Books in the Routledge Advances in Sociology series

Presenting an examination of hegemonic masculinity and its interpretations, this book provides a contribution to understandings of men and masculinity. Beginning with the work of Antonio Gramsci and a focus on developing the full complexity of his theory of hegemony, it moves on through theory, applications and analysis of various topical issues.

Presenting an analysis of Bourdieu's politics, this study assesses the validity of his claims as to the distinctiveness and superiority of his own field theory as a tool of political analysis.

Grace is a central concept of theology, while having a range of meanings in many fields. This book explains the sociology of grace (or enchantment) with fascinating results. It intends to take the reader on an intriguing journey which traverses subjects ranging from theology, through the history of art, archaeology and mythology to anthropology.

This book provides a comparative analysis of inequality in the digital sphere. Grounded in sociological theories of inequality, it defines `the digital divide¿ as unequal access to Internet communication technologies and explores how it has the potential to replicate existing social inequalities, as well as create new forms of stratification.

This volume synthesizes literature on military service and its life course consequences. It considers how the military has changed over time, how experiences of military service vary across cohorts and persons with different characteristics, how military service affects service members' lives and families and the linkages between research and policy.

This book comprises a comparative study of relationships between language and ethnic identity in key regions of historical and contemporary ethnic conflict in Europe and Eurasia.

In this work, contributors from the fields of sociology, anthropology, history and women's studies focus on the everyday social interactions that have made schools and workplaces key sites of cultural creativity, transformation and resistance.

Since the publication of the Coleman report in the US, it has been widely accepted that the evidence that schools are marginal in the grand scheme of academic achievement is conclusive. Despite this, educational policy across the world remains focused almost exclusively on schools.

Founded upon the psychoevolutionary theories of Darwin, Plutchik and Izard, a general socioevolutionary theory of the emotions - affect-spectrum theory - classifies a wide spectrum of the emotions and analyzes them on the sociological, psychological and neurobiological levels. This book presents a multilevel theory of emotions and social life.

Informal work ¿ family care, voluntary work, and undeclared or unregulated work ¿ is a critical form of labor in today¿s economy, yet it remains underanalyzed and examined. This volume develops a comprehensive conceptual framework of informal work and analyses systematically the relationship of formal and informal work.

The book is comprised of empirical analyses of the relationships people have during their lives and how these affect their individual welfare. These include relationships between members of a couple, between parents and children, between the children themselves and between non-related individuals.

Until now, there has been relatively little empirical evidence on the role of social relations in innovation and innovation policies. Lack of innovation is not necessarily caused by lack of technology or unwillingness to innovate, but often, because of a lack of supportive social capital between the actors. This book analyzes this urgent problem, and proposes models and measures for better regulation.

How can we raise the standard of living of the world''s poor and maintain high levels of social health and well-being in the developed world, while simultaneously reducing the environmental damage wrought by human activity? The social dimension of sustainability is becoming recognized as a necessary if not sufficient condition for attaining economic and environmental sustainability. The requisite dialogue requires inclusion at multi-levels. This collection of works is an ambitious and multi-disciplinary effort to indemnify and articulate the design, implementation and implications of inclusion. Included are theoretical and empirical pieces that examine the related issues at the local, national and international levels. Contributors are grounded in Sociology, Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, Public Health, Psychology, Anthropology, Social Work, Education, and Natural Resource Management.

This collection of original articles deals with two intertwined general questions: what is the visual sphere, and what are the means by which we can study it sociologically? These questions serve as the logic for dividing the book into two sections, the first ("Visualizing the Social, Sociologizing the Visual") focuses on the meanings of the visual sphere, and the second ("New Methodologies for Sociological Investigations of the Visual") explores various sociological research methods to getting a better understanding of the visual sphere. We approach the visual sphere sociologically because we regard it as one of the layers of the social world. It is where humans produce, use, and engage with the visual in their creation and interpretation of meanings. Under the two large inquiries into the "what" and the "how" of the sociology of the visual sphere, a subset of more focused questions is being posed: what social processes and hierarchies make up the visual sphere? How various domains of visual politics and visuality are being related (or being presented as such)? What are the relations between sites and sights in the visual research? What techniques help visual researcher to increase sensorial awareness of the research site? How do imaginaries of competing political agents interact in different global contexts and create unique, locally-specific visual spheres? What constitutes competing interpretations of visual signs? The dwelling on these questions brings here eleven scholars from eight countries to share their research experience from variety of contexts and sites, utilizing a range of sociological theories, from semiotics to post-structuralism.

Climate change is widely agreed to be one of the greatest challenges facing society today. Thus far, however, efforts to promote pro-environmental behaviour have centred on typically limited understandings of individual agency, choice and change. This book shows how much more the social sciences have to offer. The expert contributors to Sustainable Practices show how a practice approach can help us understand what societal transitions towards sustainability involve, and how they might be achieved.