Sociology

Michel Foucault is recognized as one of the twentieth century's most influential thinkers, however the authors in this volume contend that more use can be made of Foucault than has yet been done and that some of the uses to which Foucault has so far been put run the risk of and occasionally simply amount to misuse.

It is commonly assumed that we live in an age of unbridled individualism, but in this important new book Montserrat Guibernau argues that the need to belong to a group or community - from peer groups and local communities to ethnic groups and nations - is a pervasive and enduring feature of modern social life.

Consumer capitalism dominates our economy, our politics and our culture.

All the great ideals that gave life meaning in earlier societies - God, the nation, revolution, freedom, democracy - are in disarray today, questioned by many and rejected by those who have lost faith in them.

Bruno Latour s long term project is to compare the felicity and infelicity conditions of the different values dearest to the heart of those who have never been modern .

In this groundbreaking book, sociologist Andrew Perrin shows that rules and institutions, while important, are not the core of democracy.

This book provides an interpretation of one of the key aspects of Max Weber s work: the relationship between his political and sociological writings.

Few of us have been spared the agonies of intimate relationships.

Sociology began as a historical discipline, created by Marx, Weber and others, to explain the emergence and consequences of rational, capitalist society.

Social interaction lies at the heart of our everyday experience.

A tension between the desire to be respected as an equal and the desire to distinguish oneself as a unique person lies at the heart of the modern social order.

Family Conflict takes a life course approach as it provides an accessible discussion of family conflict issues, processes, and outcomes.

The Posthuman offers both an introduction and major contribution to contemporary debates on the posthuman.

The sexualization of girls has captured the attention of the media, advocacy groups and politicians in recent years.

Ageing populations represent a key global challenge for the twenty-first century.

In this lively and accessible study, David Lyon explores the relationship between religion and postmodernity, through the central metaphor of 'Jesus in Disneyland.

This highly topical book is a concise and accessible account of the relationship between technology and work.

In this book Paul Willis, a renowned sociologist and ethnographer, aims to renew and develop the ethnographic craft across the disciplines.

In this book Toner offers a new way of looking at Roman society at all levels, not just among the elite, by examining the imperial games and the baths as well as gambling, the taverns, theatre and carnivals.

In this book, Janet Todd, one of the leading authorities on seventeenth- and eighteenth century women writers, discusses gender issues from the Restoration to Romanticism investigating women authors and the fascination with culturally privileged art and with heroic death.

Durkheim is one of the founding fathers of modern sociology and a key figure in the development of social theory.

Market Society provides an original and accessible review of changing conceptions of the market in modern social thought.

This book reassesses theories of agency and gender identity against the backdrop of changing relations between men and women in contemporary societies.

Representations of Youth examines the various constructions of 'youth' and 'adolescence' in recent British and North American research.

The works of Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) are widely acclaimed as being among the most original and provocative writings of twentieth-century critical thought, and have become required reading for scholars and students in a range of academic disciplines.

In this major theoretical statement, the author offers a new and provocative interpretation of the institutional transformations associated with modernity.

Eliot Freidson has written the first systematic account of professionalism as a method of organizing work.

Security is meant to make the world safer.

Currently there are more than 125 Chinese cities with a population exceeding one million.

Work is, and always will be, a central institution of society.

In the new edition of this widely praised text, Alan Aldridge examines the complex realities of religious belief, practice and institutions.

With a sharp eye for social detail and the pressures of class inequality, Alfred Hitchcock brought to the American scene a perspicacity and analytical shrewdness unparalleled in American cinema.

Current anxiety about the future of news makes it opportune to revisit the notion of professionalism in journalism.

In this book, one of the world s leading social theorists presents a critical, alarmed, but also nuanced understanding of the post-traditional world we inhabit today.

What role can the ordinary citizen perform in news reporting?

Fundraising may not seem like an obvious lens through which to examine the process of nation-building, but in this highly original book Lainer-Vos shows that fundraising mechanisms - ranging from complex transnational gift-giving systems to sophisticated national bonds - are organizational tools that can be used to bind dispersed groups to the nation.

Dispossession describes the condition of those who have lost land, citizenship, property, and a broader belonging to the world.

Journalists have failed to respond adequately to the challenge of the Internet, with far-reaching consequences for the future of journalism and democracy.

Today the smallest details of our daily lives are tracked and traced more closely than ever before, and those who are monitored often cooperate willingly with the monitors.

Social relations are crucial for understanding diverse economic actions and a network perspective is central to that explanation.

What is the role of education in a world where we no longer have a clear vision of the future and where the idea of a single, universal model of humanity seems like the residue of a bygone age?

This is a book for those looking for different answers to some of today's most fundamental questions.

This is not a diary: while these observations were recorded in autumn 2010 and spring 2011 in the form of dated entries, they are not a personal reflection but an attempt to capture signs of our times in their movement - possibly at birth, at a stage when they are still barely perceptible, and in any case before they have matured into common, all too familiar forms, escaping our attention due to their banality.

The impersonality of social relationships in the society of strangers is making majorities increasingly nostalgic for a time of closer personal ties and strong community moorings.

Work Time is a sociological overview of a complex web of relations that shapes much of our experience of work and life yet often goes without critical examination.

Society' is one of the most frequently used words in public life; it is also a foundational term in the social sciences.

Political parties are central to democratic life, yet there is no standard definition to describe them or the role they occupy.

Many families leave their children for years to be looked after by young people about whom they know next to nothing, from places they have barely heard of.

The idea that respect for cultural diversity conflicts with gender equality is now a staple of both public and academic debate.

Should governments be involved in economic affairs?