Policy Press

Sociology and Social Theory

Sociology is a growth area for us and our books in sociology and social theory include exciting work from new authors and well-known academics, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate textbooks.

Our wide range of sociology and social theory books include high quality research and range from textbooks through to specialised monographs. Many also ‘make a difference’ in a tangible way, whether it be informing a key policy or practice debate, or improving the education of students.

Showing 25-36 of 285 items.

Public Sociology As Educational Practice

Challenges, Dialogues and Counter-Publics

Edited by Eurig Scandrett

Leading academics reflect on concepts and aspects of public sociology education in this perceptive collection of case studies, linked by critical dialogue between contributors. They consider publics, practices and special knowledges in the field, and go beyond academia’s boundaries to explore the purposes and targets of sociological knowledge.

Bristol Uni Press

Poverty in Italy

Features and Drivers in a European Perspective

Three leading sociologists examine Italy’s regime of poverty and the frequently misunderstood context of familialism in this in-depth study. With analysis of poverty’s roots and development and modern trends including the migrant ‘new poor’, it adds European perspectives for a better understanding of a persistent crisis.

Policy Press

Support Workers and the Health Professions in International Perspective

The Invisible Providers of Health Care

Edited by Mike Saks

This original collection analyses the global experience of health care support workers (HSWs) and examines their interface with the health professions, regulatory practice risks, employment challenges and the dilemmas of an ageing population. Crucial future policy recommendations are also made for a world becoming increasingly dependent on HSWs.

Policy Press

Race, Taste, Class and Cars

Cars transmit and modify our identities behind the wheel. As a symbol of independence and freedom, the car projects status, class, taste and, significantly, embeds racialisation. Using fascinating research from drivers, Alam unpicks the ways in which our identity is enhanced and driven.

Policy Press

Preventing Sexual Violence

Problems and Possibilities

Leading experts explore current strategies and thinking in relation to prevention of sexual violence in this timely collection

With psychological, sociological and legal perspectives, it addresses longstanding and contemporary themes including sexual harassment and working with offenders, and maps new approaches to practice and prevention.

Bristol Uni Press

Sharing Care

Equal and Primary Carer Fathers and Early Years Parenting

This timely study explores the experiences of fathers who take on equal or primary care responsibilities for young children.

Offering academic insight and practical recommendations, this will be key reading for researchers, policymakers, practitioners and students interested in contemporary families.

Bristol Uni Press

A Child’s Day

A Comprehensive Analysis of Change in Children’s Time Use in the UK

This rigorous review of four decades of data provides the clearest insights yet into the way children use their time. With analysis of changes in the time spent on family, education, culture and technology, as well as children’s own views on their habits, it presents a fascinating perspective on behaviour, wellbeing, social change and more.

Bristol Uni Press

Designing Parental Leave Policy

The Norway Model and the Changing Face of Fatherhood

This compelling book examines parental leave policies in Nordic countries, looking at how these laws encourage men towards life courses with greater care responsibilities. It considers the impact that these policies have had on gender equality and how they have led to a re-gendering of men by promoting ‘caring masculinities’.

Bristol Uni Press

Britain and Europe at a Crossroads

The Politics of Anxiety and Transformation

Ryder develops the conceptual framework of securitisation to make sense of the events surrounding the Brexit vote and its aftermath and examines the ways that political elites engineered a politics of fear, insecurity and Brexit nationalism in the run up to the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

Bristol Uni Press

Contesting Higher Education

Student Movements against Neoliberal Universities

This close investigation of student protests in the UK, Canada, Chile and Italy represents the first comparative review of the subject. Setting the wave of demonstrations within the contexts of student activism, social issues and political movements, it casts new light on their impact on higher education and on the broader society.

Bristol Uni Press

The Good Glow

Charity and the Symbolic Power of Doing Good

We praise those people who do things for others. But the symbolic power of giving means glow of 'goodness' that charity provides can be taken advantage of. Drawing on original data and Bourdieu's sociology, this book examines a wide range of charity examples to provide an entertaining critique of how contemporary charity works.

Policy Press

County Lines

Exploitation and Drug Dealing among Urban Street Gangs

Drawing upon extensive research amongst gang members, dealers and drug users, this timely book provides a comprehensive insight into the ‘County Lines’ phenomenon.

Shedding new light on this urgent topic on government agendas, this is an invaluable contribution to the literature on gangs, youth violence and organised crime.

Bristol Uni Press