Sociology for Optimists
Understanding social issues through a lens of hope and resilience.
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Sage Publications Ltd
Published:3rd Oct '16
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£31.99(9781446268681)
This book offers a hopeful perspective on sociology, showing how it can illuminate social issues and inspire positive change. Sociology for Optimists challenges traditional narratives.
In Sociology for Optimists, Mary Holmes presents a refreshing perspective on the field of sociology, emphasizing the potential for positive social change. Rather than solely focusing on the negative aspects of societal issues, Holmes advocates for an optimistic approach that recognizes the human capacity for resilience and growth. This book serves as a guide to understanding social problems through a lens of hope and possibility, challenging the traditional narratives that often dominate sociological discourse.
Holmes explores a variety of topics, including politics, inequality, nature, and faith, illustrating how an optimistic sociology can illuminate the ways in which individuals and communities respond to challenges. By integrating contemporary case studies, she grounds her theoretical insights in real-world examples, demonstrating that sociology can indeed offer constructive solutions to pressing social issues. This approach not only enriches the study of sociology but also empowers readers to envision a more equitable and just society.
Ultimately, Sociology for Optimists is both a critical examination of sociology's potential and a call to action for those who seek to understand and address social problems. It serves as an antidote to the often bleak outlook associated with social sciences, encouraging readers to embrace a more hopeful perspective. This book is an essential companion for anyone interested in the intersection of sociology and positive social change.
Sociology can be an inherently pessimistic discipline. After all, much still needs to be done for a fairer more equal society. Whilst she does not deny the distance we still have to go, Holmes argues for a more optimistic view of the social world, one which foregrounds how far we have come and imagines how things could be better. Questioning the overt focus on social problems opposed to social questions, she highlights how sociologists have pathologised social life and argues how we might see things differently. Taking a journey through a whole range of topics such as equality, relationships, freedom and even sociology, Holmes charts the history of core sociological ideas and begins to highlight the ways in which critical optimism can imagine new possibilities in the field. Arguing that pessimism limits the sociological imagination, Holmes provokes the reader to explore more optimistic ways forward through combining historical insight and provocation of new ways of thinking. This book would make a useful complement to any reading list to spark debates and research that explores the possibilities of a more optimistic future for sociology.
-- Jon RainISBN: 9781446268674
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 420g
176 pages