The Body : social process and cultural theory / edited by Mike Featherstone, Mike Hepworth and Bryan S. Turner

Contributor(s):

Series: Theory, culture & societyPublication details: London [etc] : Sage, 1991Edition: 1rst edDescription: vi, 408 p. ilISBN:

0803984138

Summary: Traditionally the social sciences have worked within dichotomies which have profoundly influenced western thought: body/soul and nature/culture. Whereas anthropology has recognised the importance of human bodies, sociology has tended to treat the individual as a disembodied decision-making agent. Yet contemporary societies exhibit a profound concern over bodily practice. This is expressed not only through pervasive concepts of bodily health, fitness and beauty, but also in relation to sexuality - exemplified in particular by concerns with female sexuality, homosexuality and AIDS. This challenging volume reasserts the centrality of the body within social theory as a means of understanding the complex interrelations between nature, culture and society. At a theoretical level, the volume explores the origins of a social theory of the body in sources ranging from the work of Nietzsche to contemporary feminist theory. The importance of a theoretical understanding of the body to social and cultural analysis of contemporary societies is demonstrated through specific case studies. These range from the expression of the emotions, romantic love, dietary practice, Japanese martial arts, consumer culture, fitness and beauty, to media images of women and sexuality. This wide-ranging book, drawing in part on papers published in Theory, Culture and Society, will be of interest to an interdisciplinary market in cultural studies, the social sciences and the humanities. (Font: Editor)

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Book	Centre d' Informació i Documentació del CERC Sala	General	S 00234	1	Available		1900001252

Reimpressions: 1992

Preface -- 1. Recent developments in the Theory of the Body / Bryan S. Turner -- 2. For a sociology of the body: an analitycal review / Arthur W. Frank -- 3. On human beings and their emotions: a process-sociological essay / Norbert Elias -- 4. On the civilizing of appetite / Stephen Mennell -- 5. The discourse of diet / Bryan S. Turner -- 6. The body in consumer culture / Mike Featherstone -- 7. The midlifestyle of 'George and Lynne': notes on a popular strip / Mike Featherstone and Mike Hepworth -- 8. Martial arts as a resource for liberal education: the case of aikido / Donald N. Levine -- 9. Bio-politics and social policy: Foucault's account of welfare / Martin Hewitt -- 10. Genealogy and the body: Foucault/Deleuze/Nietzsche / Scott Lash -- 11. The art of the body in the discourse of postmodernity / Roy Boyne -- 12. Love's labour lost? A sociological view / Margareta Bertilsson -- 13. Biographical boundaries: sociology and Marilyn Monroe / Graham McCann -- 14. Carmen - or the invention of a new feminine myth / Dick Pels and Aya Crebás -- 15. The mask of ageing and the postmodern life course / Mike Featherstone and Mike Hepworth -- 16. Sociological discourse and the body / J.M. Berthelot -- Index

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