Books in the Key Ideas series

Most significant problems of contemporary life have their origins in nihilism and its paradoxical logic, which is simultaneously destructive to and constitutive of society. This book develops a systematic account of nihilism in its four main forms: escapism, radical nihilism, passive nihilism and 'perfect nihilism.'

Revised edition of the author's Sexuality, 2009.

In the modern world our lifestyle helps to define our attitudes and values as well as show our wealth and social position. This introduction to the concept of lifestyle offers a guide to how the term is used in sociological accounts to refer to this modern social form.

Explains what cosmopolitanism is and why it has grabbed the sociological imagination. This book explores the concept of cosmopolitanism and its application to contemporary issues. It offers a mix of theoretical and socio-political elements that are suitable for students and researchers in the fields of international political theory.

This work attempts to take into account the whole "system" of information and entertainment and to define, on the basis of theory and a number of case studies, the conditions and prerequisites for a cross-media enquiry on the media and their different uses in societies.

In this fast moving study, Chris Jenks presents a sweeping overview of the history of ideas, the major theorists and the significant moments in the formation of the idea of transgression.

This book, updated throughout and with new sections on visual culture, urban culture and subcultures, argues that to understand the concept we need to locate it within traditions of thought and appreciate its political and ideological bases.

This introductory text argues that class remains a key concept in sociology. Edgell examines the work of Marx, Weber, Wright and Goldthorpe - and discusses class structures, social mobility, inequality and politics.

This book provides an overview of the key issues arising from this demographic change, asking questions such as: * What if any, are the universal characteristics of the ageing experience? * What different ways is it possible to grow old?

This volume presents a critical overview of major sociological approaches to the process of consumption, in both modern and postmodern societies. It develops an analysis of consumption as a socio-cultural process, and of the ideology of consumerism.

Investigating the social factors that make up the knowledge of children and childhood, this book aims to promote a greater appreciation of this stage of life. Viewing childhood from a social constructionist perspective, it gives a framework through which to understand private attitudes and public policy in relation to the child.

This book presents a clear and comprehensive overview of citizenship, exploring its historical and conceptual origins, its contemporary dilemmas and its emancipatory potential for the future.

Anthony Cohen explores the concept of community in social theory.

With the increasing number of moral panics in recent years triggered by incidents such as the Bulger case and the spread of AIDS, this book examines their wider significance particularly in terms of the functioning of the mass media.

Drawing on resources in classical and contemporary social theory, and working through case studies of Britain, the United States and Japan, Woodiwiss provides a general sociological account of the development of human rights.

In this extensively revised and restructured new edition of 'Globalization', Malcolm Waters provides a user-friendly introduction to the main arguments about the globalisation process.

Revised edition of the author's Community, 2010.

'Transnationalism' refers to multiple ties and interactions linking people or institutions across the borders of nation-states. This book surveys the broader meanings of transnationalism within the study of globalization, focusing on migrant transnational practices.

Captures the range of thought appropriate for scrutinizing the ambivalent idea of leisure. Analyzing key definitions, concepts and theories, this title offers the author's theory of liquid leisure, which asks some demanding questions about the present and the future of the idea in people's lives and its role in civil society.

This fully updated new edition of the hugely popular Racism provides a thought-provoking account of the history and debate about the concept, combining both historical and theoretical analysis.