We're living in an age of division. From abortion rights to immigration, gun control to climate change, civil debate has gone out the window. Manners, order, and respect are being eroded. Why can't we all be reasonable?

The trouble is, what's 'reasonable' to one person is outrageous to another. Is it okay to let children play in the garden while others are working from home? To do your makeup on a train, or recline your seat on an aeroplane? What's the right way to breastfeed? To protect your neighbourhood? To protest against injustice and oppression? In a world where we all think we're being reasonable, how can we figure out what's right?

Looking back through history and around the world, Kirsty Sedgman set out to discover how unfairness and discrimination got baked into our social norms, dividing us along lines of gender, class, disability, sexuality, race... Instead of measuring human behaviour against outdated standards of rules and reason, On Being Unreasonable argues that sometimes we need to act unreasonably to bring about positive change.

A unified theory of reasonableness - and how to be unreasonable for the right reasons.

About the Author

An award-winning cultural studies scholar based at the University of Bristol, Dr Kirsty Sedgman publishes and speaks on art, media, participation, and cultural sociology. She is the author of numerous academic publications, including two monographs and an edited book on theatre fandom, and is Editor of the Routledge book series in Audience Research. Kirsty has also written for The Stage, Exeunt, and the BBC's Expert Series, and her work has been featured in the Times Literary Supplement, the Guardian, and the New York Times.

www.kirstysedgman.com
@kirstysedgman

Book Information
ISBN 9780571366866
Author Kirsty Sedgman
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Faber & Faber
Publisher Faber & Faber
Weight(grams) 290g
Dimensions(mm) 200mm * 130mm * 23mm