Sociology and anthropology Books

Art matters. It affects us in our daily lives, and is full of meanings which are valuable to all of us. A catalyst for social interactions, art may either cause public conflict and create dissensions, or facilitate mutual understanding and strengthen...

This book explores how the colonial state left a legacy that continues to affect the post-colonial state in the era of globalization. It analyzes the formation of two types of post-colonial states, capitalist and proto-capitalist varieties, which are...

This groundbreaking text explores the various ways in which young people experience sport, physical activity and play as part of their everyday lives, and the interventions and outcomes that shape and define those experiences. It covers a range of...

How do lessons learned from past and current regulatory oversights of agricultural biotechnology - and other high-technology sectors - help us address new regulatory challenges in the agri-food genetics sector? The expert contributors in this volume...

Building on its origins at a seminar in Oslo organized by two of the editors, this book combines classic texts of Nordic ecophilosophy and the original contributions of those influenced by this tradition to　 present the view that critical realism is...

According to David Halperin, sexuality in our time is typified by a "crisis in contemporary sexual definition". What is sexuality? What does it mean to have a sexual identity or orientation? What is the relationship between sexuality as a knowledge...

The writings of Ibn Khaldūn, particularly the Muqaddimah (Prolegomenon) have rightly been regarded as being sociological in nature. For this reason, Ibn Khaldūn has been widely regarded as the founder of sociology, or at least a precursor of modern...

The Global Horseracing Industry offers a broad-ranging examination of the contemporary horseracing industry, from economic, social, ethical and environmental perspectives. The book draws on in-depth, mixed-method research into the racing and...

Over the course of the past thirty years, there has been an explosion of work on sexuality, both conceptually and methodologically. From a relatively limited, specialist field, the study of sexuality has expanded across a wide range of social sciences...

This book offers a sociological analysis of the Renaissance, focusing on the concept of grace, and the unity that exists between its various meanings: theological, anthropological (gift-giving, Mauss; and sociability, Simmel), and aesthetical (beauty and...

Through a cultural analysis of the symbols of death - flesh, blood, bones, souls, time numbers, food and money - Chinese Death Rituals in Singapore throws light upon the Chinese perception of death and how they cope with its eventuality. In the seeming...

The first edition of this book offered one of the first social science analyses of Barack Obama's historic electoral campaigns and early presidency. In this second edition the authors extend that analysis to Obama's service in the presidency and to his...

Global Suburbs: Urban Sprawl from the Rio Grande to Rio de Janeiro offers a critical new perspective on the emerging phenomenon of the global suburb in the western hemisphere. American suburban sprawl has created a giant human habitat stretching from Las...

This book combines historical and ethnographic components in examining the ideas about human variation subscribed to by coaches, commentators and sportspeople themselves. The book begins by interrogating the idea of the 'impulsive' black sportsman (and...

The construction industry as a workplace is commonly seen as problematic for a number of reasons, including its worrying health and safety record, the instability of its workforce, and the poorly regulated nature of the sector. It is surprising...

This best-selling book, designed for researchers embarking on their first ethnographic project, has been substantially revised and updated, with lots of exercises and advice to guide the embodied and creative 'practice' of ethnography. New additions...

Sport is increasingly regarded as a powerful tool in international development. In this comprehensive introduction to the area of 'sport-for-development', leading researcher Fred Coalter critically evaluates the strengths and weaknesses and successes and...

This book provides a source of innovative theories and data for researchers grappling with social justice methodology and research methods in an environment constrained by funding agendas.This book foregrounds and promotes creativity and imagination...

Ethnography in Social Science Practice explores ethnography's increasing use across the social sciences, beyond its traditional bases in social anthropology and sociology. It explores the disciplinary roots of ethnographic research within social...

This book investigates how humanitarians balance the laws and principles of civilian protection with the realities of contemporary warzones, where non-state armed actors assert cultural, political and religious traditions that are often at odds with...

This six-volume set focuses on Latin American, Caribbean, and Asian immigration, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of all new immigration to the United States. The volumes contain the essential scholarship of the last decade and present key...

First Published in 1994.  This research guide was written as a comprehensive, though by no means exhaustive, survey of the literature pertinent to studying the indigenous complex societies of south central Africa. Although the paramount focus of the...

This book looks at the history and development of telemedicine and its effect on the medical profession. It includes advances in telecommunications and medical technologies that greatly have increased the reliability, resolution, and speed of...

This multimethod study of crime and the elderly in a small-town setting approaches the related issues from varied perspectives and ultimately presents a different picture of fear of crime among the elderly than that which dominates the current literature...

Modern technological systems entail risks and uncertainties of hitherto unknown dimensions. This book discusses the construction of risk and safety within a variety of empirical contexts where technologies and their risk are debated and handled by...

This study aims to fill the gap in the existing literature on China's Democratic development, by presenting a comprehensive and detailed examination of the key factors that have created and sustained state domination over society in China.

Geno-technology is a technology unlike any other, with significant implications for life in the 21st century. It directly affects us at a deeply personal level, it poses a threat to the boundaries which conventionally define selfhood, it generates...

In spite of the growing literature on discourse analysis, the relationship of discourse to violent/non-violent outcomes of conflict is an under-researched area. This book combines theories on ethnic conflict, identity construction and discourse analysis...

Despite considerable interest in social capital amongst urban policy makers and academics alike, there is currently little direct focus on its urban dimensions. In this volume leading urban researchers from the Netherlands, the UK, the USA, Australia,...

Is it possible to create a collective European identity? In this volume, leading scholars assess the link between collective identity construction in Europe and the multiple memory discourses that intervene in this construction process. The authors...

The importance of the daily experience of new information and communication technologies is highlighted by this timely volume. The book is based on work carried out in the European Media Technology and Everyday Life Network and is structured round a...

A major new resource book for academics and students of youth studies, this work offers a rare comparative review of a field which is often focused on the local or national situation. Drawing together authors from across the world, the book combines...

The influx of female migrants to Europe has posed challenges to established European feminist movements. In this book the author assesses the significance of female immigration to Italy and its impact on Italian feminism by analyzing the way in which...

Every week thousands of people in Europe and the USA consult psychic practitioners. Communication is crucial to the performance of psychic powers in a range of settings. Psychic practitioners use language to demonstrate their powers, whether they are...

What can diversity management offer those concerned with ethnic inequality, racial discrimination, and issues of social and economic inclusion and exclusion? In this book John Wrench traces the emergence of diversity management in the US in the late...

There is a saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, implying that beauty is subjective. But can it be said that 'better looking' people have more social power? This book provides a fascinating insight into the social stratification of people...

Globalization, European integration, and migration are challenging national identities and changing education across Europe. The nation-state no longer serves as the sole locus of civic participation and identity formation, ceasing to have the influence...

Advertising and Cultural Politics in Global Times traces daringly transgressive convergences between cultural politics and global advertising media. It engages with a range of interpolations between cultural politics and advertising technologies...

Re-crafting Rationalization contributes to debates relating to the public understanding of science, regarding the conceptualization of the relationship between 'science' and 'the public'. It challenges the prevailing science-centred or 'top-down'...

Call centers have come, in the last three decades, to define the interaction between corporations, governments, and other institutions and their respective customers, citizens, and members. The offshoring and outsourcing of call center employment, part...

Multiple killings by serial or spree killers and the mass violence seen in war crimes and other atrocities have typically been understood as discrete category types, which can foster the view that there are fundamentally different kinds of human beings,...

Research in the humanities and social sciences thrives on critical reflections that unfold with each research project, not only in terms of knowledge created, but in whether chosen methodologies served their purpose.  Ethics forms the bulwark of any...

Fifty years ago, familiar images of the lottery would have been strange, as no state lottery existed then. Few researchers have uncovered the obscure role lotteries play in the changing composition of American taxation. Even less is known about what role...

Vulnerability has traditionally been conceived as a dichotomised status, where an individual by reason of a personal characteristic is classified as vulnerable or not. However, vulnerability is not static, and most, if not all, people are vulnerable at...

A particular culture is associated with a particular community, and thus has a social dimension. But how does culture operate and how is it to be defined? Is it to be taken as the behavioral repertoire of members of that community, as the products of...

Southern Africa, where most of these book chapters originate, has been identified as one of regions of the world most at risk of the consequences of environmental degradation and climate change. At the same time, it is still seeking ways to overcome the...