This SAGE Handbook brings together cutting edge social scientific research and theoretical insight into the emerging contours of digital society. Chapters explore the relationship between digitisation, social organisation and social transformation at both the macro and micro level, making this a valuable resource for postgraduate students and academics conducting research across the social sciences.

The topics covered are impressively far-ranging and timely, including machine learning, social media, surveillance, misinformation, digital labour, and beyond. This innovative Handbook perfectly captures the state of the art of a field which is rapidly gaining cross-disciplinary interest and global importance, and establishes a thematic framework for future teaching and research.

Part 1: Theorising Digital Societies

Part 2: Researching Digital Societies

Part 3: Sociotechnical Systems and Disruptive Technologies in Action

Part 4: Digital Society and New Social Dilemmas

Part 5: Governance and Regulation

Part 6: Digital Futures

About the Author
William Housley PhD, DSc.Econ. FAcSS is Professor of Sociology at Cardiff University. He is an internationally recognised expert in qualitative and social research methods, sociological theory, the study of practical reason, science and technology studies, ethnomethodology, membership categorization analysis, social interaction and digital sociology. His contribution to Sociology was confirmed through the award of a DSc Econ. by Cardiff University in 2012 for his internationally recognized work in the field of interaction, communication and social organization. He has served as an editor of Qualitative Research (SAGE) and the editorial board of Big Data and Society (SAGE). Professor Housley was awarded the prestigious Vincent Wright Chair, at Sciences Po, Paris, for 2017. He has published numerous papers and books, including Society in the Digital Age: An Interactionist Perspective (2021, SAGE). Adam Edwards is Reader in Politics and Criminology at Cardiff University School of Social Sciences. He is interested in collaborative and inter-disciplinary research including work with lawyers, political scientists, computer scientists and sociologists interested in the impact of emergent technologies, such as social media and machine learning, on issues of law, governance and regulation in relation to problems of crime, security and justice. He also has a track record of research into the politics of security in European city-regions, the organisation of serious crimes and a methodological interest in deliberative forecasting. Roser Beneito-Montagut is Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University (UK). She is a sociologist working at the crossroads of media, communication and technology studies. Her research interests include the study of digital technologies, particularly in relation to the topics of social connectedness, later life and care infrastructures in the networked society. She has written extensively about the socio-cultural and material dimensions of 'being' and interacting online; emotions and affects; methodological innovations in relation to the availability of digital data; and about later life and about later life and ageing. Richard Fitzgerald is Professor of Communication at the University of Macau, China (SAR). Before joining the University of Macau in 2014 he has held posts at Cardiff University and the University of Queensland. He has researched and written extensively on broadcast and digital media and methods of qualitative Discourse Analysis. His recent major publications include Advances in Membership Categorization Analysis (2015, Sage) co-edited with William Housley, and On Sacks. Methodology, Materials and Inspirations (2021, Routledge) co-edited with Robin Smith and William Housley. He is a former Editor in Chief of Discourse, Context and Media where he remains an Honorary Member of the Editorial Board and is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Macau.

Reviews

Digital technologies not only catalyse processes of social change, they also call forth new ways of understanding social phenomena. Resisting the temptation to focus on digital social research methods in isolation, this timely and highly original collection demonstrates how digital societies offer a unique opportunity to remaster classic sociological questions and to reorientate the study of social life. The individual contributions cover an impressive range of topics that cross disciplinary silos, scales of analysis, methodological approaches, and theoretical traditions. Together they make for essential reading on the dynamics of social problems and the contours of contemporary society.

Professor David M. Evans, ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures, University of Bristol UK

-- David M. Evans



Book Information
ISBN 9781526498779
Author William Housley
Format Hardback
Page Count 672
Imprint Sage Publications Ltd
Publisher Sage Publications Ltd
Weight(grams) 1350g