Much of contemporary social theory marks an attempt to make a decisive break with philosophical dualism. Within the sociological tradition the work of Marx represents the most radical departure from this dualism, yet the influence of Marx has waned in the wake of the cultural turn. This thesis argues that the diminution of interest in Marx has been facilitated by a tendency to read him through the prism of dualist assumptions, leading to a view of Marx as a deterministic materialist who neglects the role of culture in social life. This is challenged by way of a critical comparison with...

This book undertakes a critique of the pervasive notion that human beings are separate from and elevated above the nonhuman world and explores its role in the constitution of modernity. The book presents a socio-material analysis of the British milk industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It traces the dramatic development of the milk trade from a cottage industry into a modernised and integrated system of production and distribution, examining the social, economic and political factors underpinning this transformation, and also highlighting the important roles played...