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This book provides an ethnographic study of varmakkalai, or 'the art of the vital spots, ' a South Indian esoteric tradition that combines medical practice and martial arts
Addressing medium- and long-term expectations for human health, this book reviews current scientific and technical developments in nanotechnology for biomedical, agrofood, and environmental applications. This collection of perspectives on the ethical, legal, and societal implications of bionanotechnology provides unique insight into contemporary te
This handbook presents a systematic and comprehensive overview of economic sociology, an exemplary interdisciplinary field which draws on theoretical frameworks and empirical findings from both economics and sociology to present a unique lens on the interdependence of the economy and society. The handbook is arranged in four parts which together present the current state-of-the-art of economic sociology as well as pointing toward future directions for research. The first part outlines the theoretical foundations of economic sociology and its relations to other fields, particularly with regard to other alternative approaches to economics, and looks at conceptions and definitions of economic s...
This book explores official statistics and their social function in modern societies. Digitisation and globalisation are creating completely new opportunities and risks, a context in which facts (can) play an enormously important part if they are produced with a quality that makes them credible and purpose-specific. In order for this to actually happen, official statistics must continue to actively pursue the modernisation of their working methods. This book is not about the technical and methodological challenges associated with digitisation and globalisation; rather, it focuses on statistical sociology, which scientifically deals with the peculiarities and pitfalls of governing-by-numbers,...
In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten sind weltweit so viele Hochhäuser gebaut worden wie nie zuvor. Auch in Europa, wo lange Zeit vor allem Kirchtürme und Schornsteine vertikale Akzente setzten, prägen sie vermehrt das Gesicht der Städte. Die neuere monumentale Architektur ist mit vielfältigen Versprechen, Begehrlichkeiten und Befürchtungen verknüpft. Am Beispiel von Paris, London und Wien diskutiert diese Studie, welche Vorstellungen von Urbanität dabei im Spiel sind. Sie verortet das vertikale Bauen im Spannungsfeld von globalisierten Vergleichshorizonten und städtischem Eigensinn. More high-rises have been built worldwide over the past two decades than ever before. Even in Europe, whe...
This handbook on relational sociology covers a rapidly growing approach in the social sciences—one which is connected to the interests of a large, diverse pool of researchers across a range of disciplines. Relational sociology has been one of the key foundations of the “relational turn” in human sciences since the 1980s, and it offers a unique opportunity to redefine the basic epistemological and ontological principles of sociology as we know it. The contributors collected here aim to elucidate the complexity and the scope of this growing approach by dealing with three central questions: Where does relational sociology come from and what are its principal concerns? What are the main theoretical and methodological currents within relational sociology? What have we studied in relational sociology and what are the results?
This is an important historical period in which to develop communication models aimed at creating opportunities for citizens to find a voice for new experiences and social concerns. Such basic social problems as inequality, poverty, and discrimination pose a constant challenge to policies that serve the health and income needs of children, families, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Important changes both in individual values and civic life are occurring in the United States and in many other nations. Recent trends such as the globalization of commerce and consumer values, the speed and personalization of communication technologies, and an economic realignment of industrial and info...
Erving Goffman and the Cold War presents a provocative new reading of the work of sociologist Erving Goffman. Instead of viewing him as a “marginal man” or academic outsider, Gary D. Jaworski explores Goffman as a social theorist of the Cold War. Goffman was deeply connected to both the ethos of his time and to a range of cold warriors and their critics, such as Edward A. Shils, Thomas C. Schelling, and the researchers on “brainwashing” associated with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, among others. Chapters on loyalty, betrayal, secrecy, strategy, interrogation, provocation, and aggression concretely illustrate these connections. Erving Goffman and the Cold War shows that Goffman was much more than a microsociologist of mundane life; he was a perceptive analyst of the Cold War America.
With a new foreword by Charles Lemert 'Its greatness...lies in ceaseless and varied use of the money form to unearth and conceptually reveal incommensurabilities of all kinds, in social reality fully as much as in thought itself.' - Fredric Jameson In The Philosophy of Money, Georg Simmel puts money on the couch. He provides us with a classic analysis of the social, psychological and philosophical aspects of the money economy, full of brilliant insights into the forms that social relationships take. He analyzes the relationships of money to exchange, human personality, the position of women, and individual freedom. Simmel also offers us prophetic insights into the consequences of the modern ...
Climate Change and Cultural Transition in Europe is an account of Europe’s share in the making of global warming, which considers the past and future of climate-society interactions. Contributors include: Clara Brandi, Rüdiger Glaser, Iso Himmelsbach, Claudia Kemfert, Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Claus Leggewie, Franz Mauelshagen, Geoffrey Parker, Christian Pfister, Dirk Riemann, Lea Schmitt, Jörn Sieglerschmidt, Markus Vogt, and Steffen Vogt.