Passionate Sociology Book

What is passionate sociology? Does sociology merit passion? Too often the subject is taught as a dry and detached system of thought and practice. Passion is regarded as something to avoid or treated with suspicion. Now at last we have a book that argues frankly for passion as being necessary for sociology. The text is not simply about passionate sociology, it demonstrates passionate sociology. This book deliberately sets out to excite students with an account of what sociology can achieve to help them understand their own lives and the social conditions of our own time. Introducing and developing a number of major themes - including identity, knowledge, metaphor, magic, desire, power, everyday life and cultural mediation - Passionate Sociology argues that students should analyze these themes through practices of reading, writing, speaking, learning, storytelling, performing and organizing. The authors bring students to the subject through a controlled engagement with practical sociological ideas and ways of seeing, and thus encourage readers to participate in the creative possibilities of sociology. Their aim is to sharpen and deepen experience and move beyond the meanings of passionate sociology, beyond our present outlook. Designed for the needs of students at all levels, this book presents a particularly notable shift in introducing the study of sociology to newcomers. It offers a major challenge to established textbooks and points to inspiring new ways of approaching the subject.Read More