The Body

Fülszöveg

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 humán 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 alsó 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... Tovább

Fülszöveg

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 humán 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 alsó 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 rangé from the expression of the emotions, romantic love, dietary practice, Japanese martial arts, consumer culture, fitness and beauty, to média images of women and sexuality.
This wide-ranging book, drawing in part on papers published in Theory, Culture & Society, will be of interest to an interdisciplinary markét in cultural studies, the social sciences and the humanities.
Mike Featherstone is Reader in Social Studies at Teesside Polytechnic. He has edited Theory, Culture & Society since its foundation.
Mike Hepworth is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Aberdeen.
Bryan S. Turner is Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex and is the author of The Body and Society (1984). Vissza