Between Self And Society

This 1985 book studies the relation between the individual and collective processes, which is central to the social sciences.

Despite recent interest in the effects of restructuring and redesigning the work place, the link between individual identity and structural change has usually been asserted rather than demonstrated. Through an extensive review of data from field work in a multi-national corporation Catherine Casey changes this. She knows that changes currently occurring in the world of work are part of the vast social and cultural changes that are challenging the assumptions of modern industrialism. These events affect what people do everyday, and they are altering relations among ourselves and with the physical world. This valuable book is not only a critcal analysis of the transformations occurring in the world of work, but an exploration of the effects of contemporary practices of work on the self.

What it socialization? What is interaction? What do we mean by identity? How can we explain the notion of self? What do we mean by intra-action? The Sociology of the Individual is an innovative and though-provoking sociological exploration of how the ideas of the individual and society relate. Expertly combining conceptual depth with clarity of style, Athanasia Chalari: explains the key sociological and psychological theories related to the investigation of the social and the personal analyses the ways that both sociology and psychology can contribute to a more complete understanding and theorising of everyday life uses a mix of international cases and everyday examples to encourage critical reflection. The Sociology of the Individual is an essential read for upper level undergraduates or postgraduates looking for a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of the connection between the social world and the inner life of the individual. Perfect for modules exploring the sociology of the self, self and society, and self and identity.

This major study develops a new account of modernity and its relation to the self. Building upon the ideas set out in The Consequences of Modernity, Giddens argues that 'high' or 'late' modernity is a post traditional order characterised by a developed institutional reflexivity. In the current period, the globalising tendencies of modern institutions are accompanied by a transformation of day-to-day social life having profound implications for personal activities. The self becomes a 'reflexive project', sustained through a revisable narrative of self identity. The reflexive project of the self, the author seeks to show, is a form of control or mastery which parallels the overall orientation of modern institutions towards 'colonising the future'. Yet it also helps promote tendencies which place that orientation radically in question - and which provide the substance of a new political agenda for late modernity. In this book Giddens concerns himself with themes he has often been accused of unduly neglecting, including especially the psychology of self and self-identity. The volumes are a decisive step in the development of his thinking, and will be essential reading for students and professionals in the areas of social and political theory, sociology, human geography and social psychology.

How does his social environment change an individual, and why do these changes occur? Can social institutions be shaped and molded profoundly enough to afford each member of a society his maximum potential for happiness, effective functioning, and complete development? In this new work a distinguished psychologist evolves a theory of personality and society designed to help guide the work of institutions responsible for individual growth and development. Drawing on his vast experience--as an educator, a prison psychologist, a practicing psychoanalyst, and as the director of major studies in child development, personality assessment, the social psychology of higher education, and alcoholism and related problems--Professor Sanford has designed a developmental model intended to guide work in institutions which mold the individual: from family through schools, colleges, child guidance clinics, and mental hospitals. With exceptional lucidity, he examines the central issues in furthering desirable change through intervention in individual and group processes. He achieves notable advances in integrating personality theory and sociological theory: he joins psychoanalytic "ego psychologists" and other personality theorists in developing a dynamic-organismic theory broader than that of classical psychoanalysis and more in keeping with contemporary social theory. The author's clear style and firm grasp of his subject add further to the significance of Self and Society. It will be a stimulating textbook in social psychology, personality, and culture, and personality, and will make indispensable reading for behavioral scientists, psychiatrists, and educators, as well as for all professionals who work to promote mental health, education and social welfare. Nevitt Sanford (1909-1995) was professor of psychology and education at Stanford University and director of the Institute for the Study of Human Problems. After leaving Stanford in 1968, he founded the Wright Institute. He has been president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, and president of the Division of Personality and Social Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He has been author or coauthor of close to 200 scholarly journals as well as more than a dozen books.

"The first edition of this book brought difficult questions about selfhood together with equally awkward issues of power and the ′social′. Not since Mead or Goffman, perhaps, had this been attempted in such a useful way, and in such an assured and accessible text... This completely reworked second edition retains all of these virtues, and takes the original analysis into new territory, not least with new chapters on gender and class... If you′re interested in identity - particularly how identity ′works′ - this book is essential reading". - Richard Jenkins, Professor of Sociology, Sheffield University "A foundational book, beautifully framed for this new century. The old theories of self and identity must be revisited in these times of global and cultural transformation. What kinds of selves are now available to us? Which theories best help us make sense out of who we are today. Burkitt brilliantly charts a path through this complex set of issues, and we owe him a huge debt for doing so". - Norman K. Denzin, Distinguished Research Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign This new, completely revised version builds on the popular success of the first edition. It seeks to answer the basic social question of ′who am I?′ by developing an understanding of self-identity as formed in social relations and social activity. Comprehensive, jargon-free and authoritative, it will be required reading on courses in self and society, identity and personality formation.

Between Self and Society explores the psychosocial dramas that galvanize six major British novels written between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The book challenges an influential misconception that has for too long hindered appreciation of the psychological novel. John Rodden argues that there should be no simplifying antithesis between psychological, “inner” conflicts (within the mind or “soul”) and institutional, “outer” conflicts (within family, class, community). Instead, it is the overarching, dramatic—yet often tortuous—relations between self and society that demand our attention. Rodden presents fresh interpretations of an eclectic group of prose fiction classics, including Tobias Smollett’s The Adventures of Roderick Random, William Godwin’s Caleb Williams, Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge, Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier, Wyndham Lewis’s Tarr, and D. H. Lawrence’s Women in Love. Far from being merely admirable experiments, let alone daring though interesting failures, these fictions are shown to possess aesthetic unity, stylistic consistency, and psychic force. Between Self and Society thus impels our careful reconsideration of novels that represent major artistic achievements, yet have been either unjustly neglected or appreciated in limiting ways that do injustice to their psychological aspects. Rodden’s vibrant discussion invites an upward revaluation of these works and encourages the full recognition of their value and significance in British literary history.