First published in 1976, this book is concerned with the nature of classification in the social sciences. Its thesis is that classifications are dependent upon and are derived from theoretical explanations. Classification is not a theoretically neutral typification or ordering of social forms. This is because objects classified a " societies, social institutions a " are not given to knowledge independently of the categories which construct them and because the categories of classification are themselves the products of theories.

Long Lives Are for the Rich is the title of a silent ominous program that affects the lives of millions of people. In all developed countries disadvantaged and, especially, poor people die much earlier than the most advantaged. During these shorter lives they suffer ten to twenty years longer from disabilities or chronic disease. This does not happen accidentally: health inequalities – including those between healthy and unhealthy life styles – are mainly caused by social inequalities that are reproduced over the life course. This crucial function of the life course has become painfully visible during its neoliberal reorganization since the early 1980s. Studies about aging over the life course, from birth to death, show the inhumane consequences as people get older. In spite of the enormous wealth that has been piled up in the US for a dwindling percentage of the population, there has been growing public indifference about the needs of those in jobs with low pay and high stress, but also about citizens from a broad middle class who can hardly afford high quality education or healthcare. However, this ominous program affects all: recent mortality rates show that all Americans, including the rich, are unhealthier and dying earlier than citizens of other developed countries. Moreover, the underlying social inequalities are tearing the population apart with nasty consequences for all citizens, including the rich. Although the public awareness of the consequences has been growing, neoliberal policies remain tempting for the economic and political elites of the developed world because of the enormous wealth that is flowing to the top. All this poses urgent questions of social justice. Unfortunately, the predominant studies of social justice along the life course help to reproduce these inequalities by neglecting them. This book analyzes the main dynamics of social inequality over the life course and proposes a theory of social justice that sketches a way forward for a country that is willing to invest in its greatest resource: the creative potential of its population.

First published in 1982, Professor Bauman's discussion of the mechanism of class formation and institutionalisation of class conflict argues that our understanding of changes in social and political structure has been hindered by the freezing of concepts of class in the ice-age of industrial society. He investigates the impact of historical memory on the early transformation of rank into a class society, and on the current confusion in the analysis of the 'crisis of late-industrial society'. The book traces the formation of a class society back to the patterns of 'surveillance power' and control, and shows how these patterns preceded and made possible the industrial system. Subsequently 'economised' into the industrial system, these same patterns of control have now proved to be inadequate under social conditions brought about by this economisation of the power conflict.

This is the first book to explore the phenomenon of glamour and celebrity in contemporary Russian culture, ranging across media forms, disciplinary boundaries and modes of inquiry, with particular emphasis on the media personality. The book demonstrates how the process of 'celebrification' in Russia coincides with the dizzying pace of social change and economic transformation, the latter enabling an unprecedented fascination with glamour and its requisite extravagance; how in the 1990s and 2000s, celebrities - such as film or television stars - moved away from their home medium to become celebrities straddling various media; and how celebrity is a symbol manipulated by the dominant culture and embraced by the masses. It examines the primacy of the visual in celebrity construction and its dominance over the verbal, alongside the interdisciplinary, cross-media, post-Soviet landscape of today's fame culture. Taking into account both general tendencies and individual celebrities, including pop-diva Alla Pugacheva and ex-President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the book analyses the internal dynamics of the institutions involved in the production, marketing, and maintenance of celebrities, as well as the larger cultural context and the imperatives that drive Russian society's romance with glamour and celebrity.

Rising exclusion rates indicate the continuing marginalisation of many young people in education in the UK. Working-class boys, children living in poverty, and children with additional/special educational needs are among those experiencing a disproportionate rate of exclusion. This book traces the processes of exclusion and alienation from school and relates this to a changing social and economic context. Jean Kane argues that policy on schooling, including curricular reform, needs to be re-connected to the broad political pursuit of social justice, and presents compelling case studies of excluded pupils, showing the multi-faceted identities of pupils, with a particular focus on masculine and feminine identities. This invaluable contribution to the literature offers an alternative analysis where the social identities of pupils are shown to be tied up with their exclusion from school. Themes investigated include: the meanings of school exclusions social class, gender and schooling social identities of excluded pupils negotiating identities in school: moving towards exclusion exclusions and young people's lives improving participation in schooling. Providing fascinating reading for teachers, social workers, researchers and policy-makers this book considers how educational disadvantage might be addressed through recognition of the gender and class identities of pupils.

This is a study of gender and power in Victorian Britain. It is the first book to examine the contribution made by women to the public culture of the British aristocracy in the nineteenth century. Based on a wide range of archival sources, it explores the roles of aristocratic women in public life, from their country estates to the salons of Westminster and the royal court.

First published in 1976, this book is concerned with the nature of classification in the social sciences. Its thesis is that classifications are dependent upon and are derived from theoretical explanations. Classification is not a theoretically neutral typification or ordering of social forms. This is because objects classified a " societies, social institutions a " are not given to knowledge independently of the categories which construct them and because the categories of classification are themselves the products of theories.

Symbolizing both commerce and culture, London has always been a magnet for the ambitions of the middle classes. However, the past three decades have witnessed a dramatic fragmentation in inner-city London's social map. New and highly distinctive middle-class neighbourhoods have sprung up where embattled workers seek to combat the deleterious effects of long working hours, travel, and stress on traditional family values. This book is the first to explore the powerful impact of globalization on London's economy and those who are caught up in it. More and more people are responding to the negative effects of working life as well as the lack of structure in their lives and particularly those of their children. The gentrification of certain areas and the differences among them directly reflects this desire to impose cultural values and structure on urban surroundings. How do these areas reflect middle-class values, ideologies, lifestyles, social backgrounds and occupational choices, and how have old neighbourhoods been refashioned and made amenable to middle-class life? In what ways has family life been affected by this new emphasis on values, structure and security, and what does the future hold?This fascinating book provides the first sustained analysis of the profound effects of globalization on city dwellers. Its original account of the relationship between urban space and cultural reproduction will inspire new research for years to come.

First published in 1982, Professor Baumana (TM)s discussion of the mechanism of class formation and institutionalisation of class conflict argues that our understanding of changes in social and political structure has been hindered by the freezing of concepts of class in the ice-age of industrial society. He investigates the impact of historical memory on the early transformation of rank into a class society, and on the current confusion in the analysis of the a ~crisis of late-industrial societya (TM).

The book traces the formation of a class society back to the patterns of a ~surveillance powera (TM) and control, and shows how these patterns preceded and made possible the industrial system. Subsequently a ~economiseda (TM) into the industrial system, these same patterns of control have now proved to be inadequate under social conditions brought about by this economisation of the power conflict.

During the past decade, life in post-socialist states has been fraught with instability and conflict. This book focuses on changing rural-urban relations - and growing divisions between them - in the context of the reforms. Contributions to this volume explore responses to capitalist-oriented policies and reasons for rural disenfranchisement. The work takes an ethnographic approach to exploring how 'global' processes engage with local, rural concerns in the post-socialist world.

In the popular imagination, the twenty years after World War II are associated with simpler, happier, more family-focused living. We think of stereotypical baby boom families like the Cleavers--white, suburban, and well on their way to middle-class affluence. For these couples and their children, a happy, stable family life provided an antidote to the anxieties and uncertainties of the emerging nuclear age.

But not everyone looked or lived like the Cleavers. For those who could not have children, or have as many children as they wanted, the postwar baby boom proved a source of social stigma and personal pain. Further, in 1950 roughly one in three Americans made below middle-class incomes, and over fifteen million lived under Jim Crow segregation. For these individuals, home life was not an oasis but a challenge, intimately connected to the era's many political and social upheavals.

"Everybody Else" provides a comparative analysis of diverse postwar families and examines the lives and case records of men and women who applied to adopt or provide pre-adoptive foster care in the 1940s and 1950s. It considers an array of individuals--both black and white, middle and working class--who found themselves on the margins of a social world that privileged family membership. These couples wanted adoptive and foster children in order to achieve a sense of personal mission and meaning, as well as a deeper feeling of belonging to their communities. But their quest for parenthood also highlighted the many inequities of that era. These individuals' experiences seeking children reveal that the baby boom family was about much more than "togetherness" or a quiet house in the suburbs; it also shaped people's ideas about the promises and perils of getting ahead in postwar America.

"This major new contribution to the study of consumption examines how dominant groups express and display their sense of superiority through material and aesthetic attributes, demonstrating that differences from one society to another, and across historical periods, challenge current understandings of elite distinction"--Provided by publisher.

Jonathan Jansen is die voormalige Rektor van die Universiteit van die Vrystaat, met 'n formidabele reputasie vir transformasie en 'n diepgewortelde verbintenis tot versoening in gemeenskappe wat met die erfenis van apartheid saamleef. In hierdie boek, Jansen se persoonlikste en mees intieme boek tot op hede, daag Suid-Afrika se geliefde professor die stereotipes en stigma uit wat so maklik op Kaapse Vlakte-ma's van toepassing gemaak word as luidrugtig, wellustig en sonder tande – en bied hy dié deernisvolle verhaal aan as 'n lofsang vir ma's oral wat op moeilike plekke gesinne moet grootmaak en gemeenskappe moet bou.

As jong man het Jansen gewonder hoe ma's dit regkry om kinders onder moeilike omstandighede groot te maak – en toe besef die antwoord is reg voor hom in die vorm van Sarah Jansen, sy eie ma. Deur haar vroeë lewe in Montagu en die gevolge van apartheid se gedwonge verskuiwings na te speur, werp Jansen lig op hoe sterk vroue nie slegs daarin geslaag het om gesinne bymekaar te hou nie, maar hulle kinders ook met integriteit groot te maak.

Met sy kenmerkende fynsinnigheid, humor en eerlikheid, volg Jansen sy ma se lewensverhaal as 'n jong verpleegster en ma van vyf kinders, en wys hy hoe dié ma's hulle verlede verwerk het, hulle huise ingerig het, sin gemaak het van die politiek, die liefde bestuur en kernwaardes gekommunikeer het – hoe hulle hulle lewens gelei het. Om sy eie herinneringe te balanseer, het Jansen hom op sy suster, Naomi, beroep om haar eie insigte en herinneringe te deel, en daardeur spesiale waarde tot hierdie roerende memoir toe te voeg.

The postwar orthodoxy postulated that education is both a mechanism for upward social mobility and an engine for economic growth. This book challenges these mainstream conceptions. Using Greece and the Roma people in particular as a case study, Themelis examines qualitative and quantitative social mobility findings to explore the changes associated with education and to analyze their importance for individuals and society.

Of late, there has been a growing interest in how non-Western peoples have been and continue to be depicted in the literatures of the West. In anthropology, attention has focused on the range of literary devices employed in ethnographic texts to distance and exoticize the subjects of discourse, and ultimately contribute to their subordination. This study eschews the tendency to regard virtually all depictions of non-Western "others" as amenable to the same kinds of "orientalist" analysis, and argues that the portrayals found in such writings must be examined in their particular historical and political settings. These themes are explored by analyzing the voluminous literature by military authors who have written and continue to write about the "Gurkhas", those legendary soldiers from Nepal who have served in Britain's Imperial and post-Imperial armies for more than two centuries. The author discovers that, instead of exoticizing them, the military writers find in their subjects the quintessential virtues of the European officers themselves: the Gurkhas appear as warriors and gentlemen. However, the author does not rest here: utilizing a wealth of literary, historical, ethnographic sources and the results of his own fieldwork, he investigates the wider social and cultural contexts in which the European chroniclers of the Gurkhas have been nurtured.

After Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War, a great many of the country's intellectuals went into exile in Mexico. During the three and a half decades of Francoist dictatorship, these exiles held that the Republic, not Francoism, represented the authentic culture of Spain. In this environment, as Sebastiaan Faber argues in "Exile and Cultural Hegemony," the Spaniards' conception of their role as intellectuals changed markedly over time.

The first study of its kind to place the exiles' ideological evolution in a broad historical context, "Exile and Cultural Hegemony" takes into account developments in both Spanish and Mexican politics from the early 1930s through the 1970s. Faber pays particular attention to the intellectuals' persistent nationalism and misplaced illusions of pan-Hispanist grandeur, which included awkward and ironic overlaps with the rhetoric employed by their enemies on the Francoist right. This embrace of nationalism, together with the intellectuals' dependence on the increasingly authoritarian Mexican regime and the international climate of the Cold War, eventually caused them to abandon the Gramscian ideal of the intellectual as political activist in favor of a more liberal, apolitical stance preferred by, among others, the Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset.

With its comprehensive approach to topics integral to Spanish culture, both students of and those with a general interest in twentieth-century Spanish literature, history, or culture will find "Exile and Cultural Hegemony" a fascinating and groundbreaking work.

What assistance can be provided to disadvantaged youngsters to help them conquer the many challenges they face while growing up? At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored analyzes the results from accumulated research on the risk and resiliency of children and youth in Ireland. Author Niall McElwee explains many of the challenges faced by children, including poor literacy and numeracy skills, poverty, distrust, and other difficult issues. Practical strategies are presented to help disadvantaged children and youth to overcome societal and self-imposed barriers for improvement. A detailed review and assessment is provided on the efficacy of Ireland's Youth Encounter Projects. This important resource focuses on what works and what does not in youth services. At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored closely examines risk factors, and what it specifically means to be 'at-risk'. Going further beyond the standard risk factors usually considered such as drug use or dropping-out of school, this probing text explores the full range of factors and coping and healing mechanisms. The author challenges several of the views and beliefs about risk and resiliency generally held by many in child and youth services and in society. This book is extensively referenced and includes helpful figures tables to clearly present information. Topics in At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored include: A breakdown of terms for risk behaviors and predictors of risk Issues of social class and social exclusion The impact of school difficulties on students, including truancy and poor academic standing Strategies to build on student strengths The quality of the entirety of the school experience as a determination of success Strategies for intervention A review of literature on risk and resiliency A relational research model, including methodology and ethical issues Description and functions of Youth Encounter Projects-and an assessment of their value Results of risk studies over the past decade Recommended changes in policies At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored is a valuable addition to the libraries of educators, students, and child and youth service providers everywhere.

Discover strategies to reinforce the strengths of the youngest members of society What assistance can be provided to a disadvantaged youngster to help them bounce back to conquer challenges while growing up? At-Risk Children and Youth analyzes the results from accumulated research on the risk and resiliency of children and youth in Ireland. Niall McElwee shines a crucial spotlight on the challenges facing children, including poor literacy and numeracy skills, poverty, distrust, and other difficult issues. Practical strategies are presented to help disadvantaged children and youth to overcome societal and self-imposed barriers for improvement. A detailed review and assessment is provided of the efficacy of Ireland's Youth Encounter Projects. This important resource focuses on what works and what does not in youth services. At-Risk Children and Youth closely examines at-risk factors and what it specifically means to be 'at-risk'. Going further beyond the standard risk factors usually considered such as drug use or dropping-out of school, this probing text explores the full range of factors and coping and healing mechanisms. The author challenges several of the views and beliefs about risk and resiliency generally held by many in child and youth services and in society. This book is extensively referenced and includes helpful figures tables to clearly present information. Topics in At-Risk Children and Youth include: detailed breakdown of terms for risk behaviors and predictors of risk the issues of social class and social exclusion the impact of school difficulties on students, including truancy and poor academic standing building on student strengths the quality of the entirety of the school experience as a determination of success strategies for intervention a review of various literature on risk and resiliency a relational research model, including methodology and ethical issues description and functions of Youth Encounter Projects-and an assessment of their value at-risk youth perceptions of risk, in their own words results of risk studies over the past decade recommended changes in policies At-Risk Children and Youth is a valuable addition to the libraries of educators, students, and child and youth service providers everywhere.

This is the second volume of a two volume work on biosocial approaches to social stratification and human inequality. The volume considers linkages between gender and stratification; between neurohormonal variables and status; and between health, reproduction, and social status. The contributors explore topics that environmentalists shun, and discuss how the effect of biological variables on social stratification may have evolutionary consequences.

First published in 2006. This book contributes towards a more just appreciation of the relative importance of the different major social groups in the life of the country. It deals in the main with the economic history of the landed interest, and with its role as a social group and includes much agrarian and some industrial history as seen from the landowners' point of view. The first seven chapters of the book aim to present an analysis and description of the main elements in the institutions and way of life of the landed classes, suggesting their significance for society at large, and emphasizing the forces of change which were at work within an order which in many ways presented a remarkably stable appearance to the outside world. The last five chapters take up the theme of change and examine the dynamic elements in the economic social and political life of the group, in a sequence of chronological subdivisions of the century and a half with which this book is concerned.

Puerto Rican soldiers have been consistently whitewashed out of the narrative of American history despite playing parts in all American wars since WWI. This book examines the online self-representation of Puerto Rican soldiers who served during the War on Terror, focusing on social networking sites, user-generated content, and web memorials.

The book analyses how lines of (non)belonging are traced and how notions of (non)belonging circulate around and are attached to students from immigrant backgrounds. Such circulations coalesce around values and practices linked to gendered, ethnic majority middle-class norms, through which difference is positioned and opposed in hierarchical terms. This project analyses the relationship between teachers' identities and their attitudes and pedagogic dispositions towards students from immigrant backgrounds, showing how these affect each other, contributing to their state of (non)belonging in the educational setting and in the wider society. Attention is brought to the pervasive and normalised background of neoliberal ideology, permeating the educational environment. In examining the (problematic) relationship between the previous elements, the book uncovers the intersectional reproduction of lines of belonging - and not belonging. While the analysis is centred on a study in Italy, it is situated within and provides links to international connections, facilitating a wider and global understanding of issues related to social justice. The book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers across sociology, education, gender, and cultural studies. Due to the intersectional approach and the width of the issues explored, it will be of use to policymakers and practitioners.