The latter decades of the 20th century saw a fundamental change in the age structure of many Western societies. In these societies it is now common for a fifth to a quarter of the population to be retired, for fewer babies to be born than is required to sustain the size of the population and for life expectancy to exceed 80 years old.
The latter decades of the 20th century saw a fundamental change in the age structure of many Western societies. In these societies it is now common fo...
Showing how the construction of virtual worlds has a long history, Rob Shields looks at the origins and the many contemporary meanings of the virtual. He examines the many forms of faith and hysteria that have surrounded computer technologies and, moving beyond the technologies themselves, he shows how the virtual plays a role in our daily lives at every level. The virtual is also an essential concept needed to manage innovation and risk. It is real but not actual, ideal but not abstract. The virtual, he argues has become one of the key organizing principles of contemporary society in the...
Showing how the construction of virtual worlds has a long history, Rob Shields looks at the origins and the many contemporary meanings of the virtual....
This fully updated new edition of the hugely popular Racism provides a thought-provoking account of the history and debate about the concept, combining both historical and theoretical analysis.
This fully updated new edition of the hugely popular Racism provides a thought-provoking account of the history and debate about the concept, combinin...
In this book Chris Jenks looks at what the ways in which we construct our image of childhood can tell us about ourselves. After a general discussion of the social construction of childhood, the book is structured around three examples of the way the image of the child is played out in society:
the history of childhood from medieval times through the enlightenment 'discovery' of childhood to the present
the mythology and reality of child abuse and society's response to it
the 'death' of childhood in cases such as the James Bulger murder in which the child...
In this book Chris Jenks looks at what the ways in which we construct our image of childhood can tell us about ourselves. After a general discussio...
Are human rights part of the problem or part of the solution in the current 'clash of civilizations'? Drawing on a hitherto neglected body of work in classical social theory and combining it with ideas derived from Barrington Moore, Norbert Elias and Michel Foucault, Woodiwiss poses and answers the questions:
How did human rights become entangled with power relations?
How might the nature of this entanglement be altered so that human rights better serve the global majority?
In answering these questions, he explains how and why rights discourse...
Are human rights part of the problem or part of the solution in the current 'clash of civilizations'? Drawing on a hitherto neglected body of work ...
Transnationalism refers to multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states. This text provides a clear and condensed text concerning a major concept in academic and policy discourse today.
Transnationalism refers to multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states. This text provides a cle...
'Transnationalism' refers to multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states.
This book surveys the broader meanings of transnationalism within the study of globalization before concentrating on migrant transnational practices. Each chapter demonstrates ways in which new and contemporary transnational practices of migrants are fundamentally transforming social, political and economic structures simultaneously within homelands and places of settlement.
Transnationalism provides a much-needed single, clear and condensed text concerning...
'Transnationalism' refers to multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states.
Most significant problems of contemporary life have their origins in nihilism and its paradoxical logic, which is simultaneously destructive to and constitutive of society. Yet, in social theory, nihilism is a surprisingly under-researched topic.
This book develops a systematic account of nihilism in its four main forms: escapism, radical nihilism, passive nihilism and 'perfect nihilism.' It focuses especially on the disjunctive synthesis between passive nihilism (the negation of the will) and radical nihilism (the will to negation), between the hedonism/disorientation that...
Most significant problems of contemporary life have their origins in nihilism and its paradoxical logic, which is simultaneously destructive to and...
After analyzing key definitions, concepts and theories, Blackshaw offers his own theory of liquid leisure, which asks some demanding questions about the present and the future of the idea in people's lives and its role in civil society.
After analyzing key definitions, concepts and theories, Blackshaw offers his own theory of liquid leisure, which asks some demanding questions about t...
In this book, Stehr and Grundmann outline the theoretical significance and practical importance of the growing stratum of experts, counsellors and advisors in contemporary society, and claim that the growing spectrum of knowledge-based occupations has led to the pluralisation of expertise. As decision makers in organizations and private citizens, for various reasons, increasingly seek advice from experts, the authors examine the nature of expert activity, and suggest that the role of experts needs to be distinguised from other roles such as professionals, scientists, or intellectuals....
In this book, Stehr and Grundmann outline the theoretical significance and practical importance of the growing stratum of experts, counsellors and adv...
