This collection of classic essays focuses on the theoretical frameworks that informed the work of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham, the methodologies and working practices that the Centre developed for conducting academic research and examples of the studies carried out under the auspices of the Centre. This volume is split into seven thematic sections that are introduced by key... more...

This book provides unprecedented opportunities for social science research, enabling the fine-grained analysis of social organization, culture, and communication. It is the first book to provide practical guidance for students and academics on how to use video in qualitative research, how to address the problems and issues that arise in undertaking video-based field studies, and how to subject video recordings to detailed... more...

With actress Pam Grier's breakthrough in Coffy and Foxy Brown, women entered action, science fiction, war, westerns and martial arts films--genres that had previously been considered the domain of male protagonists. This ground-breaking cinema, however, was--and still is--viewed with ambivalence. While women were cast in new and exciting roles, they did not always arrive with their femininity intact, often functioning both as a sexualized spectacle... more...

Computational Approaches to Studying the Co-evolution of Networks and Behaviour in Social Dilemmas shows students, researchers, and professionals how to use computation methods, rather than mathematical analysis, to answer research questions for an easier, more productive method of testing their models. Illustrations of general methodology are provided and explore how computer simulation is used to bridge the gap between formal... more...

In 1974, women in a feminist consciousness-raising group in Eugene, Oregon, formed a mock organization called the Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society. Emblazoning its logo onto t-shirts, the group wryly envisioned female collective textile making as a practice that could upend conventions, threaten state structures, and wreak political havoc. Elaborating on this example as a prehistory to the more recent phenomenon of... more...

Women's Studies Journalist Betsy Israel paints remarkably vivid portraits of single women -- and how they have been perceived -- throughout the decades using primary sources, including private journals, newspapers, and other materials from popular media. From the nineteenth-century spinsters of New England to the Bowery girls of New York City, to the career girls of the 1950s and 1960s, single women have fought to find, and feel comfortable in, that... more...

This book provides an account of the organisation, practices and history of the Dasanami-Sanyasis, one of the largest sects of sadhus ('holy men') in South Asia. According to tradition, the sect was founded by the legendary south-Indian philosopher Sankaracharya, whose floruit was most probably around 700 CE. While the first three chapters of this book examine the sect's organisation and its various branches, the latter chapters explore its history.... more...

A modern nation in a state of total disorder, Colombia is an international flashpoint—wracked by more than half a century of civil war, political conflict, and drug-trade related violence—despite a multibillion dollar American commitment that makes it the third-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid. Law in a Lawless Land offers a rare and penetrating insight into the nature of Colombia's present peril. In a nuanced account of... more...

Cyber-War provides a critical assessment of current debates around the likelihood and impact of cyber warfare. Approaching the subject from a socio-political angle, it argues that destructive cyber war has not yet been seen, but could be a feature of future conflict.

Demonstrates the power of the theoretical framework ofanalytical sociology in explaining a large array of social phenomena Analytical Sociology: Actions and Networks presents themost advanced theoretical discussion of analytical sociology, alongwith a unique set of examples on mechanism- based sociology. Leading scholars apply the theoretical principlesof analytical sociology to understand how puzzling social and historical... more...