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.

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...

Ideal Homes? shows how both popular images and experiences of home life relate to the ability of society's members to produce and respond to social change.
The book provides for the first time an analysis of the space of the home and the experiences of home life by writers from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, architecture, geography and anthropology. It covers a range of subjects, including gender roles, different generations relationships to home, the changing nature of the family, transition and risk and alternative visions of home.

Ideal Homes? shows how both popular images and experiences of home life relate to the ability of society's members to produce and respond to social change.
The book provides for the first time an analysis of the space of the home and the experiences of home life by writers from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, architecture, geography and anthropology. It covers a range of subjects, including gender roles, different generations relationships to home, the changing nature of the family, transition and risk and alternative visions of home.

Beyond the Body presents a new and sophisticated approach to death, dying and bereavement, and the sociology of the body. The authors challenge existing theories that put the body at the centre of identity. They go 'beyond the body' to highlight the persistence of self-identity even when the body itself has been disposed of or is missing.
Chapters draw together a wide range of empirical data, including cross-cultural case studies and fieldwork to examine both the management of the corpse and the construction of the 'soul' or 'spirit' by focusing on the work of:
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This text provides an approach to death, dying and bereavement, and the sociology of the body. The authors challenge existing theories that put the body at the centre of identity. They go beyond the body to highlight the persistence of self-identity even when the body itself has been disposed of or is missing. Chapters draw together a wide range of empirical data, including cross-cultural case studies and fieldwork to examine both the management of the corpse and the construction of the soul or spirit by focusing on the work of: undertakers; embalmers; coroners; clergy; clairvoyants;...