Embodying identities
Culture, differences and social theory

Author/Editor(s):

Victor Jeleniewski Seidler

Format:

Paperback , 248 pages , 234 x 156 mm
Other formats available

ISBN

9781847423818

Published:

01 Apr 2010

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This exciting, accessible and wide-ranging text offers new perspectives on how we think about ourselves. Essential reading for all those interested in identities, it provides a unique introduction to social theory.
Professor Mary Maynard, Head of Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York

About This Book

In the 1970s and 1980s, identities seemed to be 'fixed' through categories of class, 'race', ethnicity, gender, sexualities and religion. These days we have begun to recognise the diversity, fragmentation and fluidity of identities, but how do we create and shape our own? The book shapes a new language of social theory that allows people to embody their differences with a sense of dignity and self-worth. It draws on diverse traditions from Marx, Weber and Durkheim, as well as more recent traditions of critical theory and post-structuralism, and will be of interest to sociology, politics, social work, philosophy and cultural studies students.

Author Biography

Victor Jeleniewski Seidler is Professor of Social Theory in the Department of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has written widely in the areas of social theory, ethics and gender, particularly in relation to the critical study of men and masculinities. His recent work includes Young men and masculinities: Global cultures and intimate lives (Zed Books, 2007) and Jewish philosophy and western culture (I.B.Tauris, 2008).

Contents

Introduction: fragmented identities/social theories
Identity, culture and modernity
Identity, dignity and self-worth
Bodies, fears and differences
Feminisms and masculinities
Gender, self-rejection and recognition
Identities, 'race' and modernity
Shame, fear and hatred
Language, ethics and transformation
Language, technology and media images
Virtualities, imagination and globalisation
Memories, objects and global migrations
Special textbook features and pedagogy
Definition of the market.

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