Key Concepts is a series of concise and accessible textbooks exploring core concepts in the social sciences. The books focus on concepts that have a high degree of complexity surrounding them, and they get to the heart of debates about meaning and usage.
Risk
Jakob Arnoldi
This book gives a comprehensive yet widely accessible introduction to how risk has been analysed in sociology and related social sciences. Drawing on a multiplicity of theoretical approaches it will be invaluable for students and researchers interested in risk in relation to politics, environment, health, media, leisure, economy and culture.
Youth
Gill Jones
This accessible book takes a fresh and original approach to the concept of youth, placing changes in the social construction of ‘youth’ within a more general story of the rise and fall of grand theory in social science and re-theorizing the concept of youth in ways which are relevant to young people’s lives today.
Capitalism
Geoffrey Ingham
Global financial markets are in turmoil. In the wake of the US subprime mortgage defaults, some of the largest and oldest financial institutions on Wall Street have found themselves on the verge of collapse, and both the American and British governments have intervened to try to stabilize the financial sector. Why are financial institutions so important for capitalism, and why are so many of these institutions in trouble today?
Fundamentalism 2nd Edition
Steve Bruce
“Steve Bruce writes always with great lucidity from a clearly stated point of view. His essay on fundamentalism is no exception. It is well informed and easily accessible and it deserves to be taken seriously even by people who disagree with his view.”
— Martin Riesebrodt, University of Chicago
Concepts of the Self 2nd Edition
Anthony Elliott
“What Anthony Elliott accomplished in the first edition of Concepts was remarkable. Here, a second time around, he does it still again – even better! No reader, whether student or scholar, will want to be without this brilliant book – a claim certified by the thousands of students who enjoyed the first edition.”
— Charles Lemert, Wesleyan University
Care
Judith Phillips
“Judith Phillips’s book takes a fresh look at the much debated and researched concept of care. The author not only reviews current thinking on the subject and what has shaped that thinking but also provides some interesting new perspectives.”
— Julia Johnson, Open University
Consumption
Alan Aldridge
“Written with unusual clarity and confidence, this small book packs a big intellectual punch. No one interested in new work in the sociology of consumption should be without it”
— Charles Lemert, Wesleyan University.
The Market
Alan Aldrige
“Clearly written and very readable, Aldridge's text surveys a range of debates on the rise of the market, its advocates and critics, successes and failures, market ideologies and social values, globalization and the ‘marketization’ of public life.”
— Dr Fran Tonkiss, LSE
The Network Society
Darin Barney
“The social and political implications of the spread of networks have begun to attract increasing scholarly attention. Barney's eloquently written book provides much needed philosophical and political depth to the subject and will be likely to become an essential source in years to come.”
— Ronald J. Deibert, University of Toronto
Disability
Colin Barnes and Geof Mercer
In this book, Barnes and Mercer provide a concise and accessible introduction to the concept of disability. Drawing on a burgeoning ‘disability studies' literature from around the world, and from a range of disciplinary perspectives, the authors explore the evolution of this concept and offer a wide-ranging critique of established academic, policy and professional orthodoxies. The book highlights disabled peoples' exclusion and marginalization in key areas of social activity and participation across different historical and cultural contexts, such as family life and reproduction, education, employment, leisure, cultural imagery and politics.
Health 2nd Edition
Mildred Baxter
“A great text: revised and updated for students of health, whatever their discipline or background. Changes in science, technology and our understanding of the body are among the many important topics covered. Mildred Blaxter writes in a lucid style and has a command of her material that is second to none. Highly recommended.”
— Mike Bury, Royal Holloway, University of London
Ethnicity 2nd Edition
Steve Fenton
In this 2nd edition, Steve Fenton updates his concise and accessible introduction to ethnicity, drawing on new published work and recent social and historical changes. Discussing an extended range of theorists and illustrations from around the world, Fenton explores and clarifies the core meanings and the shifting ground of this contested concept.
Development
Anthony Payne and Nicola Phillips
Just about everyone is 'for' development as an assumed 'good', yet few seem to have a concrete idea of what the term actually entails. Development offers a comprehensive and wide-ranging analysis of the various ways in which this important concept has been used in social and political analysis over the past 200 years.
Gender
Harriet Bradley
This book provides an introduction to the concept of gender and the different theoretical approaches which have developed within gender studies. It has been designed as a student introduction and is accessible to anybody interested in contemporary relations between women and men.
The People
Margaret Canovan
This groundbreaking study sets out to clarify one of the most influential but least studied of all political concepts, charting the conflicting meanings of ‘the people’ and the concept's development from the ancient populus Romanus to the present day.
Empire
Alejandro Colás
“In this excellent book, Alejandro Colás draws together a wide range of theoretical perspectives and combines them with rich historical detail to illustrate his argument. That he does so in a concise, readable and yet rigorous way is something to be applauded. In short, Empire is a highly impressive achievement.”
— Ray Kiely, SOAS, University of London
Human Rights
Michael Freeman
Human Rights is an innovative and challenging introductory text that invites students to think conceptually about one of the most important and influential political concepts of our time. Its unique interdisciplinary approach emphasizes the complex ways in which the experiences of the victims of human rights violations are related to legal, philosophical and social-scientific approaches to human rights.
Trust
Russell Hardin
In this wide-ranging book, Russell Hardin sets out to dispel the myths surrounding the concept of trust in contemporary society and politics. He examines the growing literature on trust to analyze public concerns about declining levels of trust, both in our fellow citizens and in our governments and their officials.
Poverty
Ruth Lister
“This thought-provoking analysis is informed by its understanding of both the experience and meaning of poverty. It deserves to be made compulsory reading for all those engaged in making, carrying out or studying policies that affect the lives of people in poverty in any way.”
— Adrian Sinfield, University of Edinburgh
Governance
Anne Mette Kjær
Governance is an easy-to read introduction to an increasingly important concept in political science. It provides a clear overview of how the concept has been used in the sub-fields of public administration and public policy, international relations, European studies, and comparative politics.
Global Justice
Jon Mandle
“This is a clear and promising attempt to explain and develop some deeply held and widely shared intuitions about justice.”
— Thomas Pogge, Australian National University
Minority Rights
Jennifer Jackson Preece
“This is an important book. At a time when western societies are becoming increasingly polarised between those who urge the virtues of multiculturalism and those who fear that our values are being undermined and our security threatened by the presence of minorities, we badly need a careful and clear-headed appraisal of minority rights and the dilemmas that they pose. Jennifer Jackson-Preece is to be congratulated providing us with just such an account.”
— James Mayall, University of Cambridge
Power
John Scott
“Scott provides a well-documented and admirably succinct analysis of social power in all its diverse forms and their embodiment in both hierarchical social institutions and interpersonal relations.”
— Dennis Wrong, Emeritus Professor, New York University
Nationalism
Anthony D. Smith
For the last two centuries, nationalism has been a central feature of society and politics. Few ideologies can match its power and resonance, and no other political movement and symbolic language has such worldwide appeal and resilience. But nationalism is also a form of public culture and political religion, which draws on much older cultural and symbolic forms.
Equality
Stuart White
This highly accessible book provides an engaging introduction to the concept of equality and to the debates, historical and contemporary, that surround it. It explains and critically considers how the demand for equality arises in different spheres. The book will be of interest to students and researchers in philosophy and the social sciences and anyone interested in the values that animate democratic political life.