Social Theory

Outsourcing of domestic work in the UK has been steadily rising since the 1970s, but little research has considered White British women. This book argues that outsourced domestic cleaning can either be done as mental and manual skilled work or as manual and ‘natural’ emotional/affective labour, depending on the work conditions.

Every household has to perform housework. Using quantitative, nationally representative survey data this book theorizes about how power dynamics as reflected in housework performance help us understand broader family variations.

This book considers what makes us happy, using a new approach that directly addresses the circumstances under which highly subjective well-being is experienced, often with surprising results. 

In this original book Bill Jordan presents a new analysis of well-being in terms of its social value, and outlines ways in which this could be incorporated into public policy decisions.

This fascinating fictional account introduces key ideas in social and political philosophy in a funny, informative and entertaining way. The reader will learn about freedom, responsibility, justice and fairness and see how these are played out in the different utopian futures of a range of socio-political regimes.

This student-friendly textbook uses theoretical perspectives to bring to life social theories relating to health and illness. including binge drinking, obesity, the prominence of therapy and the search for happiness.

This lively textbook, part of the successful Understanding Welfare series, helps us to understand policy, politics and practice. It combines an in-depth exploration of selected theoretical perspectives and concepts with a student-friendly format.

Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this dynamic and fully updated second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory. It includes a new chapter featuring debates around disability, sexuality and the environment.

People in the top 10% of earners often drive politics, the public conversation and much of the private sector. This book draws attention to this potentially powerful section of society and explains why it is in their interest that inequality is reduced.

This book offers a theory of trafficking and modern slavery with implications for policy. Going beyond polarised debates on the sex trade, this book shows the importance of coercion and the societal complexities that perpetuate modern slavery.

As time banking has received increased attention from policy makers as a means for promoting welfare reform in the wake of austerity, this book is the first to look at the concept of time within social policy to examine time banking theory and practice.

In this book, well-respected author Paul Spicker lends a complementary voice to his Reclaiming individualism, reviewing collectivism as a dimension of political discourse. Taking a dispassionate and methodical approach, the author explores what collectivism means in social policy and what value it offers to the field.