This fascinating collection explores the growing range of body modification practices such as piercing, tattooing, branding, cutting and inserting implants, which have sprung up recently in the West. It asks whether this implies that we are returning to traditional tribal practices of inscribing identities onto bodies on the part of 'modern primitives', or is body modification better understood as purely cosmetic and decorative with body markings merely temporary signs of transferable loyalties? Contributors address the question of the permanence of body transformation through fitness regimes and body building; look at the French performance artist Orlan and the Australian performance artist Stelarc who explored Western standard of beauty by experimenting on their own bodies with surgery and prosthetics; and explore the construction of the anatomy of a virtual body in Real Video Surgery and the Visible Human Project. Academics and students in sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, communication studies, social psycholgy and art and design

Are there any cultural universals left? Does multiculturalism inevitably involve a slide into moral relativism? This timely and insightful book examines questions of politics and identity in the age of multicultures. It draws together the contribution of outstanding contributors such as Fraser, Honneth, O'Neill, Bauman, Lister, Gilroy and De Swann to explore how difference and multiculturalism take on the arguments of universalist humanism. The approach taken derives from the traditions of cultural sociology and cultural studies rather than political science and philosophy.

The book takes seriously the argument that the social bond and recognition are in danger through globalization and deterritorialization. It is a major contribution to the emerging debate on the form of post-national forms of civil society.

How can we interpret cyberspace? What is the place of the embodied human agent in the virtual world? This innovative collection explores the emerging arena of cyberspace and the challenges it presents for the social and cultural forms of the human body. Cyberspace/Cyberbodies/Cyberpunk shows how changing relationships between body and technology offer new arenas for cultural representations. At the same time, the contributors consider the realities of human embodiment and the limits of virtual worlds. Topics examined include technological body modifications, replacements and prosthetics, bodies in cyberspace, virtual environments and cyborg culture, cultural representations of technological embodiment in visual and literary productions, and cyberpunk science fiction as a prefigurative social and cultural theory. Academics and students in cultural studies, popular culture, communication, sociology of culture, philosophy will appreciate this intriguing volume, as will general readers with an interest in the Internet.

The body is a physical entity and a symbolic artifact. It is both created in the world of nature and also physically reconstructed by a culture. The body is both an internal, subjective environment and simultaneously an object for others to observe and evaluate. Bodily practices, woven within a dense web of social relationships, are then both individual and collective- the individual body expresses cultural values, rules, and regulations in the daily routine of living. The American Body in Context: An Anthology is an interdisciplinary investigation of these body relationships, examining the American historical and contemporary constructions of the body. Through readings and exercises, this new book allows readers to explore interrelationships between the individualized and the constructed nature of embodied experiences. This comprehensive text draws together a wide variety of analyses and demonstrates the interdependence between the individual and the structural (re)productions of embodied experiences in the U.S. This is an excellent text for courses in American studies, American society, cultural and social anthropology, and gender studies.

This volume brings together for the first time a wide range of essays on culture and related themes by the sociologist and philosopher Georg Simmel (1858-1918). Simmel is now recognized as one of the leading social theorists active in Europe in the early part of the 20th century. This unique collection enables the reader to engage with the full range of SimmelÆs dazzling contributions to the study of culture. The collection opens with SimmelÆs most basic essays on defining culture, its changes, and its crisis. These are followed by more specific explorations of the culture of face-to-face interactions, spatial and urban culture, leisure culture, the culture of money and commodities, the culture of belief, and the politics of female culture. The collection includes a large number of previously untranslated essays together with others that are not readily available. The result is an unparalleled introduction to Simmel on culture. The book not only provides a missing piece in the history of cultural study, it also reveals a new way of studying culture. It will be essential reading for students of cultural studies and sociology.

How do global processes affect personal and social consciousness? What interplay exists between local and global forces? In Global Modernities, a stellar cast of contributors--including Zygmunt Bauman, Jonathan Friedman, Ann Game, and Göran Therborn--offer superb commentary and analysis on the interplay between the local and the global across a broad range of areas. Focusing on two major themes--social theory and social change--contributors provide powerful critiques of previous positions on the study of modernity that have tended to prioritize history. They argue for a self-reflexive approach to modernity, stressing the fluid character of interdependence and movement. Identity, memory, association, and practice are viewed as nonreducible to the nation-state. Similarly, the western path of social development is subjected to principled criticism.

We all have a finite life span. We are born, we get old and we die. Given the universality of the aging process, it is remarkable that there is almost a complete absence of study of culture and self-image of the middle aged and old. "Images of Aging: Cultural" "Representations of Later Life" changes this. The contributors discuss images of aging which have come to circulate in the advanced industrial societies of today. They address themes such as: body and self image in everyday interaction; experience and identity in old age; advertising and consumer culture images of the elderly; images of aging used by Government agencies in health education campaigns; the diversity of historical representations of the elderly; gender images of aging; images of senility and second childhood; images of health, illness and death.

We all have a finite life-span. We are born, we get old and we die. Given the universiality of the ageing process, it is remarkable that there is almost a complete absence of study of culture and self-image of the middle aged and old. Images of Ageing: Cultural Representations of Later Life changes this. The contributors discuss images of ageing which have come to circulate in the advanced industrial societies today. They address themes such as: body and self image in everyday interaction; experience and identity on old age; advertising and consumer culture images of the elderly; images of ageing used by Government agencies in health education campaigns; the diversity of historical representations of the elderly; gender images of ageing; images of senility and second childhood; images of health, illness and death.

The first edition of this contemporary classic can claim to have put 'consumer culture' on the map, certainly in relation to postmodernism. This expanded new edition includes: a fully revised preface that explores the developments in consumer culture since the first edition a major new chapter on 'Modernity and the Cultural Question' an update on postmodernism and the development of contemporary theory after postmodernism an account of multiple and alternative modernities the challenges of consumer culture in Japan and China. The result is a book that shakes the boundaries of debate, from one of the foremost writers on culture and postmodernism of the present day.

This volume brings together for the first time a wide range of essays on culture and related themes by the sociologist and philosopher Georg Simmel (1858-1918). Simmel is now recognized as one of the leading social theorists active in Europe in the early part of the 20th century. This unique collection enables the reader to engage with the full range of SimmelÆs dazzling contributions to the study of culture. The collection opens with SimmelÆs most basic essays on defining culture, its changes, and its crisis. These are followed by more specific explorations of the culture of face-to-face interactions, spatial and urban culture, leisure culture, the culture of money and commodities, the culture of belief, and the politics of female culture. The collection includes a large number of previously untranslated essays together with others that are not readily available. The result is an unparalleled introduction to Simmel on culture. The book not only provides a missing piece in the history of cultural study, it also reveals a new way of studying culture. It will be essential reading for students of cultural studies and sociology.

This fascinating collection explores the growing range of body modification practices such as piercing, tattooing, branding, cutting and inserting implants, which have sprung up recently in the West. It asks whether this implies that we are returning to traditional tribal practices of inscribing identities onto bodies on the part of 'modern primitives', or is body modification better understood as purely cosmetic and decorative with body markings merely temporary signs of transferable loyalties? Contributors address the question of the permanence of body transformation through fitness regimes and body building; look at the French performance artist Orlan and the Australian performance artist Stelarc who explored Western standard of beauty by experimenting on their own bodies with surgery and prosthetics; and explore the construction of the anatomy of a virtual body in Real Video Surgery and the Visible Human Project. Academics and students in sociology, cultural studies, anthropology, communication studies, social psycholgy and art and design

What is culture? How are we to understand the relation between social structure and culture in a world that is becoming increasingly global and which new technologies are making increasingly vital? Spaces of Culture is a critical interrogation of the key coordinates of this global and virtual world: the nation state; modernity and reflexivity; post-Fordism and the spatial logic of the informational city. This discussion extends into a complementary analysis of the public sphere, that questions the reductive representation of technology as a forma of instrumentality, demonstrating how new technologies can offer new spaces of culture. The analysis of public space is essential to an understanding of issues like global citizenship and multicultural human rights. Spaces of Culture will be required reading for students and scholars in sociology, social theory and cultural studies. It will be an essential reference in any critical discussion of the relations between globalization and technology; and culture, politics and the public sphere.

"I must say at the start that this is a most important and interesting collection which does much to advance the sociology of the body. I congratulate the editors for a fine achievement, and the editors of TCS for pioneering this new, and now much less secret, theorizing of the body and of the embodied self." --Contemporary Sociology "Both engrossing and challenging, the papers present to the reader an opportunity to examine in depth the significance of the human physique. . . . A thought provoking book." --Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling For centuries the human body has been a long-established issue in anthropology. However, human embodiment is increasingly becoming the primary focus in sociology and cultural studies as a means to understanding the complex interrelations between nature, culture, and society. At a theoretical level, this challenging volume explores the origins of a social theory of the body in sources ranging from the work of Nietzsche to contemporary feminist theory. Through specific case studies, the contributors demonstrate the importance of a theoretical understanding of the body to social and cultural analyses of contemporary societies. These range from the expression of emotions, romantic love, dietary practices, consumer behavior, physical fitness, beauty, and media images of women and sexuality. The Body will interest scholars and researchers, as well as students of social theory, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and philosophy.

More than ever before, people, ideas, commodities, money, and information are moving freely across national frontiers. And as this occurs, it gives rise to several significant questions: Is a unified world culture emerging? If so, how will this affect the autonomy of existing cultures? Will they be supplanted by a unified culture, or can they maintain distinct identities? In this provocative volume, internationally recognized social scientists explore these questions and assess the impact--both positive and negative--of an emerging global culture. Many different explanations are put forth to explain the trends toward global unification, as well as their relation to an economic world system. The contributors also examine the emergence of "third cultures," such as international law, the financial markets, and mass media conglomerates, as elements which transcend national boundaries. And, in addition to analyzing the extent, causation, and consequences of a global culture, the contributors consider its implication for the social sciences. Global Culture will interest all scholars interested in political science, cultural studies, world-systems, development studies, and sociology. "Appadurai's article 'Disjunction and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy' does an excellent job of presenting five theoretical dimensions along which culture is transmitted from one society to another. . . . An insightful view into the question of global culture. Contributes to the reader's further understanding of the situations in which one lives and works. . . . An in-depth study of the materials presented here are certain to facilitate the reader's comprehension of the massive social, political and economic changes happening around us and to us on a daily basis. . . . Provides valuable information and questions to be considered by any educational person interested in more fully understanding the social movements and social changes prevalent in today's world." --Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling "This is a rich and stimulating collection of heterogeneous reflections on the theme of 'the global.' Rich in the variety of themes and perspectives . . . it is a series of windows on the world informed by thematic and theoretical sensibilities rather than a paradigm that unites the contributions. Since there are enough studies of global dynamics which are informed by theoretical paradigms, particularly in international relations and political economy, this collection, which thematizes the perplexities and paradoxes of globalization as a multidimensional process, is a welcome variation." --Development & Change

How do global processes affect personal and social consciousness? What interplay exists between local and global forces? In Global Modernities, a stellar cast of contributors--including Zygmunt Bauman, Jonathan Friedman, Ann Game, and Göran Therborn--offer superb commentary and analysis on the interplay between the local and the global across a broad range of areas. Focusing on two major themes--social theory and social change--contributors provide powerful critiques of previous positions on the study of modernity that have tended to prioritize history. They argue for a self-reflexive approach to modernity, stressing the fluid character of interdependence and movement. Identity, memory, association, and practice are viewed as nonreducible to the nation-state. Similarly, the western path of social development is subjected to principled criticism.

How can we interpret cyberspace? What is the place of the embodied human agent in the virtual world? This innovative collection explores the emerging arena of cyberspace and the challenges it presents for the social and cultural forms of the human body. Cyberspace/Cyberbodies/Cyberpunk shows how changing relationships between body and technology offer new arenas for cultural representations. At the same time, the contributors consider the realities of human embodiment and the limits of virtual worlds. Topics examined include technological body modifications, replacements and prosthetics, bodies in cyberspace, virtual environments and cyborg culture, cultural representations of technological embodiment in visual and literary productions, and cyberpunk science fiction as a prefigurative social and cultural theory. Academics and students in cultural studies, popular culture, communication, sociology of culture, philosophy will appreciate this intriguing volume, as will general readers with an interest in the Internet.