{"title":"Books by Chris Shilling","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780198739036","title":"The Body","description":"The human body is thought of conventionally as a biological entity, with its longevity, morbidity, size and even appearance determined by genetic factors immune to the influence of society or culture. Since the mid-1980s, however, there has been a rising awareness of how our bodies, and our perception of them, are influenced by the social, cultural and material contexts in which humans live.Drawing on studies of sex and gender, education, governance, the economy, and religion, Chris Shilling demonstrates how our physical being allows us to affect the material and virtual world around us, yet also enables governments to shape and direct our thoughts and actions. Revealing how social relationships, cultural images, and technological and medical advances shape our perceptions and awareness, he exposes the limitations of traditional Western traditions of thought that elevate the mind over the body as that which defines us as human. Dealing with issues ranging from cosmetic and transplant surgery, the performance of gendered identities, the commodification of bodies and body parts, and the violent consequences of competing conceptions of the body as sacred, Shilling provides a compelling account of why body matters present contemporary societies with a series of urgent and inescapable challenges.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56226888417653,"sku":"9780198739036","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780198739036_3b328769-2a50-4234-a6c5-9b01727dd37d.jpg?v=1786012316"},{"product_id":"9781666972863","title":"Social Character, Tribalism and Society","description":"\u003cb\u003eChris Shilling and Philip A. Mellor argue that recent developments in social character are key to explaining the sectarian tribalism that has afflicted American and European societies in recent decades.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBuilding upon one of the most influential books of the twentieth century, David Riesman's \u003ci\u003eThe Lonely Crowd\u003c\/i\u003e, the authors explore the social and economic conditions that have resulted in a 'thinning' of empathy and mutual identification, the significance of inequalities and social movements in stimulating the emergence of identity-directedness, and the opportunity-directed exploitation of dynamic social change, risk and uncertainty. Reflecting on an era marked by intensifying conflict, Social Character, Tribalism and Society asks whether it is possible that a 'saving remnant' could emerge from the characterological struggle that is fraying the social fabric and threatening to destabilise social order.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":56369109139829,"sku":"9781666972863","price":80.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682752930165,"sku":"9798216375500","price":28.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781666972863_bb7d65ec-3892-4c36-9374-28f210c816f9.jpg?v=1792511645"},{"product_id":"the-body-in-culture-technology-and-society","title":"The Body in Culture, Technology and Society","description":"′Once in a while a manuscript stops you in your tracks... What we are offered here is no recovering of old ground but a step change in perspectives on \"body matters\" that is both innovative and of fundamental importance to anyone working on this sociological terrain...This text is groundbreaking and simply has to be read′ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e- Acta Sociologica\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e′This is Shilling at his creative best…these are seminal observations of the classical theories drawn together as never before.  Moreover, as a framework [this monograph] provides a genuinely new and fertile way of reconsidering not just classical sociology but contemporary\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eforms as well′ \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e- Sport, Education \u0026amp; Society\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e′This is a comprehensive, theoretically sophisticated, and ambitious treatise on the body that draws from, and applies, both classical and contemporary sociological theory in a manner that is innovative and thought-provoking. This book is engaging and thought-provoking, but Shilling′s greatest achievement is his ability to illustrate the importance and continued relevance of classical and contemporary sociological theory to real world concerns. It is a book worthy of widespread attention. It reinvigorated my interest in the sociological classics and contained countless nuggets of interesting information that led me to conclude that it would be a worthy book to recommend to a broad sociological audience′  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e- Teaching Sociology\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e′Shilling′s book (like his earlier The Body and Social Theory) is crucial reading…a further valuable contribution in a field where he has provided so much′  \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e- Theory \u0026amp; Psychology\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e′This is an impressive book by one of the leading social theorists working in the field of body studies. It provides a critical summation of theoretical and substantive work in the field to date, while also presenting a powerful argument for a corporeal realism in which the body is both generative of the emergent properties of social structure and a location of their effects. Its scope and originality make it a key point of reference for students and academics in body studies and in the social and cultural sciences more generally′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eIan Burkitt, Reader in Social Science, University of Bradford\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e′Chris Shilling is as always a lucid guide through the dense thickets of the \"sociology of the body\", and his chapters on the fields of work, sport, eating, music and technology brilliantly show how abstract theoretical debates relate to the real world of people′s lives′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eProfessor Stephen Mennell, University College Dublin\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e′What I find very useful and without any doubt valuable, not only in Shilling′s The Body in Culture, Technology and Society but in his work in general, is the breadth and profoundness of his discussion about the body…the style Shilling maintains is crucial for further development of the sociology of the body as a discipline, for it provides us with a rich intellectual environment about the body′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSociology\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e′For any colleague wanting to have a clear idea of how studies of the body can be empirically grounded as well as theoretically ′rich′, Chris Shilling′s \u003ci\u003eThe Body in Culture, Technology and Society\u003c\/i\u003e , is the book to read. To my mind it offers the best account thus far of not only how social action is embodied and must be recognised as such but also of how social structures condition and shape embodied subjects in a variety of social arenas... This is wonderful insightful ′stuff′ – the ideas and intricate thoughts of a scholar such as Shilling who has been immersed in thinking about the complexities of the body in society as well as sociology for a number of years′ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSociology of Health and Illness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a milestone in the sociology of the body. The book offers the most comprehensive overview of the field to date and an innovative framework for the analysis of embodiment.  It is founded on a revised view of the relation of classical works to the body. It argues that the body should be read as a multi-dimensional medium for the constitution of society.  Upon this foundation, the author constructs a series of analyses of the body and the economy, culture, sociality, work, sport, music, food and technology.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57481449472373,"sku":"9780761971238","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780761971238.jpg?v=1786089711"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-chris-shilling.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}