This text brings together sociological, anthropological, and social policy perspectives on the life course with a view to developing the conceptual rigor of the term as well as to exploring the rich range of debates and issues it encompasses. Linking traditional sociological and anthropological concerns with more recent postmodern debates centered on the self, identity, and time, the book integrates theoretical debates about childhood, youth, middle age, and later life with empirical material in an illuminating and innovative way.

This text provides a critical analysis of the social construction of childhood and children's agency. Through an interdisciplinary synthesis combining social theory, social policy and the empirical findings of social science research, it bridges the current gap between theory and practice, offering an incisive theoretical account of childhood that is grounded in substantive areas of children's lives such as health, education, crime and the family. This furthers understanding of the impact of policy on children's everyday lives and social experiences.

Resulting from the ASA conference in 1995, this text addresses the theme of representation in anthropology. With 14 articles written by anthropologists, the work explores some of the directions in which contemporary anthropology is moving, following the questions raised by the writing culture debates of the 1980s. Chapters cover topics such as: the concept of caste in Indian society; Scottish ethnography; how dreams are culturally conceptualized; representations of the family culture as conservation gardens, theme parks and the anthropologist in Japan; representation in rural Japan people's...

Resulting from the ASA conference in 1995, this text addresses the theme of representation in anthropology. With 14 articles written by anthropologists, the work explores some of the directions in which contemporary anthropology is moving, following the questions raised by the writing culture debates of the 1980s. Chapters cover topics such as: the concept of caste in Indian society; Scottish ethnography; how dreams are culturally conceptualized; representations of the family culture as conservation gardens, theme parks and the anthropologist in Japan; representation in rural Japan people's...

The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child resulted in even greater global awareness of the significance of children's rights and perspectives. The contributors to this book explore the extent to which children's interests are finding expression in different societies in Western Europe.

In recent years there has been a rapid growth of interest in the sociological study of childhood. This new book draws together the major developments in the field. In particular, the book discusses contemporary sociological and anthropological research in order to develop key links between the study of childhood and social theory, exposing its historical, political and cultural dimensions.

This book explores the significance of food practices for childhood identities, from early babyhood to middle childhood and teenage years. It examines how children and families negotiate food and eating practices; what influence the media has on these; the role institutions play; and how far class and ethnicity shape the food that children eat.

When the first edition of this seminal work appeared in 1990, the sociology of childhood was only just beginning to emerge as a distinct sub-discipline. Drawing together strands of existing sociological writing about childhood and shaping them into a new paradigm, the original edition of this Routledge Classic offered a potent blend of ideas that informed, even inspired, many empirical studies of children's lives because it provided a unique lens through which to think about childhood. Featuring a collection of articles which summarised the developments in the study of childhood across the...

When the first edition of this seminal work appeared in 1990, the sociology of childhood was only just beginning to emerge as a distinct sub-discipline. Drawing together strands of existing sociological writing about childhood and shaping them into a new paradigm, the original edition of this Routledge Classic offered a potent blend of ideas that informed, even inspired, many empirical studies of children s lives because it provided a unique lens through which to think about childhood. Featuring a collection of articles which summarised the developments in the study of childhood across the...