General

Social scientists often refer to contemporary advanced societies as 'knowledge societies', which indicates the extent to which 'science', 'knowledge' and 'knowledge production' have become fundamental phenomena in Western societies and central concerns...

This book examines identities, violence and conflict in the context of internal migration within India. As India prepares to count its citizens for Census 2011 with a proposal for a National Population Register and a unique identity card for every Indian...

Impending environmental catastrophe, threat of terrorism, viruses both biological and virtual, disease: there seem to be so many reasons to panic today. But what is panic and why does it happen?This book uses a range of literature from sociology,...

This book explores the interaction of rituals and ritualised practices utilising a cross-cultural approach. It discusses whether and why rituals are important today, and why they are possibly even more relevant than before.Book InformationISBN...

South Asia has developed from a group of newly independent post-Colonial states of at most secondary importance to the wider world to its current position as a region of central strategic importance to both global economic development and world peace and...

The world was watching Hong Kong as its sovereignty was returned to China in 1997. Many predicted that it was the doomsday of press freedom in the city. Now, a decade after the handover, this book provides an up-to-date review of the dynamic...

This book looks at the life and music of Veena Dhanammal (1866-1938), considered the embodiment of `classicism' in Karnatik music. It locates her art within the cultural, social and intellectual milieu she inhabited, allowing readers to track the...

Emotions: A Cultural Studies Reader brings together the best examples of recent and cutting-edge work on emotions in cultural studies and related disciplines. The book differentiates between theoretical traditions and ways of understanding emotion in...

This book considers ethical arguments about performance enhancing drugs in sport in a global context. It examines:* The forces that are bringing about the debate of ethical issues in performance enhancing drugs in sport* The sources of ethical debates in...

Darrell A. Posey, who died in 2001, was internationally known for his support of indigenous peoples and their natural habitats, and particularly for his pioneering work with the Kayapo people of Brazil. He was an organiser of the First International...

This controversial book is a survey of how relationships between indigenous peoples and the archaeological establishment have got into difficulty, and a crucial pointer to how to move forward from this point.With lucid appraisals of key debates such as...

Anthony Smith's important work on the concept of social change, first published in 1973, puts forward the paradigm of historical change as an alternative to the functionalist theory of evolutionary change. He shows that, in attempting to provide a theory...

Media and Politics in Pacific Asia is the first book to provide a detailed account of the political influences exerted by both domestic and international media in Pacific Asia. Duncan McCargo argues that the media are political actors and institutions in...

Since the financial crisis, the issue of the 'one percent' has become the centre of intense public debate, unavoidable even for members of the elite themselves. Moreover, inquiring into elites has taken centre-stage once again in both journalistic...

Globalisation and neo-liberalism have seen the rise of new international powers, increasingly interlinked economies, and mass urbanisation. The internet, mobile communications and mass migration have transformed lives around the planet. For some, this...

Return migration is a topic of growing interest among academics and policy makers. Nonetheless, issues of psychosocial wellbeing are rarely discussed in its context.Return Migration and Psychosocial Wellbeing problematises the widely-held assumption that...

While artificial intelligence (AI), robots, bio-technologies and digital media are transforming work, culture, and social life, there is little understanding of or agreement about the scope and significance of this change. This new interpretation of the...

The Live Art of Sociology attends to the importance of 'the live' in contemporary social and political life. Taking existing work in live sociology as a starting point, this book considers some of its aspirations through unique empirical investigations...

This seminal edited collection examines the impact of austerity and economic crisis on European cities. Whilst on the one hand the struggle for competitiveness has induced many European cities to invest in economic performance and attractiveness, on the...

This book consists of papers presented at two symposia at AAAS Annual meetings. It enables us to evaluate the new groups and techniques in comparison with other phenomena in the society and with rituals in other societies and times, clearly placing them...

This book, based on a sociological perspective that highlights the importance of community social organization in analyzing social change, focuses on the development of user skills in social assessment design, research, analysis, and presentation.Book...

In this book, Ronald Grimes tells an intensely personal story about the role of ritual in his own rich and sometimes difficult life. His critique of ritual impoverishment in North America reveals the extraordinary potential that ritualizing holds for...

This book examines shared intuitive notions of justice among laypersons and compares the discovered principles to those instantiated in American criminal codes. It reports eighteen original studies on a wide range of issues that are central to criminal...

This book documents Southern gay history and culture during the Cold War/pre-Stonewall era. It provides a rich historical tapestry through the use of personal reminiscences, private letters, subpoenaed testimony and unpublished court and legislative...

The discovery of the two inherited susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 in the mid-1990s created the possibility of predictive genetic testing and led to the establishment of specific medical programmes for those at high risk of developing breast cancer...

This book examines the everyday lives of ordinary Zimbabweans in the context of national crises in post-2000 Zimbabwe. Throughout the literature of Zimbabwean studies, a consideration of everyday lives has been limited to informal trading and rarely...

Professional Emotions in Court examines the paramount role of emotions in the legal professions and in the functioning of the democratic judicial system. Based on extensive interview and observation data in Sweden, the authors highlight the silenced...

This book offers a novel sociological examination of the historical trajectories of Burundi and Rwanda. It challenges both the Eurocentric assumptions which have underpinned many sociological theorisations of modernity, and the notion that the processes...

What is 'Europe' in academic discourse? While Europe tends to be used as shorthand, often interchangeable with the 'West', neither the 'West' nor 'Europe' are homogeneous spaces. Though postcolonial studies have long been debunking Eurocentrism in...

The world, of late, has seen a productivity slowdown. Many countries continue to recover from various shocks in the macro business environment, along with structural changes and inward looking policies. In contemporary times of growth slumps, various...

This volume examines the processes and impacts of exclusion on the Adivasis (tribal or indigenous people) in India and what repercussions these have for their constitutional rights. The chapters explore a wide range of issues connected to the idea of...

This book explores the intersectional aspects of caste and gender in India that contribute to the multiple marginalities and oppressions of lower castes, with particular reference to Dalits, Muslims and women. It moves beyond the conventional accounts of...

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rwanda genocide. This volume, the product of over 20years of engagement with Rwanda and its diaspora, offers a timely reminder of the necessity of rethinking the genocide's social history.Examining a...

This book brings together key essays from the career of social theorist John O'Neill, including his uncollected later writings, focusing on embodiment to explore the different ways in which the body trope informs visions of familial, economic, personal,...

This book examines the phenomenon of prime time soap operas on Indian television. An anthropological insight into social issues and practices of contemporary India through the television, this volume analyzes the production of soaps within India's...

This book analyses the relationship between history education and nationalism in the context of the dominant structures of collective memory in Poland. Drawing on original qualitative research with history teachers, it explores the ways in which teachers...

Age, Gender and Sexuality through the Life Course argues that the gendered structure of temporality (defined in the dual sense of everyday time as well as age and stage of life) is a key factor underpinning the stalling of the gender revolution. Taking...

In the 21st century, China has become impossible to ignore. At the same time, a vast array of perceptions and judgments of China's actions and future have arisen. The confusion, Leah Zhu postulates, is explained by decades of traditional modus operandi,...

Long-running trends towards increasing inequality between the rich and poor across Europe have been exacerbated by the 2008 global financial crisis and its aftermath. As employment opportunities for young people diminish and as the welfare state is...

This book explores the emergence and encouragement of the new narcissus in our society and the ways in which this is portrayed in reality television. Through studies of well-known reality shows, including Toddlers and Tiaras, Hoarders, Sister Wives,...