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.
Applying social science
The role of social research in politics, policy and practice
This important book examines how social science is applied now and how it might be applied in the future in relation to social transformation in a time of crisis.
Austerity Bites
A Journey to the Sharp End of Cuts in the UK
This timely book by award-winning journalist Mary O’Hara chronicles the true impact of austerity on people at the sharp end of the cuts, based on her 12-month journey around the country in 2012 and 2013 and fully updated for the paperback edition
Austerity, Community Action, and the Future of Citizenship in Europe
Exploring secular and faith-based grassroots social action in Germany and the UK, this book provides new ways of thinking about social and political belonging and about the relations between individual, collective and State responsibility.
Baby Boomers
Time and Ageing Bodies
This ground-breaking study of the baby boomer generation reflects the intersection of time, ageing, body and identity to give a nuanced and enlightened understanding of the ageing process.
Beer and Racism
How Beer Became White, Why It Matters, and the Movements to Change It
Beer in the United States has always been bound up with race, racism, and the construction of white institutions and identities. This unique book carves a much-needed critical and interdisciplinary path to examine and understand the racial dynamics in the craft beer industry and the popular consumption of beer.
Being a Scholar in the Digital Era
Transforming Scholarly Practice for the Public Good
This book offers both a road map and a vision of what being a scholar can be when reimagined in the digital era to enliven the public good. It discusses digital innovations in higher education as well as reflecting upon what these mean in an age of austerity.
Belonging in Translation
Solidarity and Migrant Activism in Japan
This is the first book to investigate how migrants and migrant rights activists work together to generate new forms of citizenship identities in a multilingual setting. Based on robust theoretical engagement and detailed empirical analysis, Shindo's book makes a compelling case for rethinking citizenship and community from the angle of language.
Betraying a Generation
How Education is Failing Young People
Ainley explains how English education is now driven by the economy and politics, having failed to deliver upward social mobility and a brighter future. Concludes with suggestions for positive change.
Blamestorming, Blamemongers and Scapegoats
Allocating Blame in the Criminal Justice Process
This is the first detailed criminological account of the role of blame in which the authors present a novel study of the legal process of blame attribution, set in the context of criminalisation as a social and political process. It will also be of wider interest to anyone wishing to discover the role of blame in modern society.
Blinded by Science
The Social Implications of Epigenetics and Neuroscience
This timely book critically examines the capabilities and limitations of new areas of biology, especially epigenetics and neuroscience, that are used as powerful arguments for developing social policy in a particular direction, exploring their implications for policy and practice.
Borders, Migration and Class in an Age of Crisis
Producing Workers and Immigrants
Informed by Marxist theory, this book examines how categories of ‘workers’ and ‘migrants’ have been mobilised within representations of a ‘migrant crisis’ and a ‘welfare crisis’ to facilitate capitalist exploitation, and proposes alternative understandings that foreground solidarity.
Brain Culture
Shaping Policy Through Neuroscience
This unique book offers a timely analysis of the impact of rapidly advancing knowledge about the brain, mind and behaviour on contemporary public policy and practice. It analyses the global spread of research agendas, policy experiments and everyday practice informed by ‘brain culture’.