The Body and Society

Few recent books can claim to be groundbreaking. The Body and Society is one of them. Originally published in 1984, it went against prevailing trends that asked sociologists to understand society in terms of abstractions such as structure, class, and function. Instead, Bryan S. Turner argued that the body should be the axis of sociological analysis. His panoramic discussion of social theory was explored and developed by a discussion of specific issues: the problems of defining the relationship between disease and health; the history of anorexia and agoraphobia; the critique of human sexuality in Christianity; the role of the human body in play and desire; and the management of sexuality in human societies. The result was a book that captured the sociological imagination worldwide and initiated a major research program on the body in contemporary culture. In this new edition, Turner updates his argument. The new preface looks back at developments since the original edition and peers forward to the questions and themes that will preoccupy sociologists of the body in years to come. This one-of-a-kind volume is essential reading for anyone working in the social sciences who is interested in the body.