Bourdieu’s theory of social fields is one of his key contributions to social sciences and humanities. However, it has never been subjected to genuine critical examination. This book fills that gap and offers a clear and wide-ranging introduction to the theory. It includes a critical discussion of its methodology and relevance in different subject areas in the social sciences and humanities. Part I "theoretical investigations" offers a theoretical account of the theory, while also identifying some of its limitations and discussing several strategies to overcome them. Part II "Education, culture and organization" presents the theory at work and highlights its advantages and disadvantages. The focus in Part III devoted to "The State" is on the formation and evolution of the State and public policy in different contexts. The chapters show the usefulness of field theory in describing, explaining and understanding the functioning of the State at different stages in its historical trajectory including its recent redefinition with the advent of the neoliberal age. A last chapter outlines a postcolonial use of the theory of fields.

Highlighting the conceptual work at the heart of Pierre Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology, this cutting edge collection operationalizes Bourdieusian concepts in field analysis. Offering a unique range of explorations and reflections utilizing field analysis, the eighteen chapters by prominent Bourdieusian scholars and early career scholars synthesize key insights and challenges scholars face when going ‘beyond the fields we know’. The chapters offer examples from discipline contexts as diverse as cultural studies, poetry, welfare systems, water management, education, journalism and surfing and provide demonstrations of theorizing within practical examples of field analysis. One of the foremost social philosophers and sociologists of the twentieth century, Bourdieu is widely known in cultural studies and education and his approaches are increasingly being taken up in health, social work, anthropology, family studies, journalism, communication studies and other disciplines where an analysis of the interplay between individuals and social structures is relevant. With its unique interdisciplinary focus, this book provides a useful guide to doing field analysis and working with Bourdieusian methods research, as well as key reading for methodology courses at post-graduate level.

This book presents selected extended and reviewed versions of the papers accepted for the First International Workshop on Regulated Agent Systems: Theory and Applications, RASTA 2002, held in Bologna, Italy, in July 2002, as part of AAMAS 2002. In addition, several new papers on the workshop theme are included as well; these were submitted and reviewed in response to a further call for contributions. The construction of artificial agent societies deals with questions and problems that are already known from human societies. The 16 papers in this book establish an interdisciplinary community of social scientists and computer scientists devoting their research interests to exploiting social theories for the construction and regulation of multi-agent systems.

Explores the tremendous discoveries historical archaeologists have made about English life in the Americas during the seventeenth century.

Interpreting the voices of under three year olds is central to early childhood education. Yet entering into their life-worlds is fraught with challenges and unrealised possibilities. This ground-breaking book generates a dialogue about the multiple ways researchers have exploited a range of methods for approaching, accessing, understanding and interpreting infant voice. Each chapter explores the kinds of ethical considerations and dilemmas that may arise in this process. The book itself represents a chorus of international voices (researchers, children, teachers and parents), all adding to a discussion about various circumstances, dilemmas and possibilities involved in doing research with our youngest. This book is an essential read for researchers and teachers alike who seek to 'listen' and 'see' very young children with fresh ears and eyes.

Explains that international law is not a monolith but can encompass on-going contestation, in which states set forth competing interpretations Maps and explains the cross-country differences in international legal norms in various fields of international law and their application and interpretation in different geographic regions Organized into three broad thematic sections of conceptual matters, domestic institutions and comparative international law, and comparing approaches across issue-areas Chapters authored by contributors who include top international law and comparative law scholars all from diverse backgrounds, experience, and perspectives.

Awareness of peer-on-peer abuse is on the rise and is a matter of increasing international concern. Abuse Between Young People: A Contextual Account is the first book to offer a contextualised narrative of peer-on-peer abuse that moves beyond recognising an association between environments and individual choice, and illustrates the ways in which such interplay occurs. Using both sociological and feminist perspectives, Firmin reshapes the way that peer-on-peer abuse is perceived and investigates the effect of gendered social context on the nature of abuse between young people. This text also uses an in-depth case study to explore associations between abusive incidents and young people’s homes, peer groups, schools and neighbourhoods, in addition to broader societal influences such as pornography and politics. National and international policies are woven into each chapter, along with insights from parenting programmes, the troubled families’ agenda, and bullying and community safety policies. Abuse Between Young People presents a clear insight into the various contexts that affect the nature of peer-on-peer abuse, providing a thorough analysis into the debates on this issue. In so doing, Firmin creates a vital contextual approach to safeguarding young people affected by this issue. It is invaluable reading for students and researchers in social work, education, criminology, sociology and psychology, as well as practitioners and policymakers concerned with the protection of young people.