Product Description: The ego-net approach to social network analysis, which takes discrete individual actors and their contacts as its starting point, is one of the most widely used approaches in the field. This is the first textbook to take readers through each stage of ego-net research, from conception, through research design and data gathering to analysis...read more

Product Description: In this important book Nick Crossley examines the birth of punk in the UK and its transformation, within a short period of time, into post-punk. Dominant explanations of these developments have tended to focus upon strains and frustrations, both social and aesthetic, which are said to have provoked a generation of young people into rebellious action...read more

Product Description: The ego-net approach to social network analysis, which takes discrete individual actors and their contacts as its starting point, is one of the most widely used approaches in the field. This is the first textbook to take readers through each stage of ego-net research, from conception, through research design and data gathering to analysis...read more

Product Description: Towards Relational Sociology argues that social worlds comprise networks of interaction and relations. Crossley asserts that relations are lived trajectories of iterated interaction, built up through a history of interaction, but also entailing anticipation of future interaction...read more

In this book, Nick Crossley explores the concept of reflexive embodiment - how we, as embodied beings, reflect upon our own embodiment. He considers the ways in which we modify and maintain our bodies, from brushing our teeth and washing our faces through to tattooing and bodybuilding. Some forms of 'body work' are demanded by social conventions; others represent legitimate choices, and others still deviate from or resist the norm. He argues that a proper understanding of reflexive embodiment must be alert to these differences, and that we must appreciate that our bodies are not passive or inert substances that we can mould as we like. They change in ways that we do not intend and of which we are not aware, and they may prove difficult to change in the ways we do intend. Many theorists in sociology offer perspectives on the link between society and body modification, mostly focused in one way or another upon 'modernity'. "Reflexive Embodiment in Contemporary Society" reviews this literature, evaluates competing claims and suggests an alternative approach. Nick Crossley contends that existing perspectives are very selective in the range of modification practices they focus upon and in their conception of both modernity and its effects upon the body. While various theories identify clusters of modification practices and link them to aspects of modernity, there has been no systematic attempt to combine these partial accounts into a coherent vision. This book provides such a vision and offers a major contribution to the sociology of the body.

Product Description: Resistance and social movements in mental health have been important in shaping current practice in both mental health and psychiatry. Contesting Psychiatry, focusing largely on the UK, examines the history of resistance to psychiatry between 1950 and 2000...read more

Product Description: 'Clear and accessible – Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory makes difficult ideas available to an undergraduate audience' -Larry Ray, Professor of Sociology, University of Kent The SAGE Key Concepts series provides students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines...read more

"...effectively demonstrates the enduring importance of 'classical' social movement theory...and provides a cutting edge critical review of recent theoretical developments. This is one of the most important general theoretical texts on social movements for some years." - Paul Bagguley, University of Leeds Why and how do social movements emerge? In which ways are social movements analysed? Can our understanding be enhanced by new perspectives? Making Sense of Social Movements offers a clear and comprehensive overview of the key sociological approaches to the study of social movements. The author argues that each of these approaches makes an important contribution to our understanding of social movements but that none is adequate on its own. In response he argues for a new approach which draws together key insights within the solid foundations of Pierre Bourdieu's social theory of practice. This new approach transcends the barriers which still often divide European and North American perspectives of social movements, and also those which divide recent approaches from the older 'collective behaviour' approach. The result is a theoretical framework which is uniquely equipped for the demands of modern social movement analysis. The clear and concise style of the text, as well as its neat summaries of key concepts and approaches, will make this book invaluable for undergraduate courses. It will also be an essential reference for researchers. (view table of contents)

Product Description: This book explores both the embodied nature of social life and the social nature of human bodily life. It provides an accessible review of the contemporary social science debates on the body, and develops a coherent new perspective...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: This clearly written and broad-ranging text introduces and explains the notion of intersubjectivity as a central concern of philosophy, sociology, psychology and politics. The main purpose of the book is to provide a coherent framework for this important concept against which the various and contrasting debates can be more clearly understood...read more

Product Description: A critical analysis of the relationship between politics and subjectivity in the work of Foucault and Merleau-Ponty. This book suggests ways in which their work might be mutually informing, and argues that Foucault does not offer a reasonable critique of phenomenology.