PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY

Close Notification

Your cart does not contain any items

What Makes a Social Crisis? - The Societalization Of Social Problems

JC Alexander

$32.95

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

QTY:

English
Polity Press
13 September 2019
In this book Jeffrey Alexander develops a new sociological theory of social crisis and applies it to a wide range of cases, from the church paedophilia crisis to the #MeToo movement. He argues that crises are triggered not by objective social strains but by the discourse and institutions of the civil sphere. When strains become subject to the utopian aspirations of the civil sphere, there emerges widespread anguish about social justice and the future of democratic life. Once admired institutional elites come to be represented as perpetrators and the civil sphere becomes legally and organizationally intrusive, demanding repairs in the name of civil purification. Resisting such repair, institutional elites foment backlash, and a war of the spheres ensues.

This major new work by one of the world's leading social theorists will be of great interest to students and scholars in sociology, politics, and the social sciences generally.

By:  
Imprint:   Polity Press
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 221mm,  Width: 134mm,  Spine: 15mm
Weight:   260g
ISBN:   9781509538256
ISBN 10:   1509538259
Pages:   180
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Preface and Acknowledgements Introduction: Societalization in Society Chapter 1: What Is Societalization and How Does it Happen? Chapter 2: Who Are the Agents of Societalization? Chapter 3: Why Does Societalization NOT Happen? Chapter 4: Church Pedophilia Chapter 5: Financial Crisis Chapter 6: Phone Hacking Chapter 7: #MeToo Conclusion: Societalization in Theory Notes References

Jeffrey C. Alexander is the Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology at Yale University.

Reviews for What Makes a Social Crisis? - The Societalization Of Social Problems

This thrilling book starts with John Dewey's puzzle: when and how does a problem that is troubling only a few people in a specific social sphere get transformed into a moral crisis for the whole of society? With his unique mixture of knowledge and imagination, Jeffrey Alexander formulates an elegant and complex answer to this question and, in so doing, highlights a central mechanism in the normative ordering of contemporary societies. Axel Honneth, Columbia University Few concepts better describe our age than that of 'crisis', from the economic meltdown of 2008 to the #MeToo movement of today. In a dazzling variety of case studies, Alexander shows that these crises suggest not collapse but vitality, not 'danger and impurity' but sacredness and the quest for order. Read this urgent and startling book to understand why Jeffrey Alexander is one of the world's leading social and cultural theorists. Eva Illouz, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris This is a very clearly written and highly insightful book. Situated within the context of Alexander's wider intellectual project, it comprises one more case in the indictment against orthodox forms of social theory and theorizing. Cultural Sociology


See Also