin O''Connor firstly considers how groups are divided into social categories, like gender, race, and religion, to address this question. She uses the formal frameworks of game theory and evolutionary game theory to explore the cultural evolution of the conventions which piggyback on these seemingly irrelevant social categories. These frameworks elucidate a variety of topics from the innateness of gender differences, to collaboration in academia, to household bargaining, to minority disadvantage, to homophily. They help to show how inequity can emerge from simple processes of cultural change in groups with gender and racial categories, and under a wide array of situations. The process of learning conventions of coordination and resource division is such that some groups will tend to get more and others less. O''Connor offers solutions to such problems of coordination and resource division and also shows why we need to think of inequity as part of an ever evolving process. Surprisingly minimal conditions are needed to robustly produce phenomena related to inequity and, once inequity emerges in these models, it takes very little for it to persist indefinitely. Thus, those concerned with social justice must remain vigilant against the dynamic forces that push towards inequity.Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: The Evolution of Inequity Through Social Coordination 1: Gender, Coordination Problems, and Coordination Games 2: Social Categories, Coordination, and Inequity 3: Cultural Evolution with Social Categories 4: The Evolution of Gender Part II: The Evolution of Inequity Through Division of Resources 5: Power and the Evolution of Inequity 6: The Cultural Red Queen and the Cultural Red King 7: Discrimination and Homophily 8: The Evolution of Household Bargaining 9: Evolution and Revolution 10: Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThis book is a Festschrift in honour of Paul Rock, former Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics. The edited volume examines and builds on the central themes associated with Professor Rock's work - social and criminological theory, policy development and policy-making, and victims and victimology.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION: PAUL ROCK ; POEM ON THE OCCASION OF PAUL ROCK'S RETIREMENT

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Book SynopsisThis work presents analysis of the evolution and development of the social sciences. It reconsiders how knowledge actually changes and advances. Challenging the accepted belief that social sciences are in a perpetual state of progress, this work contends that there is a core set of principles.

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Book SynopsisAn insightful examination of how intersecting individual motivations and social structures mobilize spontaneous mass protests. Between 15 and 26 million Americans participated in protests surrounding the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others as part of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, which is only one of the most recent examples of an immense mobilization of citizens around a cause. In The Rise of the Masses, sociologist Benjamin Abrams addresses why and how people spontaneously protest, riot, and revolt en masse. While most uprisings of such a scale require tremendous resources and organizing, this book focuses on cases where people with no connection to organized movements take to the streets, largely of their own accord. Looking to the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, and the Black Lives Uprising, as well as the historical case of the French Revolution, Abrams lays out a theory of how and why massive mobilizations arise without the large-scalTrade Review“Skillfully drawing on and synthesizing an impressive range of theoretical perspectives, Benjamin Abrams has fashioned a highly original theory of spontaneous mass mobilization. As if that weren’t enough, he goes on to make a compelling, empirically informed case for the application of his affinity-convergence theory to four iconic mass movements, ranging from the French Revolution to the George Floyd Protests of 2020. Anyone interested in the dynamics of spontaneous mass action will want to read this book.” -- Doug McAdam, Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology, Stanford University“Drawing on four diverse cycles of contention. . . . Abrams shows how much of the process of mobilization can be explained as the product of affinities and convergence on the part of unorganized groups—the 'masses' in his title—while their failures can be explained as their inability to create viable and robust structures around their affinities. His book should be read by social movement specialists and by general readers concerned with the current waves of mass mobilization alike. While the book is based on immense reading and research, it is Abrams's deep thinking that I admire most. A very readable and engaging book." -- Sidney Tarrow, author of Power in Movement“Social movements and revolutions are enormously consequential. Yet, their confounding and elusive mysteries are not fully understood. How do they burst forth, who brings them into being, and why do they fail or succeed? Do they spring from spontaneity or organization? The Rise of the Masses squarely confronts these fundamental questions through careful analysis, copious evidence, and enthralling narratives of historic movements. In so doing, Abrams illuminates how these engines of social change operate. This book is a rich fount of knowledge that should be widely read.” -- Aldon Morris, author of The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement"This book will be important reading for those interested in explaining mobilization generally and delving into how we can better understand more spontaneous mobilizations. In addition, it would be of interest to any scholars or publics interested in the four core cases of analysis. I found the book compelling, beautifully written, and convincing." -- Catherine Corrigall-Brown * Social Forces *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I: Theorizing Mobilization 1. What We Know about Mobilization, and What We Need To 2. Affinity-Convergence Theory Part II: The Egyptian Revolution, 2011 3. Egypt on the Eve of Revolution 4. The Anatomy of a Revolutionary Moment 5. The Fall and Fall of Revolutionary Egypt Part III: Occupy Wall Street 6. Globalizing the Revolution 7. Enter the Occupiers 8. The End of the Extraordinary Part IV: The Black Lives Uprising, 2020 9. From Tragedy to Uprising 10. Mass Mobilization for Black Lives Part V: The French Revolution, 1789 11. Mass Mobilization against the Ancien Régime 12. The Development of Revolutionary Mobilization Conclusion Acknowledgments Notes Index

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Book SynopsisOne of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman (19252017) made reflection on culture a fundamental part of his academic work. He published a substantial number of papers on the topic, and many of his concepts would go on to significantly influence the social sciences and humanities. Bauman began his theoretical studies on culture when working at the University of Warsaw and continued them all his life. Inspired by the many intellectual currents he encountered over his more than six decades of work, Bauman wrote on culture in the contexts of such issues as Marxism and socialism, modernity and the Holocaust, postmodernity and liquid modernity, and contemporary nostalgia. In Zygmunt Bauman and the Theory of Culture Dariusz Brzezinski uses the evolution of Bauman's theory of culture as a prism through which to offer a comparative analysis, putting Bauman's work in conversation with the writinTrade Review"In this first comprehensive and critical assessment of Bauman’s lifelong work on culture, Brzeziński includes Bauman’s Polish-language papers and books, as well as his works discovered only posthumously, presenting them to an international audience." Polish Sociological Review“Brzezinski has produced a valuable and original text which provides new resources for scholars interested in Bauman’s work. It is true to Bauman’s overall goal in his sociology which always sought a critical perspective which, in defamiliarizing the familiar, encouraged his readers to think afresh about what is and what could be. … Brzezinski shows how this key trait of Bauman’s sociology, expressed in his hyperbolizing texts, can be traced back to his earliest consideration of culture in the 1960s and forward into his final pieces. In doing so, he shows how the Bauman pre-exile should count in our consideration of his sociology.” European Journal of Social Theory“Brzeziński skilfully guides the reader through much material not published in English, together with some unpublished and difficult-to-obtain material.” European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology

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Book SynopsisAcknowledgements - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction; S.Wolton - The Three Sources and Component Parts of Marxism; G.A.Cohen - Marxism and Social Construction; J.Heartfield - Uncertain Judgement: A Critique of the 'Culture of Crime'; A.Calcutt - Racial Identities: the Degradation of Human Constructions; S.Wolton - Marxism and Feminist Theory; E.Lee - The Return of the Sacred; L.Revell - Determined to be Different: Social Constructionism and Homosexuality; P.Ray - Political Internet? What a Wondrous Web we weave; K.Teare - IndexTable of ContentsAcknowledgements - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction; S.Wolton - The Three Sources and Component Parts of Marxism; G.A.Cohen - Marxism and Social Construction; J.Heartfield - Uncertain Judgement: A Critique of the 'Culture of Crime'; A.Calcutt - Racial Identities: the Degradation of Human Constructions; S.Wolton - Marxism and Feminist Theory; E.Lee - The Return of the Sacred; L.Revell - Determined to be Different: Social Constructionism and Homosexuality; P.Ray - Political Internet? What a Wondrous Web we weave; K.Teare - Index

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Book SynopsisALAN SWINGEWOOD lectures in sociology at the London School of Economics. He is also the author of Cultural Theory and the Problem of Modernity.

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Book SynopsisSpecially selected by Diane Reay, this is a collection of innovative and thought-provoking recently published papers that 'use' Bourdieu to put theory into practice in order to understand and analyse educational problems. Bourdieu's work is renowned for its focus on inequalities and its centering of social justice. The contributions utilise a wide range of diverse concepts in Bourdieu's theoretical 'tool-kit', and address educational inequalities across different aspects of the educational system â from higher education and parental choice of schooling, to teachers' professional development and the PE classroom. Illuminating key aspects of Bourdieu's scholarship, they reveal how good Bourdieu is 'for thinking withâ; illustrate the merits of reflexivity, the move beyond binary ways of reading the social world; and demonstrate the significance of power in any analysis of education. The chapters in this book were all originally published as articles in TayloTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The practical importance of Bourdieu’s analyses of higher education 2. How Bourdieu bites back: recognising misrecognition in education and educational research 3. Emotional Capital and Education: Theoretical Insights from Bourdieu 4. The power of one? Conditions which challenge managerial professional development practices 5. Using Bourdieu in practice? Urban secondary teachers’ and students’ experiences of a Bourdieusian-inspired pedagogical approach 6. Education and Cultural Capital: The Implications of Changing Trends in Education Policies 7. Fields and institutional strategy: Bourdieu on the relationship between higher education, inequality and society 8. Violent youth or violent schools? A critical incident analysis of symbolic violence 9. Bourdieu and the Social Space of the PE Class: Reproduction of Doxa through Practice 10. Mainland Chinese students at an elite Hong Kong university: habitus–field disjuncture in a transborder context 11. Cultural capital as whiteness? Examining logics of ethno-racial representation and resistance 12. Student retention in higher education: the role of institutional habitus

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Book SynopsisShades of Deviance is a turbo-driven guide to crime and deviance. It offers politically engaged, thought-provoking and accessibly written accounts of a wide range of socially and legally prohibited acts. This updated and revised edition is designed to be essential reading for general readers, undergraduate students in the fields of criminology and sociology, and those preparing to embark on degree courses in these fields. Written by field-leading experts from across the globe and designed for those who want a clear and exciting introduction to the complex areas of crime and deviance, this book provides short overviews of a wide range of social problems, harms and criminal acts, offering a series of cutting-edge and critical treatments of issues such as war and terrorism, incels and the alt-right, ecocide, trolling, hate crime and chemsex. A guide is also given to further readings and films to develop the reader's understanding of these issues. This new edition has beTrade ReviewAs with the first edition of this remarkable and indispensable book, this thoroughly revised second version pushes readers to broaden the way they think about deviance and social harm in modern societies—and to recognize the connections between the behaviors that often trouble us the most and the increasingly precarious and neglectful character of the contemporary global social order. Professor Elliott Currie, University of California, Irvine, USAA collection of fascinating insights into acts of deviance so wide and varied that conformity appears to an increasingly rare commodity. However, as the chapters in this volume attest, even as we become more diverse we are ever more policed. A book for our times.Professor Danny Dorling, University of Oxford Shades of Deviance is a thought-provoking collection bringing together short essays on a vast range of issues that are viewed in contemporary society as ‘deviant’, ‘harmful’, or ‘criminal’. Questioning the value of mainstream approaches which prioritise a focus on state defined problematic behaviours, this second edition collection includes 60 entries with new topics and authors covering low level issues such as yarnbombing to the more serious —such as terrorism and child soldiers. Written in a thoroughly engaging and accessible manner, this introductory text is a must read for all criminology students. Professor Christina Pantazis, University of BristolQuestions of deviance lie at the heart of criminological inquiry. The breadth and sociological curiosity that informs this book make it both a useful and highly enjoyable introduction to the topic. It will be a useful companion to students of criminology and several other social science disciplines. In fact, it creates a real danger that it will convert the latter into the former. Professor Katja Franko, University of OsloTable of ContentsPart I: Acts of transgression1 Crime Is Not Just for Criminologists Rowland Atkinson and Tammy Ayres 2 Begging Sabina Yasmin Rahman 3 Yarn Bombing Alyce McGovern 4 Spitting Ross Coomber 5 Street Racing and Joyriding Yunis Alam 6 Sex work Molly Dunn 7 Sadomasochism Thomas S. Weinberg 8 Public Sex Katharine Parker Part II: Subcultures and deviating social codes 9 Drugs, Substances and Intoxicants Tammy Ayres 10 Tattooing and Body Modification Kyla Bevin and James Treadwell 11 Incel Masculinity Sam Andrews and Anthony Ellis 12 Music and Subculture Víctor Ávila Torres 13 Chemsex Ford Hickson 14 Weapon Use Nicolas Florquin and Peter Squires 15 Graffiti Robert D. Weide 16 Parkour and Freerunning Thomas Raymen 17 Organised Fighting Sports Victoria E. Collins Part III: Changing technologies and harms 18 Online Fraud Kate Tudor 19 Hacking and Hacktivism Kevin F. Steinmetz 20 Lifestyle Medicines and Performance Enhancing Drugs Nick Gibbs 21 Robot Sex Corina Medley 22 Trolling and Online Abuse Emma A. Jane 23 Video Games Craig Kelly and Adam Lynes 24 Voyeurism and Trash Streaming Grace Gallacher Part IV: Social change and social problems 25 Domestic Violence and Abuse Jade Levell 26 Tourism Oliver Smith 27 Debt Mark Horsley 28 Sexual Deviance Katie McBride 29 Gambling Suzanne Baggs 30 Paedophilia Maggie Wykes 31 Pornography Samantha Keene 32 Stalking Laura Logan 33 Maritime Piracy Patricia Schneider 34 Drug Trafficking Zulia Orozco Reynoso Part V: Invisible and contested harms 35 Corporate Crime Mark Monaghan 36 Corruption Marina Zaloznaya 37 State Crime and Violence Diogo Azevedo Lyra, Carolina Christoph Grillo, Renato Coelho Dirk and Daniel Veloso Hirata 38 Tax Evasion Rowland Atkinson 39 Elder Abuse and Neglect Marie Beaulieu, Julien Cadieux Genesse and Kevin St-Martin 40 Fraud Jörg Wiegratz 41 Police Deviance Bill McClanahan 42 Consumption Rowland Atkinson Part VI: Hate, difference and culture 43 Gypsy Roma and Travellers Haley Read 44 Squatting Samuel Burgum 45 Hate Crime Tina G. Patel 46 Policing Politics and Protest Aidan O'Sullivan 47 Alt-Right Tanner Mirrlees Part VII: Questions of violence 48 Homicide Gabriel Feltran and Marcelli Cipriani 49 Terrorism Jacob Holzer 50 Animal Abuse Ruth McKie 51 School Violence Valéria Cristina de Oliveira 52 Child soldiers Tammy Ayres Part VIII: Harms in a global context 53 Ecocide Rob White 54 Environmental Activism Olivia Hasler 55 Gangs Dennis Rodgers 56 Human Trafficking and People Smuggling Daniel Briggs 57 Green Criminology Daan van Uhm 58 International Migration Mark Bushell 59 Slavery, Webcams and Human Trafficking Rosemary Broad 60 Urban Conflict Luana Motta 61 Waste Avi Brisman

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Book SynopsisUnderstanding where ageing occurs, how it is experienced by different people in different places, and in what ways it is transforming our communities, economies and societies at all levels has become crucial for the development of informed research, policy and programmes.This book focuses on the interdisciplinary field of study geographical gerontology that addresses these issues. With contributions from more than 30 leading geographers and gerontologists, the book examines the scope and depth of geographical perspectives, concepts and approaches applied to the study of ageing, old age and older populations. The book features 25 chapters organized into five parts that cover the field's theoretical traditions and intellectual evolution; the contributions of key disciplinary perspectives from population geography, social and cultural geography, health geography, urban planning and environmental studies; the scales of inquiry within geographical gerontology from the Trade Review"Geographical Gerontology: Perspectives, Concepts, Approaches takes a critical perspective by acknowledging and addressing the diversity of the aging experience. There is much discussion of understanding aging and differences among older adults by gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, location (e.g., urban vs rural), morbidity, and mental health. Focusing on these dimensions allows us to understand how and why older adults interact with space and place."- Marie Y. Savundranayagam, PhD, School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University London Ontario, CanadaTable of ContentsPreface Part I. Introduction 1. Introduction to geographical gerontology Mark W. Skinner, Gavin J. Andrews and Malcolm P. Cutchin 2 Space and place in geographical gerontology Gavin J. Andrews, Malcolm P. Cutchin and Mark W. Skinner Part II. Geographical perspectives on ageing 3. Health geographies of ageing Janine L. Wiles 4. Social and cultural geographies of ageing Christine Milligan and Anna Tarrant 5. Population geographies of older people Mark W. Rosenberg and Kathi Wilson 6. Planning and design of ageing communities Judith E. Phillips 7. Environment and ageing Keith Diaz Moore Part III. Geographical scales of inquiry 8. Global ageing David R. Phillips and Zhixin Feng 9. Ageing in low- and middle-income countries Andrea Rishworth and Susan J. Elliott 10. Urban ageing: new agendas for geographical gerontology Tine Buffel and Chris Phillipson 11. Rural ageing Mark W. Skinner and Rachel Winterton 12. Ageing communities Sarah A. Lovell 13. Household spaces of ageing Anne Martin-Matthews and Denise S. Cloutier 14. Embodiment and emotion in later life Rachel Herron Part IV. Key issues in geographical gerontology 15. Explaining the ageing in place realities of older adults Stephen Golant 16. Being in place Graham D. Rowles 17. Active relationships of ageing people and places Malcolm P. Cuthcin 18. Older persons, place and health care accessibility Neil Hanlon 19. Mobilities and ageing Anthony C. Gatrell 20. Constructions of old-age social exclusion Kieran Walsh 21. Employed ca

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Book SynopsisDifference is one of the most influential critical concepts of recent decades. Mark Currie offers a comprehensive account of the history of the term and its place in some of the most influential schools of theory of the past four decades, including post-structuralism, deconstruction, new historicism, psychoanalysis, French feminism and postcolonialism. Employing literary case studies throughout, Difference provides an accessible introduction to a term at the heart of today's critical idiom.Table of ContentsSeries Editor’s Preface, Acknowledgements, 1 Introduction: Identity and difference, 2 Difference and reference, 3 Difference, 4 Different histories, 5 Cultural difference, 6 Difference and equivalence, GLOSSARY, BIBLIOGRAPHY, INDEX

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Book SynopsisMorley's book offers the first accessible guide for students to show how theories, models and concepts have been applied to ancient history.Showing readers how they can use theory to interpret historical evidence for themselves, as well as to evaluate the work of others, the book includes a survey of key ideas and theories on a wide range of ancient historical topics including society and economy, the environment, gender and sexuality, and myth and rationality. Also including a helpful annotated guide to further reading on all the topics covered, students will not want to miss out on this essential guide to the ancient world.Trade Review'Succinct and stimulating.' - The Journal of Classics Teaching'Well written.' - Arctos'Succinct and stimulating.' - The Journal of Classics Teaching'Well written.' - Arctos'Morley has written a clear and thoughtful overview of the various theoretical approaches available to the aspiring historian' – PrudentiaTable of ContentsContents:1) Approaches2) Ancient and Modern3) The Limits of the Possible4) Class and Status5) A Sense of Identity6) Myth and ReasonAfterword: Speaking TheoryGuide to Further ReadingBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisWe frequently hear that we live in an age of anxiety, from ''therapy culture'', the Atkins diet and child anti-depressants to gun culture and weapons of mass destruction. While Hollywood regularly cashes in on teenage anxiety through its Scream franchise, pharmaceutical companies churn out new drugs such as Paxil to combat newly diagnosed anxieties.On Anxiety takes a fascinating, psychological plunge behind the scenes of our panic stricken culture and into anxious minds, asking who and what is responsible. Putting anxiety on the couch, Renata Salecl asks some much-needed questions: Is anxiety about the absence of authority or too much of it? Do the media report anxiety or create it? Are drugs a cure for anxiety or its cause? Is anxiety about being yourself or someone else, and is anxiety really the ultimate obstacle to happiness? Drawing on vivid examples from films such as the X Files and Cyrano de Bergerac, drugs used on soldiers to combat Trade Review'Erudite and compelling, On Anxiety is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy, psychology and the cultural phenomenon of anxiety today.' - SirReadAlot.org'A deft application of psychoanalytic insights to very everyday and quite familiar human situations ... a revealing and insightful way of looking at the contemporary world where they are imaginatively viewed through the lens of anxiety.' - Juliet Flower MacCannell, University of California'A deft application of psychoanalytic insights to very everyday and quite familiar human situations ... a revealing and insightful way of looking at the contemporary world where they are imaginatively viewed through the lens of anxiety.' - Juliet Flower MacCannell, University of CaliforniaTable of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Anxiety at Times of War; Chapter 3 Success in Failure; Chapter 4 Love Anxieties; Chapter 5 Anxiety of Motherhood; Chapter 6 Can Testimony Offer a Cure for Anxiety?; Chapter 7 Conclusion;

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Sarah Richmond has now produced a meticulous, elegant translation…" - Jonathan Rée, London Review of Books"Sarah Richmond’s superb new translation…is supplemented by a wealth of explanatory and analytical material [and] a particularly detailed and insightful set of notes on the translation…The first translation of Being and Nothingness was a major academic achievement that has influenced thought across a range of disciplines for more than sixty years. This new edition has the potential to be at least as influential over the coming decades." - Jonathan Webber, Mind"The publication of this excellent new English translation of L’Être et le néant is a welcome addition to the library of Sartre scholarship … There is every chance that it will also attract non-specialist readers to Sartre’s early philosophy and will thus importantly contribute to keeping existentialist thought alive in a context and era chronically bereft of genuine philosophical enlightenment." - Sam Coombes, French Studies"Translating such a book is manifestly a labour of love—it was as much for Barnes as for Richmond, and generations of Anglophone Sartre scholars remain grateful to Barnes, even if, as I expect (and hope) it will, Richmond's careful, thoughtful, and thought‐provoking translation becomes the standard one for use by students as well as professionals." - Katherine J. Morris, European Journal of Philosophy"Sarah Richmond's marvellously clear and thoughtful new translation brings Sartre's rich, infuriating, endlessly fertile masterpiece to a whole new English-language readership." – Sarah Bakewell, author of At The Existentialist Café"Sartre’s philosophy will always be important. Being and Nothingness is not an easy read but Sarah Richmond makes it accessible in English to the general reader. Her translation is exemplary in its clarity." - Richard Eyre"Sarah Richmond's translation of this ground-zero existentialist text is breathtaking. Having developed a set of brilliant translation principles, laid out carefully in her introductory notes, she has produced a version of Sartre’s magnum opus that—finally!—renders his challenging philosophical prose comprehensible to the curious general reader and his most compelling phenomenological descriptions and analyses luminous and thrilling for those of us who have studied Being and Nothingness for years." - Nancy Bauer, Tufts University, USA"This superb new translation is an extraordinary resource for Sartre scholars, including those who can read the work in French. Not only has Sarah Richmond produced an outstandingly accurate and fluent translation, but her extensive notes, introduction, and editorial comments ensure that the work will be turned to for clarification by all readers of Sartre. All in all, this is a major philosophical moment in Sartre studies." - Christina Howells, University of Oxford, UK"A new translation of Being and Nothingness has been long overdue. Sarah Richmond has done an excellent job of translating and clarifying Sartre’s magnum opus, making its rich content accessible to a wider audience." - Dan Zahavi, University of Copenhagen, Denmark"With its scholarly introduction, up-to-date bibliography and numerous footnotes, Richmond's fluent and precise translation will be an indispensable tool even for scholars able to read Sartre in French." - Andrew Leak, University College London, UK"This fine new translation provides us with as crisp a rendering as possible of Sartre’s complex prose. Richmond’s introduction, and a panoply of informative notes, also invite readers to share with her the intricacies of the task of translation and assist in grasping many of the conceptual vocabularies and nuances of this vital text." - Sonia Kruks, author of Simone de Beauvoir and the Politics of AmbiguityTable of ContentsForeword Richard Moran, Translator’s Introduction Sarah Richmond, Introduction: In Search of Being, Part 1: The Problem of Nothingness, 1. The Origin of Negation, 2. Bad Faith, Part 2: Being-For-Itself, 1. The Immediate Structures of the For-Itself, 2. Temporality, 3. Transcendence, Part 3: Being-for-the-Other, 1. The Other’s Existence, 2. The Body, 3. Concrete Relations with the Other, Part 4: To Have, To Do and To Be, 1. Being and Doing: Freedom, 2. To Do and to Have, Conclusion, Index

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Book Synopsis'This is a quite remarkable book, a pleasure to read. Not only is it clear and informative but also by turns witty, melancholic and insightful. The book is astonishingly erudite, but wears this learning so lightly and so charmingly that it is both easy and gripping to read.' Robert Eaglestone, Royal Holloway, University of LondonPenelope waits by her loom for Odysseus, Vladimir and Estragon wait for Godot, all of us have to wait: for buses, phone calls and the kettle to boil. But do we know what the checking of one's watch and pacing back and forth is really all about? What is the relationship between waiting and time? Is there an ethics of waiting, or even an art of waiting? Do the internet, online shopping and text messaging mean that waiting has come to an end?On Waiting explores such and similar questions in compelling fashion. Drawing on some fascinating examples, from the philosopher Henri Bergson's musings on a lump of sugar to Kate Croy waiting in Wings of the Dove to the writings of Rilke, Bishop, and Carver, On Waiting examines this ever-present yet overlooked phenomenon from diverse angles in fascinating style. On Waiting is the first book to present a philosophy of waiting. Philosophy/LiteratureTrade Review‘This is a quite remarkable book, a pleasure to read. Not only is it clear and informative but also by turns witty, melancholic and insightful. The book is astonishingly erudite, but wears this learning so lightly and so charmingly that it is both easy and gripping to read.’ - Robert Eaglestone, Royal Holloway, University of London'...a wonderfully-written book that truly sparkles.' - David Bissell, Time & Society Review of Books 'Harold Schweizer’s new volume, On Waiting, is a finely crafted, finely considered exploration. It addresses with both simplicity of expression and complexity of understanding one of the major facts of our lives—that much of it is spent waiting.' - Jacqueline Vaught Brogan, Journal of Modern Literature 'Being part of the purposively accessible Thinking in Action series, this is a relatively concise text. Yet Schweizer takes a series of challenging concepts and conveys them with extraordinary dexterity ... a wonderfully-written book that truly sparkles.' – David Bissell, Australian National University, Time & Society Review of Books'Harold Schweizer’s new volume, On Waiting, is a finely crafted, finely considered exploration. It addresses with both simplicity of expression and complexity of understanding one of the major facts of our lives—that much of it is spent waiting.' - Jacqueline Vaught Brogan, Journal of Modern Literature‘This is a quite remarkable book, a pleasure to read. Not only is it clear and informative but also by turns witty, melancholic and insightful. The book is astonishingly erudite, but wears this learning so lightly and so charmingly that it is both easy and gripping to read.’ – Robert Eaglestone, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK'Within these covers, Harold Schweizer has assembled a world of philosophical and literary musings on the time-tormented suspension of waiting. As we read his learned, lucid essay, an area of everyday experience swims into focus as if for the first time, the sentences on every page filled with an evocative, almost hypnotic charm. On Waiting is a deep plunge into the pleasure of thought.' – Wendy Steiner, University of Pennsylvania, USATable of Contents1. Nobody Likes to Wait 2. A Brief Theory of Waiting: Henri Bergson's Lump of Sugar 3. In the Waiting Room 4. Penelope's Insomnia 5. Lingering, Tarrying, Dwelling upon: Elizabeth Bishop's Poem 6. Waiting for Death: Ferdinand Hodler's Paintings of Valentine Gode-Darel 7. Waiting and Hoping: Raymond Carver's A Small, Good Thing

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisModernity was supposed to be the period in human history when the fears that pervaded social life in the past could be left behind and human beings could at last take control of their lives and tame the uncontrolled forces of the social and natural worlds. And yet, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, we live again in a time of fear.Table of ContentsIntroduction: On the Origin, Dynamics and Uses of Fear 1 1 Dread of Death 22 2 Fear and Evil 54 3 Horror of the Unmanageable 72 4 Terrors of the Global 96 5 Setting Fears Afl oat 129 6 Thought against Fear (or, an inconclusive conclusion for those who may ask what might be done) 160 Notes 178 Index 186

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis is an eminently lucid, readable, and comprehensive survey of classical sociological theory. Adams and Sydie provide thoughtful summaries and assessments of the works of dozens of social thinkers.By significantly broadening the cannon and devoting special attention to call, gender, and race, they bring theory up to date even as they take seriously the rich legacy of the past. I have never read a more exciting introduction to the theories of our discipline.--Mustafa Emirbayer, University of Wisconsin, Madison A concise, yet surprisingly comprehensive theory text, given the range of ideas, historical context, and theorists discussed. Unlike other books of the type, Classical Sociological Theory focuses on how the pivotal theories contributed not only to the development of the field, but also to the evolution of ideas concerning social life.Trade Review"This is an eminently lucid, readable, and comprehensive survey of classical sociological theory. Adams and Sydie provide thoughtful summaries and assessments of the works of dozens of social thinkers….By significantly broadening the cannon and devoting special attention to call, gender, and race, they bring theory up to date even as they take seriously the rich legacy of the past. I have never read a more exciting introduction to the theories of our discipline." -- Mustafa EmirbayerTable of ContentsPreface A Note to Students SECTION I. THE EUROPEAN ROOTS OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY 1. The Origins of Sociological Theory The Contours of Sociological Theory The Philosophical Precursors of Sociology Final Thoughts on the Philosophical Precursors References 2. Theorizing After the Revolution Claude-Henri, Comte de Saint-Simon (1760-1825) Auguste Comte (1798-1857) Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) Final Thoughts References SECTION II. CONSERVATIVE THEORIES 3. Evolutionism and Functionalism Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) William Graham Sumner (1840-1910) Final Thoughts References 4. Society as Sui Generis Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) Final Thoughts References SECTION III. RADICAL THEORY 5. Radical Anticapitalism Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) Final Thoughts References 6. Marxism Extended V.I. Lenin (1870-1924) Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) Final Thoughts References SECTION IV. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF COMPLEXITY AND FORM 7. Social Action and Social Complexity Max Weber (1864-1920) and Marianne Weber (1870-1954) Final Thoughts References 8. The Sociology of Form and Content Georg Simmel (1858-1918) Final Thoughts References SECTION V. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF POLITICS AND ECONOMICS 9. Political Sociological Theories Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) Robert Michels (1876-1936) Final Thoughts References 10. Economic Sociological Theories Thorstein Veblen, (1857-1929) Joseph Schumpeter, (1883-1950) Final Thoughts References SECTION VI. OTHER VOICES IN SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIZING 11. Society and Gender Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) Beatrice Potter Webb (1858-1943) Final Thoughts References 12. Sociological Theory and Race W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) Final Thoughts References 13. Society, Self, and Mind Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Final Thoughts References 14. Final Thoughts on Classical Sociological Theory Nineteenth-Century Sociological Theory Early Twentieth-Century Sociological Theory Other Theoretical Issues Sociological Theory by the 1930s References Credits Index

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Book SynopsisThis interdisciplinary reader provides a distinctive introduction to the way social, political and economic life is coordinated. It brings together three quite different models of coordination - markets, hierarchies and networks - and places them into a comparative framework, presenting a comprehensive and insightful overview of social coordination. The articles dealing with each model explore the characteristics of that coordinating mechanism, outlining key theoretical issues and drawing on various empirical examples. The final section shows how these models can be compared and contrasted. It also assesses the respective strengths, weaknesses and limitations of each model.Markets, Hierarchies and Networks is a set book on The Open University course D212 Running the Country.Trade Review`In summary, it can be recorded that this is a substantial book: substantial in a number of respects. First it has much of substance to it - it covers a lot of ground. Second, as most papers in the book are closely argued, it covers that ground in some depth - there are few opportunities for the reader to coast here! It is also substantial in that, whether because of the inherent nature of the subject matter or the way it is exposed, its sparks ideas along the way and raises many more questions than it answers. Finally, it is substantial in the way the editors touch upon issues which are central to epistemology, the sociology of knowledge, and the philosophy of science.′ - Systems PracticeTable of ContentsIntroduction - Jennifer Frances et al PART ONE: MARKETS Introduction - Rosalind Levaci[ac]c On Markets - Alfred Marshall Markets and Government - Rosalind Levaci[ac]c An Overview Socialism, Planning, and the Market - Hans Breitenbach, Tom Burden and David Coates Market Process versus Market Equilibrium - Israel M Krizner Markets and Managerial Hierarchies - Tony McGuinness Creating the Single European Market - Dennis Swann Which Internal Market? The NHS White Paper and Internal Markets - Penelope M Mullen PART TWO: HIERARCHIES Introduction - Jeremy Mitchell In Praise of Hierarchy - Elliott Jaques Legal Authority in a Bureaucracy - Max Weber Models of Bureaucracy - David Beetham Survival Inside Bureaucracy - Guy Benveniste Market, Capitalism, Planning and Technocracy - Giovanni Sartori New Directions for Industrial Policy in the Area of Regulatory Reform - John Vickers PART THREE: NETWORKS Introduction - Grahame Thompson Network Analysis - David Knoke and James H Kuklinkski Basic Concepts Neither Friends nor Strangers - Edward H Lorenz Informal Networks of Subcontracting in French Industry Beyond Vertical Integration - The Rise of the Value-Adding Partnership - Russell Johnston and Paul R Lawrence Policy Networks and Sub-Central Government - R A W Rhodes Taking and Giving - Pnina Werbner Working Women and Female Bonds in a Pakistani Immigrant Neighbourhood Community, Market, State - and Associations? The Prospective Contribution of Interest Governance to Social Order - Wolfgang Streeck and Philippe C Schmitter PART THREE: COMPARISON BETWEEN MODELS Introduction - Grahame Thompson Markets, Bureaucracies and Clans - William G Ouchi Interorganizational Relations in Industrial Systems - Jan Johanson and Lars-Gunnar Mattsson A Network Approach Compared with the Transactions-Cost Approach Neither Market nor Hierarchy - Walter W Powell Network Forms of Organization Price, Authority and Trust - Jeffrey L Bradach and Robert G Eccles From Ideal Types to Plural Forms Spontaneous (′Grown′) Order and Organized (′Made′) Order - Frederick von Hayek

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Book SynopsisArgues that the rise of radical right-wing movements is not merely a series of nationalist projects, but a global phenomenon. Focusing on the radical Right's ideological critique of globalisation and their strategies to change political 'common sense', this book develops an innovative analysis of its possible consequences for global order.

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Book SynopsisNow in its third edition, Anthony Elliott's comprehensive, stylish and accessible introduction continues to be the indispensable guide to social theory. Fully revised and updated, the book examines the major theoretical traditions from the Frankfurt School to posthumanism, and from feminism and post-structuralism to globalization theory and beyond.Classical debates in social theory are given careful appraisal, as are the major contemporary theorists including Jurgen Habermas, Judith Butler, Anthony Giddens, Pierre Bourdieu, Julia Kristeva, Slavoj Žižek, Manuel Castells, Ulrich Beck, Zygmunt Bauman, Shoshana Zuboff and Bernard Stiegler. This edition includes a new chapter on the digital revolution, with consideration of how digital technologies in general and artificial intelligence in particular are reshaping societies.Like its predecessors, the third edition of Contemporary Social Theory combines stylish exposition with reflective social critique and original Trade ReviewPraise for previous editions‘This is the best contemporary social theory text currently on the market. It is highly accessible, explaining ideas in the clearest possible language without compromising depth and complexity. Accordingly, it is a book that would work well for students at all levels. Undergraduates with no background in social theory will be able to easily engage with this text, and this is something that cannot be said of any other contemporary social theory textbook that considers the range of theorists and complexity of ideas that this book does. More advanced students, including professional social theorists, will find that Elliott provides great clarity on some of the most difficult, yet most influential, ideas in contemporary social thought.’Professor Ann Branaman, Florida Atlantic University, USA‘It is very hard to write an outstanding introduction to any subject and particularly hard to do so for a subject as demanding as contemporary social theory. Anthony Elliott succeeds superbly. His book offers a reliable guide to the big debates in social theory while never glossing over the difficult questions.’Professor David Held, previously of the London School of Economics, UK‘Magnificent. Elliott visits a vast range of theorists and shows how they reveal the beautiful complexity of everyday social life. He makes social theory relevant and meaningful, simple, sexy and exciting.’Tom Inglis, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University College Dublin, Ireland‘No one I know is better able than Anthony Elliott to get to the heart of complex theories, then to write of them clearly yet critically. Contemporary Social Theory is exceptional for the range of the authors presented. Students and teachers will treasure this exciting travel guide through the thickets of social theory today.’Charles Lemert, Andrus Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University and author of Thinking the Unthinkable, USA‘This is an amazingly fluent analysis of contemporary social theory. It should be widely read for its careful and insightful dissection of the main theories and of their particular strengths and weaknesses. It will be a must-read on many "theory" courses around the world.’John Urry, previously Distinguished Professor, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, UK‘Intelligent and lucid, Anthony Elliott’s introduction to contemporary social theory provides a remarkably complete overview of thinkers and themes. In exploring the organizing question – what is society? – he skilfully guides the student through a galaxy of major figures, including such luminaries as Bauman, Butler, Chodorow, Foucault, Giddens, Habermas, Lacan and Lemert. Incorporating many valuable pedagogical aids, Elliott makes social theory highly accessible. Contemporary Social Theory bristles with insights into our troubled world.’Professor Bryan S. Turner, Australian Catholic University, Australia‘This is quite simply the best introduction to contemporary social theory that I have read. Profound and subtle in its judgements, yet very easy to read, Anthony Elliott has done much more than rehearse familiar debates or identify key thinkers. He has brought contemporary social theory to life by placing it within everyday experiences, troubles and dilemmas. And he has done so with a remarkable breadth of theoretical virtuosity covering everything from sexuality to globalization, language to political institutions and governance. This book will be invaluable to students and teachers alike.'Emeritus Professor Robert Holton, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland‘Anthony Elliott is without question one of the leaders in the younger generation of sociologists. Contemporary Social Theory provides an overview of various recent sociological theories and is an essential text for anybody interested in sociological theories, including Japanese students and faculty.’Professor Masataka Katagiri, Rissho University, Japan‘Here is the latest example of what Anthony Elliott does best: he brings his readers in on the key social, personal and political issues of our time. Always readable and interesting, Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction includes a wide range of modern social thought, from structuralism, to feminism, to globalization, and engagingly demonstrates these theories’ relevance in our own lives. As importantly, Elliott provides us a way to think critically, making the reader a more thoughtful reader of social theory as well as a participant in contemporary social debates. A book that is stimulating to both teacher and student alike and that enlivens the classroom experience.’Professor Jeffrey Prager, Sociology, UCLA, USA‘Anthony Elliott has written a wide-ranging and appealing book, setting new standards for introductory texts in social theory. Contemporary Social Theory is clear in style and accessible in presentation. It is sure to stimulate students and beginners in the field whilst proving of considerable interest to their teachers. It will also strike sparks with those with a professional research interest in social theory.’Professor Paul du Gay, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark‘Extraordinary in scope, Contemporary Social Theory takes the reader on a world tour of social theory since the Second World War and offers the student clear and accessible guidance around what are often complex and obscure theoretical edifices. More than this, Anthony Elliott provides not just description but evaluation and critique, and the originality of his mind will make this a pleasure to read for all thoughtful people engaged with the politics of living.’Professor Paul Hoggett, University of the West of England, UK‘The renewal of the teaching of social theory can now take place! For in Anthony Elliott’s scholarly, thorough and limpid volume, teachers of theory have the perfect support text, one guaranteed to bring students fully into the exciting drama that it lays out: the drama of contemporary social life as social theorists from the Frankfurt School to Giorgio Agamben have mapped it out.’Professor John Lechte, Macquarie University, Australia‘Social theory gives us the building blocks to make sense of our lives and explore how they link to the processes which shape what we can do and how we live. But it takes a master of the craft to turn the blocks into a building in which it is possible to live and flourish. This book shows that Anthony Elliott is a master of the craft.The house that is built within the pages of this comprehensive book is one of many rooms, in which all students will find a place in which they can think and, moreover, in which they will be given in an exceptionally accessible and well-informed style the resources which that thinking needs if it is going to succeed.I have little doubt that thanks to its encyclopaedic spread, authoritative content and keen eye for the excellent illustration, this book will be valued highly by everyone who wants or needs to think – and live – with social theory. And ultimately that means all of us.’Professor Keith Tester, formerly of the University of Portsmouth, UK‘Elliott provides a sweeping survey that is both accessible and sophisticated. Organized in thematic chapters that make excellent use of vignettes from the lives of everyday people to draw the reader into the issues, Elliott elegantly summarizes the main points of each theorist’s work, provides some discussion that stretches the reader’s understanding, and rehearses the main criticisms. The book weaves together the disparate strands of social theory, including psychoanalysis, feminism, (post)structuralism and critical theory alongside the issues of globalization and postmodernity. This book will set the agenda for many university courses in contemporary social theory.’Professor Douglas Ezzy, University of Tasmania, Australia‘Here, in his new introductory text, Elliott returns with new insights to some of the classics of social theory and charts a path through the most interesting and important contemporary social theorists. I can think of few writers better equipped to carry off this task and Elliott has done it here magnificently. Elliott combines his deep knowledge of social theory, his lightly worn erudition and an engaging style that is a pleasure to read. The personal stories that begin most chapters are a highlight and manage to bring home what is at stake in the theories and ideas that follow. What he has achieved here should win over a generation of new students to social theory.’Anthony Moran, La Trobe University, Australia‘Covering an impressive range of theories and theorists, and presenting them in an accessible and elegant fashion, reading Anthony Elliott’s text is an ideal way to navigate the often complex terrain of modern social thought.’Professor David Inglis, University of Helsinki, Finland‘This is the best introduction to social theory we are ever likely to need. The writing is crystal clear, the arguments are complex but accessible and this is likely to become the best friend of every sociology undergraduate. This book has been especially written for those who want to know why social theory is so important to understanding the world right now. At last, we finally have a book we can recommend to our students with confidence.’Nick Stevenson, University of Nottingham, UKTable of Contents1. The textures of society 2. The contemporary relevance of the classics 3. The Frankfurt School 4. Structuralism 5. Post-structuralism 6. Theories of structuration 7. Contemporary critical theory 8. Feminism and post-feminist theory 9. Postmodernity 10. Networks, risks, liquids 11. Globalization 12. The digital revolution: posthumanism and beyond Afterword: social theory today and towards 2050

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Book SynopsisThis volume provides a state-of-the-art overview of the field of more-than-human studies, bringing together contemporary and essential content from leading authors across the discipline. With attention to the intellectual history of the field, its developments and extensions, its applications and its significance to contemporary society, it presents empirical studies and theoretical work covering long-established disciplines, as well as new writing on art, history, politics, planning, architecture, research methodology and ethics. An elaboration of the various dimensions of more-than-human studies, The Routledge International Handbook of More-than-Human Studies constitutes essential reading for anyone studying or researching in this field.Table of Contents1 The Separation? Part 1 Foundations 2 In the Thick of Things and the Politics of Becoming 3 When Species Meet 4 A Circumpolar Night’s Dream 5 Planetary Multiplicity and the Much More-than-Human Earth 6 A Multispecies Ontological Turn? 7 Politics, Space and the More-than-Human Condition 8 The 'Shuffle of Things' and the Distribution of Agency 9 The Technical and the Political 10 The More-than-Human City Part 2 Elaboration 11 Airports, Affect and Arctic Futures - More-than-Human Thinking of Connectivity and Dwelling12 Meeting and Mingling with Microbes: A More-than-Human Georgraphy of Hygiene, Holobionts and Hospitality 13 More-than-Human Reflections on Anthropause 14 The Virtual Animal in the Digital Anthropocene: Empowered or Subjugated? 15. Living with Unruly Waste Matter: On More-than-Human Relations 16. We Have Never Built Back Better: Using STS to Account for the Many Failures of Disaster Recovery 17. The More-than-Human Home 18. Wrapping Things Up: Making Plastic into a Political Material 19. Histories in, of and for More-than-Human Worlds 20. Making Time for, and with Honeybees 21. The Long Horizon: Temporal Imaginaries in the More-than-Human Arts 22. The Cosmopolitics of Urban Planning in a More-than-Human World Part 3 Methods 23. Nine Methodological Principles for the Posthumanities 24. Knives, the More-than-Human and Speculative Fabrication with/for the Cthulucene 25. The More-Than-Human Micropolitics of the Research Assemblage 26. Towards a More-than-Human Participatory Research 27. More-than-Human Ethics Part 4 Tracks 28. Walking into the Sunset…

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Book SynopsisFew of us, amidst our daily chores and responsibilities, consider how mundane infrastructuresfrom electrical grids to sewage systemshave developed over millennia in ways that enable everything we cherish, from democracy to technological innovation to individual liberty. But what drives the evolution of this infrastructure? And why is infrastructure so critical to human flourishing? In this book, the most innovative and interdisciplinary study of cultural evolution ever produced, new concepts are explored, new histories are brought into contact and new ground-breaking insights are defended. What makes creativity unique in human societies is not only our capacity to generate and modify our diverse individual intuitions about the social and physical world, but also our capacity to form and leave groups fluidly in a dancing rhythm of oscillation across the expanse of history. This book walks the reader carefully through these processes, with clear concepts and an approachable writing styleTrade Review"The Dance of Innovation: Infrastructure, Social Oscillation, and the Evolution of Societies is a very impressive work. The fusion-fission dynamic integrates a lot of complex processes into a workable model. I don’t think I’ve seen an analysis of social change with this kind of scope, integrating the evolution of material and cultural infrastructures along with the evolution of humans both physically and mentally. The continuities in mechanisms from infrahuman life-forms are striking. The book reminds me somewhat of the work of [classical sociologists], but with 150 more years of scientific knowledge accumulated, and a superior theoretical arsenal. "Randall Collins, Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, is a world-renowned sociologist"The Dance of Innovation: Infrastructure, Social Oscillation, and the Evolution of Societies is unlike any book written in recent history in sociology. It advances a critical idea that is often lost in sociology – the central force of infrastructures. Human institutional systems and, indeed, all dimensions of the social and economic world do not exist nor function without viable infrastructures. Everything that humans do in building up societies is linked to technologies or knowledge about how to build infrastructures, that is, the sustaining foundations of human societies that allow their dynamic processes to operate and evolve. Another central idea is an old one but stated in a novel new way – the notion of oscillations around patterns of fission and fusion. Societies and, indeed, all social systems at all levels of human organization, are built up only to disintegrate at some point in time as nothing lasts forever. Such has always been true for human social evolution but has been particularly the case over the last 10,000 years where infrastructures have allowed humans to build large, complex societies filled with disintegrative tendencies, thus accelerating oscillation of patterns of social organization on a much more rapid and grand scale. This book is one of the most original contributions to sociological analysis in many decades; and even though it is highly theoretical, it is written in such an informal style that it is a pleasure to read."Alexandra Maryanski, Research Professor of the Graduate Division in Sociology, University of California, Riverside"Sociologists need to incorporate an evolved human actor into their models of emergent social processes, and McCaffree does so here, admirably so. He notes that it is the distinctly human evolved capabilities for cooperation and symbolic communication that enable humans to create social groups of a size not seen in the animal world. At the same time the constant dissolution and recombination of those social groups is an important source of knowledge innovation and cultural change. McCaffree particularly highlights the important role of the development of both the knowledge and structures of physical infrastructure (the infrastructure that supplies vital functions such as the supply of clean water) in making the mass societies of the modern world possible."Rosemary Hopcroft, Department of Sociology, University of North CarolinaTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Humans’ Genetic Unity and Ape Ancestry2. Fission-Fusion Oscillation as the Central Sustaining Mechanism of Organismality, Part 13. Fission-Fusion Oscillation as the Central Sustaining Mechanism of Organismality, Part 24. Intuitive Information Processing5. On the Important Distinction Between “Tools” and “Infrastructure”6. The Tools and Infrastructure of Fossil Fuel Societies7. Cities Drive the Metabolism of Societies8. An “Oscillation-Infrastructural” Theory of Cultural Evolution

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Book SynopsisCurrent debates about experts are often polarized and based on mistaken assumptions, with expertise either defended or denigrated. Making Sense of Expertise instead proposes a conceptual framework for the study of expertise in order to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of the role of expertise in contemporary society.Too often different meanings of experts and expertise are implied without making them explicit. Grundmann's approach to expertise is based on a synthesis of approaches that exist in various fields of knowledge. The book aims at dispelling much of the confusion by offering a comprehensive and rigorous framework for the study of expertise. A series of in-depth case studies drawn from contemporary issues, including the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, provide the empirical basis of the author's comprehensive approach.This thought-provoking book will be of great interests to students, instructors and researchers in a range of fieldTrade Review"This book is a sophisticated attempt to provide a theory of expertise that defines it as a category in the social and organizational worlds. it engages a variety of literatures that are segregated from one another, which students should be exposed to. The discussions of different traditions in the expertise literature, in different chapters, serves any reader well." Stephen Turner, author of The Politics of Expertise (Routledge, 2013), and Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy and Director of Center for Social & Political Thought, University of South Florida, USA"In this book Grundmann offers new theoretical insights into the nature and operation of expertise in society. He combines his theoretical framework with an empirical application to highly relevant examples, making fascinating discoveries along the way. He is analytically sharp and applies his insights to cases that are highly relevant in current debates, such as Covid-19, Climate Change, or Artificial Intelligence. He manages to resolve the confusion surrounding the role of expertise in these debates. The reader is rewarded with new insights, based on a ground-breaking approach." Nico Stehr, author of Knowledge Capitalism (Routledge, 2022) and Emeritus Karl Mannheim Professor of Cultural Studies, Zeppelin University, GermanyTable of ContentsIntroduction Part I 1. A General Concept of Expertise 2. Expertise in STS 3. The Power of the Professions 4. Predicting the Future 5. The Politics of Knowledge 6. Expertise and Economics 7. Discussion and Conclusion Part II 8. The IPCC: A Chameleon of Expertise 9. COVID, Expertise, and Society: Stepping out of the Shadow of Epidemiology 10. The Challenge to Professional Expertise Part III 11. Conclusion 12. Afterword

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Book SynopsisThis third edition of Social Theory Re-Wired is a significantly revised edition of this leading text and its unique web learning interactive programs that allow us to go farther into theory and to build student skills than ever before, according to many teachers. Vital political and social updates are reflected both in the text and the online supplements. System updates to each section offer an expanded set of contemporary theory readings that focus on the impacts of information/digital technologies on each of the textâs five big themes: 1) the Puzzles of Social Order, 2) the Social Consequences of Capitalism, 3) the Darkside of Modernity, 4) Subordinated/Alternative Knowledges, and 5) Self-Identity and Society. New to this edition: The big ideas/questions thematic structure of the text as well as the connections between classical and contemporary theorists continues to be popular with instructors. This feature is enhanced in the new edition An expTrade Review"Longhofer and Winchester have produced the best social theory textbook on the market today. Comprehensive, clever, and well-organized, this new 3rd edition provides instructors with plenty of resources to engage undergraduate students both online and in the classroom. Highly recommended!" -- Manfred B. Steger, Professor of Sociology, University of Hawai'i-Manoa and author of What Is Global Studies? (Routledge, 2017). "No other social theory reader brings together the essential excerpts of the classics with this diversity of contemporary extensions in quite the same way as Social Theory Re-wired. Students appreciate the accessible examples of theory applied to social problems. The online learning resources offer valuable study support. By the semester’s end, my students are knowledgeable of the canon and skilled in constructing their own evidence-based arguments." -- Selina Gallo-Cruz, Associate Professor of Sociology, Syracuse University "Social Theory Re-wired, by Winchester and Longhofer, provides a well-selected sample of the ‘classics’ while also encouraging instructors and students to expand their understanding of what theory (and sociology) can be. Their section introductions are accessible and encourage the use of the readings to better understand the complexities of the contemporary moment—everything from social media re-shaping the way we dance to viruses re-shaping society. This reader will help breathe new life into my Sociological Theory course." -- Kyle Green, Associate Professor of Sociology, SUNY, Brockport Table of ContentsPreface I. EMERGENCE THROUGH CONVERGENCE: The Puzzles of Social Order Introductory Essay: "The Virus that Changed Our World" Classical Connections Emile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method Emile Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society Emile Durkheim, Suicide Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Contemporary Extensions Harold Garfinkel, Studies in Ethnomethodology Bruno Latour, Mixing Humans and Nonhumans Together: The Sociology of a Door-Closer Mark Granovetter, The Strength of Weak Ties Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, The Social Construction of Reality System Update Manuel Castells, "Materials for an Exploratory Theory of the Network Society" II. NETWORKS OF CAPITAL: Dimensions of Global Capitalism Introductory Essay: "The Redditors Who Took Down a Giant (Sort Of)" Classical Connections Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The German Ideology Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx, Capital Karl Marx, "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844" Contemporary Extensions Immanuel Wallerstein, "The Rise and Future Demise of the World Capitalist System" Cedric Robinson, Black Marxism Pierre Bourdieu, "The Forms of Capital" Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction Raka Ray and Seemin Qayum, Cultures of Servitude System Update Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism III. PATHWAY TO MELTDOWN: Theorizing the Dark Side of Modernity Introductory Essay: "Do You Ever Get the Feeling You’re Being Watched?" Classical Connections Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Max Weber, "Basic Sociological Terms" Max Weber, "The Types of Legitimate Domination" Max Weber, "Bureaucracy" Contemporary Extensions Herbert Marcuse, One–Dimensional Man Jurgen Habermas, Toward a Rational Society Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust System Update David Graeber, "Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit" IV. SHIFTING THE PARADIGM: Excluded Voices, Alternative Knowledges Introductory Essay: Classical Connections W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex Contemporary Extensions Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks Edward Said, Orientalism Dorothy Smith, The Conceptual Practices of Power Patricia Hill Collins, Black Feminist Thought Julian Go, Postcolonial Thought and Social Theory System Update Ruha Benjamin, Race After Technology V. RISE OF THE AVATAR: Connecting Self and Society Introductory Essay: "Through the Looking Glass of TikTok" Classical Connections George Herbert Mead, "Self" Georg Simmel, "The Metropolis and Mental Life" Georg Simmel, "The Stranger" Contemporary Extensions Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Judith Butler, Gender Trouble Stuart Hall, "Cultural Identity and Diaspora" Anthony Giddens, Modernity and Self-Identity System Update Sherry Turkle, "Always-On/Always-On-You: The Tethered Self" Glossary Index

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This book concerns the experience of enchantment in art. Considering the essential characteristics, dynamics and conditions of the experience of enchantment in relation to art, including liminality, it offers studies of different kinds of artistic experience and activity, including painting, music, fiction and poetry, before exploring the possibility of a life oriented to enchantment as the activity of art itself. With attention to the complex relationship between wonder in art and the programmatic disenchantment to which it is often subject, the author draws on the thought of a diverse range of philosophers, sociological theorists and artists, to offer an understanding of art through the idea of enchantment, and enchantment through art. An accessible study, richly illustrated with experience â both that of the author and others â Art and Enchantment will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and anyone with interests in the nature of aesthetic expe

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisOur divided politics, unable to solve the challenges we face concerning society's hierarchies of injustice, poverty, endless war, and climate change, are now backtracking to even more division. But the reality goes far deeper than the simple politics of left and right. For true change we need something more profound: a culture shift, a collective change of consciousness.Fearless Change and Social Action in Difficult Times argues that culture shifts don't just happen, they require a strong focus on social and cultural human connection which neither political nor economic power can provide alone. It is only deep participation and social integrative power which have the capacity to create these necessary cultural and societal transformations. Developing awareness in participatory groups of thought-worlds which remain out-of-sight but give cover to the implicit rules of culture and society is the first step to creating shared awareness of constructs and negative thoug

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Book SynopsisWar, from the conflicts in the Middle East and Russia/Ukraine to Mexican narco-violence, from neocolonial land grabs in the Global South to racial, border, health, and climate crises all over the planet, defines the most extreme and contradictory expression of the global world. In this fascinating exploration on the history of the thinking of conflict, Edgar Illas departs from military and sociological analyses to propose a theoretical exploration of war as the ontological force that produces political orders.Magma is used as a geological metaphor to theorize the mixtures of politics and war that organize, and disorganize, global society. Divided into two parts, Illasâ study begins by surveying some of the most important thinkers of war, moving from classical antiquity to the twentieth century. Each thinker provides a different inflection in the historical evolution of the being of war. The second part turns to a theorization of the twenty-first century to claim that conflictive relations between capital, state power, political movements, and social life in globalization culminate and at the same time reiterate the paradoxes of war as an ontological event.The Magma of War is an energizing contribution to the task of rethinking politics in relation to war and an invaluable resource to all those conscious of the unstable forms of contemporary social and political life.

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Book SynopsisThe book explores the stakes for the social sciences around four central problems: the challenges of context; modes of intervention; involvement; and the ethical dilemmas for the scholar in a democratic space. The first, challenges of the context, examines the variety of situations confronted by scholars since the beginning of the 20th century. These include their interventions in key judicial affairs, the impact of technological developments like the introduction of big data, or even the positionality of the scholar. Second, the book investigates the modalities according to which social scientists may intervene in the civic space: in particular as specialists, as experts, or in the media. A third problem brings together some cases illustrative of researchers' involvement in critical issues, such as food policies, major social reforms, or gender-related questions. Finally, the book concludes with a reflection on the modes of exercising critique or dissent in democratic societies and

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Book SynopsisIn Race and Class in the Southwest and Other Essays, Mario Barrera puts forth his seminal theory of racial inequality based on a synthesis of class and colonial analysis together with several essays and selections from Barreraâs memoir that show how his thinking developed throughout his work.Reprinted here for the first time after becoming a modern classic of Chicano studies, Race and Class in the Southwest focuses on the economic foundations of inequality as they have affected Chicanos in the Southwest from the Mexican-American War to the present. Barrera reviews the economic history of Chicanos, their relegation to a subordinate position in the labor force segmented along racial lines, their displacement from the land, the effects of waves of immigration from Mexico, the role of an emerging Chicano middle class, and state policies designed to reproduce the subordinate status of Chicanos. He reviews competing theories of racial inequality and concludes that an âœinternal colonialismâ model that focuses on the institutional subordination of Chicanos offers the greatest explanatory value for understanding the political economy of Chicanos in the Southwest.The Editors, Rodolfo Torres and William I. Robinson, provide both an important historical and contextual introduction to the work, as well as thorough annotation that brings the scholarship into contemporary conversation with further theoretical development and highlights Barrera's significant contribution to recent and new debates that reflect his legacy at a time of rising social inequalities, political conflict and mass migration into the United States from Latin America.

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