In this groundbreaking book, influential cultural sociologist Alberto Melucci delves deeper into questions about the self as both a psychological and sociocultural entity, particularly in the context of a global society for which information has become a basic resource. He accounts for the self as a site of highly subjective and intimate experiences, such as crying, laughing and loving, and in relation to social structural dynamics, through more impersonal experiences, such as the experience of time, and links of the self to politics.

Alberto Melucci brings an original perspective to research on collective action, emphasizing the role of culture and making telling connections with the experience of the individual in postmodern society. The focus is on the role of information in a world both fragmented and globalized, and topics addressed include political conflict, feminism, ecology, identity politics, power and inequality. The book builds on the author's Nomads of the Present (1989), and is a companion volume to The Playing Self (CUP, 1996).

Alberto Melucci brings an original perspective to research on collective action, emphasizing the role of culture and making telling connections with the experience of the individual in postmodern society. The focus is on the role of information in a world both fragmented and globalized, and topics addressed include political conflict, feminism, ecology, identity politics, power and inequality. The book builds on the author's Nomads of the Present (1989), and is a companion volume to The Playing Self (CUP, 1996).