This is a new and revised edition of a book which has already established itself as a basic text in social theory. The first section of the work provides a concise critical analysis of some leading schools of thought in social philosophy, giving particular attention to phenomenology, ethnomethodology and Wittgensteinian thought. Giddens concentrates primarily upon the implications of these various perspectives for an account of human action and ...
We are all modern today. But modernity today is not what it used to be. Over the past few decades, modernity has been radically changed by globalization, individualization, new inequalities, and fundamentalism. A novel way of analysing contemporary societies is needed. This book proposes such an analysis. Every society seeks answers to certain basic questions: how to order life in common; how to satisfy human needs; how to establish knowledge. S ...
The Blackwell Companion to Major Classical Social Theorists provides a comprehensive review of classical social theory. Containing original essays especially commissioned for this volume, leading experts and practitioners examine the life and work of 12 major theorists. Includes 12 original essays by leading scholars on major classical social theorists Covers the key figures who shaped social theory, such as Marx, Weber and Durkheim, as well as ...
The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements is a compilation of original, state-of-the-art essays by internationally recognized scholars on an array of topics in the field of social movement studies. Contains original, state-of-the-art essays by internationally recognized scholars Covers a wide array of topics in the field of social movement studies Features a valuable introduction by the editors which maps the field, and helps situate the study ...
The Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology is a comprehensive collection of twenty-six original essays by leading medical sociologists from all over the world. The articles are organized both topically and by region to provide thorough coverage of the concerns, issues, and future directions of the discipline. This invaluable resource is the most informed, complete, and up-to-date reference on transnational medical sociology available today. Co ...
The Internet in Everyday Life is the first book to systematically investigate how being online fits into people's everyday lives. Opens up a new line of inquiry into the social effects of the Internet. Focuses on how the Internet fits into everyday lives, rather than considering it as an alternate world. Chapters are contributed by leading researchers in the area. Studies are based on empirical data. Talks about the reality of being online now, ...
This book describes and explains the extraordinary wave of popular protest that swept across the so-called Third World and the countries of the former socialist bloc during the period from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, in response to the mounting debt crisis and the austerity measures widely adopted as part of economic «reform» and «adjustment». Explores this general proposition in a cross-national study of the austerity protests, or the 'I ...
Symbolic interactionism is one of the most enduring – and certainly the most sociological – of all social psychologies. In this landmark work, Norman K. Denzin traces its tortured history from its roots in American pragmatism to its present-day encounter with poststructuralism and postmodernism. Arguing that if interactionism is to continue to thrive and grow it must incorporate elements of post structural and post-modern theory into its underly ...
This book contributes to our understanding of the transformation of work in the information economy, through a detailed examination of labor markets in Silicon Valley. It provides an original and insightful analysis of flexible labor including growing volatility in work demands and increasingly tenuous employment relations. Contributes to our understanding of the transformation of work in the information economy, through a detailed examination o ...