The Blackwell Companion to Political Sociology brings together thirty-eight original essays covering the wide inter-disciplinary field of political sociology.

• Represents the most comprehensive overview available in the field of political sociology

• Covers traditional questions as well as emerging topics including recent debates on gender, citizenship, and political identity

• Includes detailed editorial introduction, abstracts, further reading lists,...

The Blackwell Companion to Sociology is a milestone collection of new essays by renowned sociologists, covering both the traditions and strengths of the field as well as newer developments and directions. Authors from the US, the UK, Europe and elsewhere have contributed to this all-in-one reference work, highlighting the relevance of interdisciplinary and international perspectives, while at the same time representing the scope and quality of sociology in its current form.

The Blackwell Companion to Criminology provides a contemporary and global resource to scholarship in both classical and topical areas of criminology. Written accessibly, and with its international perspective and first-rate scholarship, this is truly the first global handbook of criminology.

• Editors and contributors are international experts in criminology, offering a comparative perspective on theories and systems
  
• Contains full discussion of key debates and theories, the implications of new topics, studies and ideas, and contemporary...

Tackling issues relevant to family life today, this authoritative Companion shows why studying social change in families is fundamental for understanding the transformations in individual and social life, across the globe.

• Contains original essays by expert contributors on a wide range of topics relating to the sociology of families.
• Includes coverage of social inequality, parenting practices, children's work, the changing patterns of citizenship, and multi-cultural families.
• Gives special attention to European and North American examples.
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The Blackwell Companion to Law and Society is an authoritative study of the relationship between law and social interaction. Thirty-two original essays by an international group of expert scholars examine a wide range of critical questions. Authors represent various theoretical, methodological, and political commitments, creating the first truly global overview of the field.

• Examines the relationship between law and social interactions in thirty-three original essay by international experts in the field.
  
• Reflects the world-wide significance...

The Blackwell Companion to Social Inequalities is a first-rate collection of social science scholarship on inequalities, emphasizing race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age, and nationality.

• Highlights themes that represent the scope and range of theoretical orientations, contemporary emphases, and emerging topics in the field of social inequalities.
  
• Gives special attention to debates in the field, developing trends and directions, and interdisciplinary influences in the study of social inequalities.
  
• Includes an...

This collection of original, state-of-the-art essays by prominent international scholars covers the most important issues comprising the sociology of culture.

• Provides an invaluable reference resource to all interested in the cultural structures and processes that animate contemporary life
  
• Contains 27 essays on the most important issues comprising the sociology of culture, including art, science, religions, race, class, gender, collective memory, institutions, and citizenship
  
• Reflects and analyzes the "cultural turn" that has transformed...

The Blackwell Companion to Major Classical Social Theorists provides a comprehensive review of classical social theory. Containing original essays especially commissioned for this volume, leading experts and practitioners examine the life and work of 12 major theorists.

• Includes 12 original essays by leading scholars on major classical social theorists
• Covers the key figures who shaped social theory, such as Marx, Weber and Durkheim, as well as additional classical theorists such as Harriet Martineau and W. E. B. Du Bois
• Essays include biographical...

The Blackwell Companion to Major Contemporary Social Theorists is a survey of contemporary social theory that focuses on the thinkers themselves. In original essays especially commissioned for this volume, leading experts and practitioners examine the life and work of 13 major theorists such as Elias, Baudrillard, Giddens, and Butler.

• Includes 13 original essays by leading scholars on major contemporary social theorists.
  
• Covers key figures such as Elias, Goffman, Foucault, Habermas, Giddens, Bourdieu, and Butler.
  
• Essays...

Tackling issues relevant to family life today, this authoritative Companion shows why studying social change in families is fundamental for understanding the transformations in individual and social life, across the globe.

• Contains original essays by expert contributors on a wide range of topics relating to the sociology of families.
• Includes coverage of social inequality, parenting practices, children's work, the changing patterns of citizenship, and multi-cultural families.
• Gives special attention to European and North American examples.
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