Bøger i Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society serien

Drawing on the work of Derrida, Foucault, Levinas and Ricouer, this book proposes that the question of postmodernity is inseparable from that of postcolonialism. It maps out a new geneaology of the birth of the modern and suggests a new way of grounding the idea of an emancipation of being.

Body Modification

Ranging over a rich variety of material from film and film literature, and encompassing a critical interrogation of traditional realist ethnographic and cinematic texts, this book highlights the extent to which the cinema has contributed to the rise of voyeurism throughout society.

Culture is big business. It is at the root of many urban regeneration schemes throughout the world. It is also one of the leaders of the post-Fordist economic revolution, yet the economy of culture is under-theorized and under-developed. In this wide-ranging and penetrating volume, the economic logi

Examines the train of social theory from the 19th century, through to the 'organization of modernity', in relation to ideas of social planning, and as contributors to the 'rationalistic revolution' of the 'golden age' of capitalism in the 1950s and 60s. This title looks at key concepts in the social sciences.

A local community study of tense relations between an established group and outsiders becomes a microcosm that illuminates a range of sociological configurations. The Established and the Outsiders examines the mechanisms of stigmatization, monopolization of power, collective fantasy and `we' and `they' images which support and reinforce divisions in society.

Dennis Smith offers a fascinating survey of Elias's life and writings and traces the growth of his reputation. He also illustrates how Elias's insights can be applied to understand Western modernity and social and political change, showing why Elias is so important to sociology.

A look at the strengths and weaknesses of cultural studies, providing a blend of performance and risk theory. It explores the need to erase the separation of "high" and "popular" culture studies, starting from the thesis that cultural studies has been too pre-occupied with popular culture.

Five Bodies offers an introduction to some of the most urgent contemporary concerns within the sociology of the body. This new edition has been substantially revised and updated to address today's issues of the body in modern life, community and politics.

Demonstrating that all notions of nature are entangled in different forms of social life, the text elaborates the ways in which the apparently natural world has been produced from within particular social practices. These are analyzed in terms of different senses, different times and the production of distinct spaces.

Presents a multidimensional, complex approach to sociological theory that focuses on culture. This title develops the theme of globalization in relation to the cultural turn, world-systems theory, the civilizing process, modernity and postmodernity, nostalgia politics and fundamentalism.

Elizabeth Wilson explores the contradictory nature of cultural relations through an examination of fashion, feminism, consumer culture, representation and postmodernism. Debates within feminism on the nature and effects of pornography are used to illustrate a particular kind of cultural contradiction.

Aims to provide an accessible but challenging introduction to Bourdieu's ideas. The issues developed include the sociology of culture, leisure and taste; the intrinsic reflexivity of social science; and the role of language in society and in social sciences.

Global Modernities is a sustained commentary on the international character of the most microcosmic practices. It demonstrates how the global increasingly informs the regional, so deconstructing ideas like the `nation-state' and `national sovereignty'. The spatialization of social theory, hybridization and bio-politics are among the critical issues discussed.

An engaged and impassioned exploration of the extent to which neoliberalism has succeeded in replacing politics with economics. Can economics continue to provide government legitimacy?

In a powerful reframing of debates about secularization and the revitalization of religion, Shilling and Mellor develop the concept of habitus to explore the significance of the religious body in social structures. A powerful argument about how religious and secular forms of the sacred underpin major conflicts in the world today.

Offers a reappraisal of sociologist Talcott Parsons' work by social theorists who place his writing at the centre of current controversies over modernity, postmodernity and globalization. The contributors examine the problems in the interpretation of Parsons' work.

This is the first book to offer a global introduction to the major debates in the theory of education. It reflects developments in the social and political theory and introduces theorists such as Bourdieu, Dewey and Habermas.

A detailed, imaginative approach to five key social theorists who have helped to shape modern thought. Robbins is a world class expert and his book represents a significant development in the field of french social theory.

In response to lecturer demand, this is a paperback edition of Scott McQuire's critically acclaimed exploration of the social spaces of modern cities.

A timely exploration of the social context of environmental change and it's effect on mankind. A unique mix of both social and environmental science approaches.

Mobility - flows, movement and migration in social life - has emerged as a central area of sociological debate, yet one of its most dominant forms, automobility, has remained largely ignored. Automobilities presents one of the first examinations of the car and its promise of autonomy and mobility.

Offers a reappraisal of sociologist Talcott Parsons' work by social theorists who place his writing at the centre of current controversies over modernity, postmodernity and globalization. The contributors examine the problems in the interpretation of Parsons' work.

`This is a highly original and in many ways brilliant text. It is a model of how historical/process sociological research ought to be conducted and written-up. The author's subtle blending of theory and data is outstanding' - Eric Dunning, Professor of Sociology, University of Leicester

Examines the embodied nature of people's experience in, and of, the modern world. This book argues that bodies in nature are subject to novel, complex and contradictory opportunities of freedom and escape, surveillance and monitoring.

Using the interview form, the author tells about a vast assortment of cultural and theoretical topics, including architecture and 'speed-space', 'chronopolitics', art and technoculture, modernism, postmodernism and 'hypermodernism', the time of the trajectory and the 'information bomb'.

The screenplays and films of Quentin Tarantino raise profound comic and ethical dilemmas. Developing ideas from Lacanian psychoanalysis, the authors explore ethical issues in relation to Tarantino's work, postmodernity and recent cultural theory. They argue that Tarantino's texts provide a provocative and telling contribution to theorized accounts of contemporary culture.

This major collection explores the nature of love and eroticism, examining the ways in which erotic bodily pleasures have become central to contemporary consumer culture. Drawing on the work of feminists, sociologists and cultural theorists, it contains wide-ranging and accessible contributions to contemporary debates on sexuality, love and eroticism.

What is culture? What is the relationship between social structure and culture in a globalized and networked world? This book explores the key themes in social theory: the nation state; the city; modernity and reflexivity; post-Fordism and the spatial logic of the informational city.