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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social theory
This important book makes a vital academic and political statement in the cause of social justice. It begins with an appreciation of the seminal contributions of Peter Townsend (1928-2009), and applies them to contemporary policy debates. It brings together many of the leading contributors to current debates in this field and provides a compelling manifesto for change for students and researchers in the social sciences, policy makers and practitioners, and everybody with an interest in creating a more equal and socially just society.
Throughout history, social and intellectual crises have given rise to compelling suggestions for reform steeped in various progressive sensibilities. For example, within the discipline of criminology -- particularly during the 1980a (TM)s and 1990a (TM)s -- a number of unconventional theoretical perspectives emerged that sought to challenge many of the assumptions embedded within its own mainstream discourse, and to propose alternative solutions for meaningful, sustainable change. Conceived of as "critical" in overarching orientation, these efforts to rethink the foundations of criminological verstehen can be traced to several specific theoretical and methodological strands of inquiry (e.g., anarchism, peacemaking, chaos theory, postmodernism). Though distinct in some respects, these emerging models are linked paradigmatically by their shared discontent with conventional criminological thought and by their radicalized posture toward existing and previously unexamined epistemic crises. Collectively, this is an agenda for reform that seeks to establish a more humane and just social order, particularly as citizens and society confront the institutional and communal problems posed by crime, delinquency, and deviance. Theory, Justice, and Social Change: Theoretical Integrations and Critical Applications represents a provocative series of essays that systematically reviews or extends the role of critical social theory in fostering justice and change in several relevant, though problematic, social contexts. Mindful of the need to address both conceptual exegeses and pragmatic concerns, the articles contained in this volume grapple with the ongoing "double crisis" that confrontstheory and practice in the construction of knowledge. By appropriating and integrating various insights from several heterodox and critically animated lines of inquiry, each chapter deftly exposes where and how conventional sociological and criminological thought has failed to effectively address such human social issues as homelessness, mental illness, minority rights, juvenile justice, global violence, and criminal punishment. In doing so, Theory, Justice, and Social Change provides new and much needed direction regarding theory development in the social sciences, and indicates why charting such a course of theory/action yields more enlightened prospects for justice and change in society and in our lives.
How can egalitarian ideals be put into action? This ground-breaking book sets out a new interdisciplinary model for equality studies. Integrating normative questions about the ideal of equality with empirical issues about the nature of inequality, it applies a new framework to a wide range of contemporary inequalities. Proposing far-reaching changes in the economy, politics, law, education and research practices, it sets out innovative political strategies for achieving those aims. It is an invaluable resource for both academics and activists.
This book represents the first comprehensive century-long history of the disciplinary development of sociology in Serbia in English. It provides an overview of the constitution of sociology as an academic discipline during the interwar period, its reinstitutionalization after World War II in entirely new social circumstances marked by establishment of self-management socialism in Yugoslavia, and finally its development during the turbulent postsocialist period. Divided into five chapters, the focus of the book is on the challenges that sociology has faced in order to maintain its institutional position, gain adequate social recognition, and preserve its professional autonomy. Relying on Bourdieu's concept of the academic field and Burawoy's typology of Professional, Critical, Public and Policy sociology, the book seeks to answer the question of how the sociological academic field in Serbia has been constituted, structured and restructured, and in which of these roles sociology has dominantly appeared in different phases of its evolution.
This book discusses how to develop green transitions which benefit, include and respect marginalised social groups. Diversity and Inclusion in Environmentalism explores the challenge of taking into account issues of equity and justice in the green transformation and shows that ignoring these issues risks exacerbating the gap between the rich and the poor, the marginalised and included, and undermining widespread support for climate change mitigation. Expert contributors provide evidence and analysis in relation to the thinking and practice that has prevented us from building a broad base of people who are willing and able to take the action necessary to successfully overcome the current ecological crises. Providing examples from a wide range of marginalised and/or oppressed groups including women, disabled people, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and others (LGBTQ+) community, the authors demonstrate how the issues and concerns of these groups are often undervalued in environmental policy-making and environmental social movements. Overall, this book supports environmental academics and practitioners to choose and campaign for effective, equitable and widely supported environmental policy, thereby enabling a smoother transition to sustainability. This volume will be of great interest to students, scholars and practitioners of environmental justice, social and environmental policy, planning and environmental sociology.
There is undeniable evidence of powerful emotions at work in the political and social life of even the most advanced countries of the modern world. The aim of this book is to understand this emotional involvement, not directly, but imaginatively, through fiction. Nevertheless, critical situations - in economy, politics and society - determine whether emotionally charged social change is constructive or destructive. This is an entirely new approach to world problems: global capitalism, neo-imperialism and modernization, environmental degradation, the struggle for women's rights and use and abuse of science.
Michael Young is one of the key figures in British 20th-century history. Focusing on family, community, and social change, he has cascaded ideas, in the process coining new words, like "meritocracy." He has also initiated or played a major role in creating new and well-known organizations, including the Consumers' Association and the Open University. In 1945 he drafted the Labour Party's successful election manifesto Let us Face the Future ; in 1965 he was the first Chairman of the new Social Science Research Council.
This anthology originated from three conferences, which were held at Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, on March 26-28, 1999, at the Univ- sity of Konstanz, Germany, on May 26-29, 1999 and a session at the SPHS annual meeting at the University of Oregon, USA, on October 5-7, 1999. With one exception the contributions to this volume are revised versions of papers read at these meetings. Each of these conferences took place in order to celebrate the centennial of the birthday of Alfred Schutz, who was born April 13, 1899, and died May 20, 1959. First of all we would like to thank Evelyn Schutz-Lang, the daughter of Alfred and Ilse Schutz, for her continuing support and encouragement. Moreover, Evelyn Schutz-Lang as well as Claudia Schutz, the gr- daughter of Alfred and Ilse Schutz, and the daughter of his son George, gave us the honor of visiting the Konstanz conference in 1999. Evelyn also came to the Oregon conference and sent her personal greetings to those attending the Tokyo conference. We would like to thank Waseda University, the Waseda Sociological Association, the Waseda University International Conference Center, and the Center for Research in Human Sciences in Japan for their generous financial support, as well as the German Research Council (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), the University of Konstanz, the Alfred Schutz Memorial Archives in Konstanz, and the Sparkasse Konstanz for their considerable financial assistance in making the conferences possible.
Model building in the social sciences can increasingly rely on well elaborated formal theories. At the same time inexpensive large computational capacities are now available. Both make computer-based model building and simulation possible in social science, whose central aim is in particular an understanding of social dynamics. Such social dynamics refer to public opinion formation, partner choice, strategy decisions in social dilemma situations and much more. In the context of such modelling approaches, novel problems in philosophy of science arise which must be analysed - the main aim of this book. Interest in social simulation has recently been growing rapidly world- wide, mainly as a result of the increasing availability of powerful personal computers. The field has also been greatly influenced by developments in cellular automata theory (from mathematics) and in distributed artificial intelligence which provided tools readily applicable to social simulation. This book presents a number of modelling and simulation approaches and their relations to problems in philosophy of science. It addresses sociologists and other social scientists interested in formal modelling, mathematical sociology, and computer simulation as well as computer scientists interested in social science applications, and philosophers of social science.
The book presents aspects of cross-currents of theorizing of self, culture and society in the contemporary Taiwan. Social theorizing has been addressed critically, reflectively and creatively by the philosophical, religious, psychological and literary traditions of one of the world's great civilizations Theorizing is a dynamic movement of self, culture, society and the world as it is related to our actions, reflections, meditations to understand the world more meaningfully and holistically as well as to transform it. But much of social theorizing in the modern world is primarily Euro-American and despite the socalled globalization of knowledge, this condition of one-sided Euro-American valorization of knowledge and neglect of others continues unabated. There is very little attention to theorizing about the human condition emerging from other parts of the world such as Taiwan and its global implication. This book transforms this condition by mapping the field of theorizing in a wider spectrum of philosophy, psychology, religions, social sciences and humanities in contemporary Taiwan.
Today we hear much talk of crisis and comparisons are often made with the Great Depression of the 1930s, but there is a crucial difference that sets our current malaise apart from the 1930s: today we no longer trust in the capacity of the state to resolve the crisis and to chart a new way forward. In our increasingly globalized world, states have been stripped of much of their power to shape the course of events. Many of our problems are globally produced but the volume of power at the disposal of individual nation-states is simply not sufficient to cope with the problems they face. This divorce between power and politics produces a new kind of paralysis. It undermines the political agency that is needed to tackle the crisis and it saps citizens belief that governments can deliver on their promises. The impotence of governments goes hand in hand with the growing cynicism and distrust of citizens. Hence the current crisis is at once a crisis of agency, a crisis of representative democracy and a crisis of the sovereignty of the state. In this book the world-renowned sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and fellow traveller Carlo Bordoni explore the social and political dimensions of the current crisis. While this crisis has been greatly exacerbated by the turmoil following the financial crisis of 2007-8, Bauman and Bordoni argue that the crisis facing Western societies is rooted in a much more profound series of transformations that stretch back further in time and are producing long-lasting effects. This highly original analysis of our current predicament by two of the world s leading social thinkers will be of interest to a wide readership.
Surviving repression tells the story of the Muslim Brotherhood following the 2013 coup d'etat in Egypt. The Brotherhood gained legal recognition and quickly rose to power after the 2011 Arab uprisings, but its subsequent removal from office marked the beginning of the harshest repression of its troubled history. Forced into exile, the Brotherhood and its members are now faced with a monumental task as they rebuild this fragmented organisation. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interviews with current and former members of the Brotherhood, the book explores this new era in the movement's history, emphasising first-hand experiences, perspectives and emotions to better understand how individual responses to repression are affecting the movement as a whole. Surviving repression offers a unique insight into the main strategic, ideological and organizational debates dividing the Brotherhood. -- .
This book combines pieces of work on Europe and Latin America, the two continents where football arouses the most ardent passions among its spectators. Curiously, an undertaking to compare on a large scale the forms extreme fandom takes in these two geographical areas is still lacking. A situational analysis of the scientific literature devoted to the subject over the last two or three decades represents a step in this direction, making a scattered store of knowledge accessible. It thus answers a need to clarify regional differences in identities and in the practices of supporters.
The book addresses the problem of institutionalised order in modern capitalist societies with highly developed division of labour. Via thorough critique and reconstruction of neo institutionalist theory, classical social theories, and critical ideology theory, The Invisible Order introduces the first relational theory of social institutions to explain in detail how individuals end up encountering institutions as objective. Thus synthesising integrative and conflicting social relations, the work calls into question deeply rooted understandings in which society is variously construed as spontaneous equilibrium, solely conflict-driven, or a set of agent-based constructions. It offers a new take on the age-old questions of classical and critical social theory and on the fundamentals of institutional and organisational theory alike. This timely and useful relational examination of social institutions reveals how complex societies can keep functioning even though their orders are constantly contradicted by multiple disordering endeavours and tendencies.
This volume outlines the methods appropriate to an English School understanding of international relations and their assumptions about how knowledge of the "social" is gained. It makes clear what is involved in "an English School approach" and what such an approach delivers in the contemporary understanding of international relations.
Trust and Civil Society offers an original and accessible analysis of the meaning of 'trust' in a range of critical contexts: voluntary organizations, faith associations, the economy, the state and welfare, environmental issues and charity. Balancing theory with grounded analysis, and drawing on interdisciplinary and international perspectives, the book makes an important contribution to contemporary debates. It will be of interest to academics, students, researchers and practitioners in a range of fields.
This volume covers extensions of the Rasch model, one of the most researched and applied models in educational research and social science. This collection contains 22 chapters by some of the most recognized international experts in the field. They cover topics ranging from general model extensions to application in fields as diverse as cognition, personality, organizational and sports psychology, and health sciences and education. The Rasch model is designed for categorical data, often collected as examinees' responses to multiple tasks such as cognitive items from psychological tests or from educational assessments. The Rasch model's elegant mathematical form is suitable for extensions that allow for greater flexibility in handling complex samples of examinees and collections of tasks from different domains. In these extensions, the Rasch model is enhanced by additional structural elements that either account for differences between diverse populations or for differences among observed variables. distribution, and hierarchical linear models has led to the adoption of Rasch model features to handle categorical observed variables. We maintain both perspectives in the volume and show how these merged models - Rasch models with a more complex item or population structure - are derived either from the Rasch model or from a structural model, how they are estimated, and where they are applied.
Thomas Hill Green (1836-82) was a figure of far-reaching influence, whose doctrines affected British thought and public policy more than any other philosopher around the turn of the century. Green used British Idealism as part of a practical programme of liberal reform. His special combination of moral individualism and collectivism led him to support the growth of the state's responsibility to the citizen, anticipating later developments such as the Welfare State. This volume contains a collection of miscellaneous works by Green, many of them not available in any other form. Here are 15 of his undergraduate essays, many dozens of his letters and speeches, plus several of his papers on moral and political philosophy. The text should be of interest to historians of politics and Idealism in Britain. The material is all reset, with full bibliographies and an index. There is an introduction and annotations by Peter Nicholson.
This volume presents the long-anticipated results of several decades of inquiry into the social origins and social motivation of linguistic change.* Written by one of the founders of modern sociolinguistics* Features the first complete report on the Philadelphia project designed to establish the social location of the leaders of linguistic change* Includes chapters on social class, neighborhood, ethnicity, gender, and social networks that delineate the leaders of linguistic change as women of the upper working class with a high density of interaction within their neighborhoods and a high proportion of weak ties outside of it
It contributes to the field of posthumanism through its application of posthuman feminism to international law Interdisciplinary approach. Will appeal to students and scholars with interests in legal, feminist, and posthuman theory, as well as those concerned with the contemporary challenges faced by international law.
This ambitious book considers social scientific topics such as identity, community, sexual difference, self, and ecology from a microbial perspective. Harnessing research and evidence from earth systems science and microbiology, and particularly focusing on symbiosis and symbiogenesis, the book argues for the development of a microontology of life.
Capitalism and its Critics offers an accessible account of major theories of capitalism from the industrial revolution to the present day. The book provides a comprehensive account of the economic and social thought of key theorists from Adam Smith and Karl Marx to David Harvey and Thomas Piketty. Capitalism has long been the subject of passionate debate, and today such contestations are perhaps more timely than ever. For its advocates, capitalism brings democracy and freedom and is the cornerstone of modernity and of progress. For its critics, capitalism is based on the exploitation of labour and is responsible for the destruction of the environment as well as colonialism. Whether capitalism survives the century, or whether an alternative social system emerges, may very well determine the fate of humanity. Capitalism and its Critics gives a comprehensive critical analysis of the most important theorists of capitalism, including Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Joseph Schumpeter, Karl Polanyi, F.A. Hayek, J.M. Keynes, David Harvey, and Thomas Piketty. The book discusses some of the main debates about capitalism and considers alternatives in the twenty-first century. The 12 chapters are loosely chronologically organised around the main approaches and historical phases in the history of capitalism. Central themes of the book are the ideas of capitalist crisis and of tensions between democracy and capitalism in the making of modernity. A highly readable, informative and engaging text, Capitalism and its Critics is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding capitalism and its alternatives.
This book introduces the value of a Darwinian social evolutionary approach to understanding social change. The chapters discuss several different perspectives on social evolutionary theory, and go on to link these with comparative and historical sociological theory, and two case-studies. Kerr brings together social change theory and theories on nationalism, whilst also providing concrete examples of the theories at work. The book offers a vision of rapprochement between these different areas of theory and study, and to where this could lead future studies of comparative history and sociology. As such, it should be useful to scholars and students of nationalism and social change, sociologists, political scientist and historians.
Between the years 1964 and 1974, Ethiopian post-secondary students studying at home, in Europe, and in North America produced a number of journals. In these they explored the relationship between social theory and social change within the project of building a socialist Ethiopia. Ethiopia in Theory examines the literature of this student movement, together with the movement's afterlife in Ethiopian politics and society, in order to ask: what does it mean to write today about the appropriation and indigenisation of Marxist and mainstream social science ideas in an Ethiopian and African context; and, importantly, what does the archive of revolutionary thought in Africa teach us about the practice of critical theory more generally?
This timely and fascinating feminist ethnography is the first of its kind to focus on commercial surrogacy workers in Russia and from other countries of the former Soviet Union. Examining surrogacy workers' reproductive labour, and experiences of stratification and migration, the study presents innovative insights into current research on global surrogacy practices and travels for assisted reproduction. It links to wider fields of studies, such as ethnicity, feminism, women's and gender studies in the post-Soviet sphere. Weis expertly brings together rigorous ethnographic research, feminist debates and anthropological theory to explore the attributed significance of origin, citizenship, race, ethnicity and religion, and the cultural framing and social organization of surrogacy as an economic exchange; thereby challenging and contributing to the discourse of surrogacy as a gift, a labour of love, a maternal sacrifice or work. Tracing surrogacy workers' journeys for surrogacy work across Russia, Weis introduces geographic and geopolitical stratifications as two new lenses of stratified reproduction to analyse how surrogacy in Russia builds on and propels surrogacy workers' mobility and results in reproductive migrations. Given the rapid global increase in the use of surrogacy and its increasingly internationalised nature, Weis's research has implications for surrogacy users, medical practitioners and regulators, as well as researchers concerned with (cross-border) surrogacy, reproductive stratifications and reproductive justice. Shortlisted for the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2022 |
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