Description
These are the questions addressed in this new book by Zygmunt Bauman - one of the most original and perceptive social thinkers writing today. For Bauman, the task of sociology is not to censor or correct the stories we tell of our lives, but to show that there are more ways in which our life stories can be told. By bringing into view the many complex dependencies invisible from the vantage point of private experience, sociology can help us to link our individual decisions and actions to the deeper causes of our troubles and fears - to the ways we live, to the conditions under which we act, to the socially drawn limits of our imagination and ambition. Sociology can help us to understand the processes that have shaped the society in which we live today, a society in which individualization has become our fate. And sociology can also help us to see that if our individual but shared anxieties are to be effectively tackled, they need to be addressed collectively, true to their social, not individual, nature.
The Individualized Society will be of great interest to students of sociology, politics and the social sciences and humanities generally. It will also appeal to a broader range of readers who are interested in the changing nature of our social and political life today.
About the Author
Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017) was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds.
Reviews
'These books mark an important advance in Bauman's project. He seems to be trying to bring the intellectuals back into the game, twitting them for their passivity. Bauman wants social critics to take a more active role, taking a lead by showing how the relationships between individuals and society and between the private and public spheres may be rearticulated and the spirit of the agora restored to social and political life.' British Journal of Sociology
'This provocative, interesting, and engaging book is recommended for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.' Choice
"His work is essential reading for those political theorists who feel part of their task is to elaborate relevant and compelling normative critique." Contemporary Political Theory
Book Information
ISBN 9780745625072
Author Zygmunt Bauman
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Polity Press
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 381g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 153mm * 17mm