If we are to believe what many sociologists are telling us, the public sphere is in a near terminal state. Our ability to build solidarities with strangers and to agree on the general significance of needs and problems seems to be collapsing. These cultural potentials appear endangered by a newly aggressive attempt to universalize and extend the norms of the market. For the past four decades the social theorist Jurgen Habermas has explored the relevance and meaning of the public sphere, as well as diagnosing its on-going crises. In the contemporary climate, a systematic look at Habermas' lifelong project of rescuing the modern public sphere seems an urgent task. This study reconstructs major developments in Habermas' thinking about the public sphere. Throughout his work Habermas has maintained that the complex ambiguity of the cultural achievements and potentials of the Enlightenment have not been properly understood. While his first major work tried to retrieve this complexity by excavating the neglected public-democratic core of Enlightenment liberalism, his later writings look to processes within modernization that confer value on a human capacity to interact communicatively. In recent times, Habermas has suggested that the modern public sphere is still central to the way in which liberal democratic societies reflect upon their normative foundations, and that we can learn from the traumatic histories and partial successes of the democratic nation states what needs to be done to build democracy with a post-national, cosmopolitan reach.
Habermas' project of rescuing the neglected potentials of Enlightenment legacies has been deeply controversial. For many, it is too lacking inradical commitments to warrant its claim to a contemporary place within a critical theory tradition. Against this developing consensus, Pauline Johnson describes Habermas' project as one that is still informed by utopian energies, even though his own construction of emancipatory hopes itself proves to be too narrow and one-sided.

Social theorists dwell on the canonical works of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim but little on the theories of the major contemporary macrotheorists. This book fills this gap with a focus on the work of four modern theorists who have taken on the larger questions spawned by classical social theory. C. Wright Mills, Marvin Harris, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Gerhard Lenski have examined such phenomena and processes as the rise and impact of capitalism; the centralization and enlargement of authority; inequality; and the historical intensification of production and populations. Borrowing what is useful from the classics as well as relying on contemporary practitioners and empirical evidence, each theorist adds his own insights and interpretations in constructing a comprehensive perspective of sociocultural stability and change. This book fully synthesizes and documents each perspective, using language and examples that resonate with the general reader. A short biography on each theorist is also provided.

Health technology is a pivotal locus of change and controversy in health care systems, and The Problem of Health Technology offers a comprehensive and novel analysis of the topic. The book illuminates the scientific and policy arguments that are currently deployed in industrialized countries by addressing the perspectives of clinicians, health care managers, scholars, policymakers, patients, and industry. And by establishing a dialogue between two interdisciplinary fields--Health Technology Assessment and Science and Technology Studies--Pascale Lehoux argues for re-centering the debate around social and political questions rather than questions of affordability, thereby developing an alternative framework for thinking about the implications of health technology.

Philosopher, sociologist and urban theorist, Henri Lefebvre is one of the great social theorists of the twentieth century. This accessible and innovative introduction to the work of Lefebvre combines biography and theory in a critical assessment of the dynamics of Lefebvre's character, thought, and times. Exploring key Lefebvrian concepts, Andy Merrifield demonstrates the evolution of Lefebvre's philosophy, while stressing the way his long and adventurous life of ideas and political engagement live on as an enduring and inspiring interrelated whole.

Philosopher, sociologist and urban theorist, Henri Lefebvre is one of the great social theorists of the twentieth century. This accessible and innovative introduction to the work of Lefebvre combines biography and theory in a critical assessment of the dynamics of Lefebvre's character, thought, and times. Exploring key Lefebvrian concepts, Andy Merrifield demonstrates the evolution of Lefebvre's philosophy, while stressing the way his long and adventurous life of ideas and political engagement live on as an enduring and inspiring interrelated whole.

A comprehensive critical survey of the controversies, theories and practices central to secondary education today, this book provides teachers, researchers, parents and policy-makers with a vital new reference resource. It covers important topics including:

• assessment
• citizenship
• curriculum
• e-learning
• exclusion
• theories of learning
• work experience.

Fully cross-referenced, with extensive suggestions for further reading and on-line resources, this is an essential guide to theory and practice in the twenty-first century classroom.

"Henry Giroux's essay awakens us to the ways new media proliferate and circulate images and ideas of terror that order our lives, pervert our pedagogy, delimit our democracy. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to comprehend our times, our politics, our possibilities." --David Theo Goldberg, University of California, Irvine "Henry Giroux is one of the sharpest cultural critics today. His new book is an important intervention on media and spectacles. It shows us the depth of the dark side, only to conclude that the same media may be deployed in recovery against the social fragmentation caused by fear and consumerism, which is essential to bringing the country back to the path of decency and justice." --Arif Dirlik, University of Oregon Prominent social critic Henry Giroux explores how new forms of media are challenging the very nature of politics in his most poignant and striking book to date. The emergence of the spectacle of terror as a new form of politics raises important questions about how fear and anxiety can be marketed, how terrorism can be used to recruit people in support of authoritarian causes, and how the spectacle of terrorism works in an age of injustices, deep insecurities, disembodied social relations, fragmented communities, and a growing militarization of everyday life. At the same time, the new media such as the Internet, digital camcorders, and cell phones can be used to energize sites of resistance, provide alternative public spheres, pluralize political struggles, and expand rather than close down democratic relations. Giroux considers what conditions and changes are necessary to reinvigorate democracy in light of these new challenges. Radical Imagination Series

The cities in which we live are dynamic, exciting places that are set to evolve more rapidly than ever in the immediate future. In response to this need for change, the movement for the development of Learning Cities, Towns and Regions is already in full swing. Across Europe in particular, governments are increasingly coming to recognize that such communities, and the opportunities they create, can hold the key to a brighter future for their citizens.
This book explores the mental and social landscape of the city of today and tomorrow; the way in which people think, interact, work together, learn and live with and among each other. "Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities" has been written to address the urgent need for a guide to the principles and practices of lifelong learning for everyone working in the area - in the cities, towns and regions of every country. The topics covered include:
- An introduction to the idea of Learning Cities
-Policies and strategies for the Learning City, including examples form around the world.
- How to activate learning, involve stakeholders and encourage citizen participation in a Learning City or Region.
Written by one of the world's foremost thinkers in the field, this book is nonetheless highly readable and therefore easily accessible to anyone who wishes to understand the issues addressed. Workers in local, regional and national government, academics and students of lifelong learning, in addition to anyone with an interest in the future cities and communities will find this a truly invaluable resource and guide to a way of thinking that many see as the way to a better tomorrow.

Although there have been a few historical accounts of the anarchist school movement, there has been no systematic work on the philosophical underpinnings of anarchist educational ideas - until now.

Anarchism and Education offers a philosophical account of the neglected tradition of anarchist thought on education. Although few anarchist thinkers wrote systematically on education, this analysis is based largely on a reconstruction of the educational thought of anarchist thinkers gleaned from their various ethical, philosophical and popular writings. Primarily drawing on the work of the nineteenth century anarchist theorists such as Bakunin, Kropotkin and Proudhon, the book also covers twentieth century anarchist thinkers such as Noam Chomsky, Paul Goodman, Daniel Guerin and Colin Ward.

This original work will interest philosophers of education and educationalist thinkers as well as those with a general interest in anarchism.

Can television become a positive force in society? Can socially conscious entertainment change the world? Two Aspirins and Comedy asks these questions and offers surprising, unconventional answers.The historic social and political effects of such books as Uncle Tom's Cabin and such films as Gandhi led sociologist Metta Spencer to delve into the power of entertainment to influence society - too often for the worse, but potentially much for the better. She identifies examples of socially constructive TV dramas. She shows how mass entertainment productions can enhance our emotional well being and social sensibilities, as well as point out promising solutions to global issues; and even inspire us to become activist.Two Aspirins and Comedy identifies entertainment as a public health issue. Our vicarious emotions, based on our empathy with fictional characters, actually harm or restore us physically. Spencer cites research proving that watching a funny movie will relax the blood vessels by 20 percent, whereas watching the battle scene from Saving Private Ryan will constrict them by 35 percent; these effects last for hours. Life expectancy is extended several years both by love relationships and by frequent sex. People who are temporarily short of such relationships often make up the deficit vicariously by empathizing with characters on the screen. Indeed, great storytelling, especially in prolonged serial TV dramas such as Northern Exposure, can impart wise lessons, stimulating personal growth and fostering a culture of peace and social justice. One cannot form an intense bond with a stranger who is encountered only briefly, but can with a series that lasts years. When we develop affectionfor characters, they may influence our opinions. Powerful soap operas are inducing people in developing countries to enroll in adult literacy classes; to limit the size of their families; to use condoms to prevent HIV infection; and to abolish childhood marriage. Such shows are the most influential tools available for promoting beneficial social changes. In the West, series such as The West Wing also pose serious issues in the context of entertainment. Now the challenge is to encourage reviewers to comment on the emotional, ethical, and societal impact of shows, and to gain for ourselves new means of encouraging excellent productions. Spencer encourages readers to view culture not as a commodity but as something to support for human well-being. She even suggests a $200.00 yearly tax allocation to the art of our choice - a way of fostering excellence without censorship. Society needs screenwriters who will stimulate our minds and inspire us to get busy solving society's problems. Spencer sees hopeful prospects of such changes in the new, socially insightful films that Jeff Skoll's Participant Productions are now offering. Two Aspirins and a Comedy teaches cultural consumer responsibility and offers philosophical and scientific rationale for the positive potential power of television, film and radio.

Can television become a positive force in society? Can socially conscious entertainment change the world? Two Aspirins and Comedy asks these questions and offers surprising, unconventional answers.The historic social and political effects of such books as Uncle Tom's Cabin and such films as Gandhi led sociologist Metta Spencer to delve into the power of entertainment to influence society - too often for the worse, but potentially much for the better. She identifies examples of socially constructive TV dramas. She shows how mass entertainment productions can enhance our emotional well being and social sensibilities, as well as point out promising solutions to global issues; and even inspire us to become activist.Two Aspirins and Comedy identifies entertainment as a public health issue. Our vicarious emotions, based on our empathy with fictional characters, actually harm or restore us physically. Spencer cites research proving that watching a funny movie will relax the blood vessels by 20 percent, whereas watching the battle scene from Saving Private Ryan will constrict them by 35 percent; these effects last for hours. Life expectancy is extended several years both by love relationships and by frequent sex. People who are temporarily short of such relationships often make up the deficit vicariously by empathizing with characters on the screen. Indeed, great storytelling, especially in prolonged serial TV dramas such as Northern Exposure, can impart wise lessons, stimulating personal growth and fostering a culture of peace and social justice. One cannot form an intense bond with a stranger who is encountered only briefly, but can with a series that lasts years. When we develop affectionfor characters, they may influence our opinions. Powerful soap operas are inducing people in developing countries to enroll in adult literacy classes; to limit the size of their families; to use condoms to prevent HIV infection; and to abolish childhood marriage. Such shows are the most influential tools available for promoting beneficial social changes. In the West, series such as The West Wing also pose serious issues in the context of entertainment. Now the challenge is to encourage reviewers to comment on the emotional, ethical, and societal impact of shows, and to gain for ourselves new means of encouraging excellent productions. Spencer encourages readers to view culture not as a commodity but as something to support for human well-being. She even suggests a $200.00 yearly tax allocation to the art of our choice - a way of fostering excellence without censorship. Society needs screenwriters who will stimulate our minds and inspire us to get busy solving society's problems. Spencer sees hopeful prospects of such changes in the new, socially insightful films that Jeff Skoll's Participant Productions are now offering. Two Aspirins and a Comedy teaches cultural consumer responsibility and offers philosophical and scientific rationale for the positive potential power of television, film and radio.

The cities in which we live are dynamic, exciting places that are set to evolve more rapidly than ever in the immediate future. In response to this need for change, the movement for the development of Learning Cities, Towns and Regions is already in full swing. Across Europe in particular, governments are increasingly coming to recognize that such communities, and the opportunities they create, can hold the key to a brighter future for their citizens.
This book explores the mental and social landscape of the city of today and tomorrow; the way in which people think, interact, work together, learn and live with and among each other. "Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities" has been written to address the urgent need for a guide to the principles and practices of lifelong learning for everyone working in the area - in the cities, towns and regions of every country. The topics covered include:
- An introduction to the idea of Learning Cities
-Policies and strategies for the Learning City, including examples form around the world.
- How to activate learning, involve stakeholders and encourage citizen participation in a Learning City or Region.
Written by one of the world's foremost thinkers in the field, this book is nonetheless highly readable and therefore easily accessible to anyone who wishes to understand the issues addressed. Workers in local, regional and national government, academics and students of lifelong learning, in addition to anyone with an interest in the future cities and communities will find this a truly invaluable resource and guide to a way of thinking that many see as the way to a better tomorrow.

This book argues that new technologies and society's response to them have created a relatively new phenomenon, "knowledge politics." Nico Stehr describes Western society's response to a host of new technologies developed only since the 1970s, including genetic experiments, test-tube human conception, recombinant DNA, and embryonic stem cells; genetically engineered foods; neurogenetics and genetic engineering; and reproductive cloning and the reconstruction of the human ancestral genome. He looks also at the prospective fusion of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, transgenic human engineering, and cognitive science whose products may, as its boosters claim, some day cure disease, slow the aging process, eliminate pollution, and generally enhance human performance. Knowledge Politics shows how human civilization has reached a new era of concern about the life-altering potentials of new technologies. Concerns about the societal consequences of an unfettered expansion of (natural) scientific knowledge are being raised more urgently and are moving to the center of disputes in society-- and thus to the top of the political agenda. Stehr explains the ramifications of knowledge politics and the approaches society could take to resolve difficult questions and conflicts over present and future scientific innovation.

Social isolation has serious repercussions for people and communities across the globe, yet knowledge about this phenomenon has remained rather limited a " until now.

The first multidisciplinary study to explore this issue, Social Isolation in Modern Society integrates relevant research traditions in the social sciences and brings together sociological theories of social networks and psychological theories of feelings of loneliness. Both traditions are embedded in research, with the results of a large-scale international study being used to describe the extent, nature and divergent manifestations of social isolation.

With a new approach to social inequality, this empirically based study includes concrete policy recommendations, and presents a clear insight into personal, social and socio-economic causes and the consequences of social isolation.

"Studying Society" is an introductory undergraduate level textbook which helps students to develop study skills as well as an understanding of the principles of social research and how these principles link to social theory.
"Studying Society" guides students in learning how to:
- Formulate questions
- Look for answers
- Understand the methods by which information is collected
- Critically evaluate information sources
- Communicate the results of their work to others
"Studying Society" encourages students to recognize that the study of society involves a systematic and considered approach to the collection and generation of knowledge, that a wide variety of sources can be utilized in this process and that each source has a unique part to play. In developing these skills, "Studying Society" explores the use of both traditional media, and new information and communication technologies. Throughout the book there is an emphasis on applying the problems and solutions presented, to "real world" issues. This involves the use of examples and exercises which are immediately relevant to the undergraduate experience, to everyday life and to the contemporary concepts which are studied by the social scientist.
This coherent and up-to-date text will be an invaluable learning tool for students of any discipline which involves the study of human beings and their societies.

The "Encyclopedia of Social Theory" contains over 500 entries varying from concise definitions of key terms and short biographies of key theorists to comprehensive surveys of leading concepts, debates, themes and schools. The object of the encyclopedia has been to give thorough coverage of the central topics in theoretical sociology as well as terms and concepts in the methodology and philosophy of social science. Although 106 theorists are given entries, the emphasis of the work is on the elucidation of ideas rather than intellectual biography. The encyclopedia covers the leading contemporary domains of debate on social theory and the classical legacies of social thinkers from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, giving proper balance to both the European and North American traditions and to important new developments in the global self-understanding of sociology.
Social theory has become one of the most vigorous specialisms of sociology in recent years. This is in part due to the considerable overlaps of social theory with other disciplinary areas, such as cultural and media studies, anthropology, and political theory, and to the cross-disciplinary nature of theoretical approaches such as feminism and psychoanalysis, and new fields such as postcolonial studies. The editors have therefore worked to produce in the "Encyclopedia of Social Theory "a first-call reference for students and researchers across the social sciences and humanities with an interest in contemporary theory and the modern history of ideas.
The encyclopedia has been authored by leading international specialists in the field under the direction of a well-balanced editorial team. It is comprehensivelycross-referenced and all larger entries carry bibliographies. There is a full index.

From an eminent author in the field, "The Future of Visual Anthropology" develops a new approach to visual anthropology and presents a groundbreaking examination of developments within the field and the way forward for the subdiscipline in the twenty-first century
The explosion of visual media in recent years has generated a wide range of visual and digital technologies which have transformed visual research and analysis. The result is an exciting new interdisciplinary approach of great potential influence for the future of social/cultural anthropology.
Sarah Pink argues that this potential can be harnessed by engaging visual anthropology with its wider contexts, including:
* the increasing use of visual research methods across the social sciences and humanities
* the growth in popularity of the visual as methodology and object of analysis within mainstream anthropology and applied anthropology
* the growing interest in 'anthropology of the senses' and media anthropology
* the development of new visual technologies that allow anthropologists to work in new ways.
This book has immense interdisciplinary potential, and will be essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners of visual anthropology, media anthropology, visual cultural studies, media studies and sociology.

From an eminent author in the field, "The Future of Visual Anthropology" develops a new approach to visual anthropology and presents a groundbreaking examination of developments within the field and the way forward for the subdiscipline in the twenty-first century
The explosion of visual media in recent years has generated a wide range of visual and digital technologies which have transformed visual research and analysis. The result is an exciting new interdisciplinary approach of great potential influence for the future of social/cultural anthropology.
Sarah Pink argues that this potential can be harnessed by engaging visual anthropology with its wider contexts, including:
* the increasing use of visual research methods across the social sciences and humanities
* the growth in popularity of the visual as methodology and object of analysis within mainstream anthropology and applied anthropology
* the growing interest in 'anthropology of the senses' and media anthropology
* the development of new visual technologies that allow anthropologists to work in new ways.
This book has immense interdisciplinary potential, and will be essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners of visual anthropology, media anthropology, visual cultural studies, media studies and sociology.

This book has been written for teachers of business education and economics in the years of their early professional development, including those on PGCE courses, those in their induction year, and those in years two and three of their teaching career. The book will also be suitable for subject leaders with mentor responsibilities and Advanced Skills teachers undertaking specialist inset and teaching support.

The book covers the training standards for NQTs and the Induction Standards. But it goes beyond this by fully exploring issues to do with subject knowledge in learning to teach, broadly accepting that an essential element of a secondary teacher's identity is tied up with the subject taught. The book is divided into three sections:

• framing the subject - which defines subject knowledge and raises questions about business education and economics as school subjects
• teaching the subject - which looks at pedagogical, curricular and pupil knowledge
• business, economics and enterprise within the professional community - which focuses on the place of business education and economics within the wider curriculum and the teaching community.

This book aims to provide stimulating assistance to subject specialists by helping them find ways of thinking about their specialism, how to teach with it and how to engage with what pupils learn through it.

Lifelong learning has developed enormously as a distinct area of study within education in recent years not least because numerous governments and educational strategists have become very vocal supporters of new ways of learning throughout all stages of life. This guide to the topic brings together new writing from some of the leading thinkers in the field to offer a broad ranging and detailed snapshot of the position to date. The book provides a critical summary of current developments in understanding adult learning and the social context in which they are located. This provides a background for the framing of issues and the problems that emerge in institutional and non-formal contexts of lifelong learning. Students undertaking courses of study in this area as well as a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate students in a variety of professional areas will find the material essential reading.

Mathematics education in the United States can reproduce social inequalities whether schools use either "basic-skills" curricula to prepare mainly low-income students of color for low-skilled service jobs or "standards-based" curricula to ready students for knowledge-intensive positions. And working for fundamental social change and rectifying injustice are rarely included in any mathematics curriculum. Reading and Writing the World with Mathematics argues that mathematics education should prepare students to investigate and critique injustice, and to challenge, in words and actions, oppressive structures and acts. Based on teacher-research, the book provides a theoretical framework and practical examples for how mathematics educators can connect schooling to a larger sociopolitical context and concretely teach mathematics for social justice.

This unique text provides a valuable route map to the development of thinking in adult education and lifelong learning. It includes more than twenty-five seminal articles from the first two decades of the International Journal of Lifelong Education, written by leading authors in the field from the UK, the USA, Australia and Europe.

Compiled to show the development of the field, the articles are divided into four sections:

From Ault Educationa ]
a ]to Lifelong Education
a ]and Lifelong Learning
a ]to the Learning Society and Beyond.

The specially written Introduction by the editor contextualises the selection and introduces readers to the main issues and current thinking in the field. This is the only text of its kind to demonstrate practice and policy internationally over this period, and as the collection of articles are now available in one easy-access place, this is an excellent resource for students and scholars.

The Fourth Revolution examines the momentous social changes that have taken place in the United States in recent decades, placing protests such as the civil rights movement, feminism, and student demonstrations against the Vietnam War in the context of other cultural revolutions in American history. By comparing the unique events of the 1960s with the religious revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries (the first revolution), the democratic political revolution of the 18th century (the second revolution), and the economic revolution of the New Deal during the first half of the 20th century (the third revolution), The Fourth Revolution shows how the cyclical nature of social movements has come to define not only American history but also the nation's ideal of progress. Extending to controversies during the past quarter-century over everything from gay rights to the culture wars, this absorbing book also looks ahead to potential targets of the next (fifth) revolution, including militant environmentalism, a repudiation of science and technology, and an ethic of anti-success.

Improving education is a key priority for governments around the world. While many suggestions on how best to achieve this are currently under debate, years of academic research have already revealed more about how to encourage change than is sometimes assumed.

This volume brings together for the first time some of the most significant work of Karen Seashore Louis, one of the foremost thinkers and researchers in the field. Organizing for School Change presents a unique variety of research-based results from studies conducted over the past twenty-five years. What emerges is not an idealistic plan, but a realistic picture of what needs to be done if schools are to be made better.

Drawing on a wide and comprehensive list of sources, the ideas brought together in this collection will prove invaluable and insightful reading, stimulating both newcomers and veterans of the field to consider educational research in new ways.

This book - never before published - is eminent sociologist Harold Garfinkel's earliest attempt, while at Harvard in 1948, to bridge the growing gap in U.S. sociology. This gap was generated by a Parsonsian paradigm that emphasized a scientific approach to sociological description, one that increasingly distanced itself from social phenomena in the influential ways studied by phenomenologists.It was Garfinkel's idea that phenomenological description, rendered in more empirical and interactive terms, might remedy shortcomings in the reigning Parsonsian view. Garfinkel soon gave up the attempt to repair scientific description and his focus became increasingly empirical until, in 1954, he famously coined the term 'Ethnomethodology'. However, in this early manuscript can be seen more clearly than in some of his later work the struggle with a conceptual and positivist rendering of social relations that ultimately informed Garfinkel's position. Here we find the sources of his turn toward ethnomethodology, which would influence subsequent generations of sociologists.This book is essential reading for all social theory scholars and graduate students and for a wider range of social scientists in anthropology, ethnomethodology, and other fields.