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 13-24 of 284 items.

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.

Policy Press

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

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Bristol Uni Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Bristol Uni Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Bristol Uni Press

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’.

Policy Press