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Print Price: $13.50

Format:
Paperback
144 pp.
10 b/w halftones, 111 mm x 174 mm

ISBN-13:
9780198739036

Publication date:
January 2016

Imprint: OUP UK


The Body: A Very Short Introduction

Chris Shilling

Series : Very Short Introductions

The human body is thought of conventionally as a biological entity, with its longevity, morbidity, size and even appearance determined by genetic factors immune to the influence of society or culture. Since the mid-1980s, however, there has been a rising awareness of how our bodies, and our perception of them, are influenced by the social, cultural and material contexts in which humans live.

Drawing on studies of sex and gender, education, governance, the economy, and religion, Chris Shilling demonstrates how our physical being allows us to affect the material and virtual world around us, yet also enables governments to shape and direct our thoughts and actions. Revealing how social relationships, cultural images, and technological and medical advances shape our perceptions and awareness, he exposes the limitations of traditional Western traditions of thought that elevate the mind over the body as that which defines us as human. Dealing with issues ranging from cosmetic and transplant surgery, the performance of gendered identities, the commodification of bodies and body parts, and the violent consequences of competing conceptions of the body as sacred, Shilling provides a compelling account of why body matters present contemporary societies with a series of urgent and inescapable challenges.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Readership : General readers, as well as students across the social sciences and humanities such as religion, sociology, archaeology, sports science, medicine, geography, history, social policy, and social research.

Introduction
1. Natural Bodies or Social Bodies?
2. Sexed Bodies
3. Educating Bodies
4. Governing Bodies
5. Bodies as Commodities
6. Bodies matter! Dilemmas and controversies
References and Further Reading
Index

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Chris Shilling is Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent. He has been a key figure in the development of 'body studies', and has written extensively on embodiment, body pedagogics, and sociological theory, in areas ranging from religion, to sport, education, gender, and work. His most recent books are Sociology of the Sacred. Religion, Embodiment and Social, with Philip A. Mellor (Sage Publishing Ltd, 2014), and The Body and Social Theory, 3rd Edition (Sage Publishing Ltd, 2012).

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Special Features

  • Provides a compelling introduction to the importance of the body for contemporary identities and social relationships.
  • Demonstrates how social relations, technological advances, and cultural representations shape the body and affect our understanding of body matters.
  • Explores how body matters lie at the heart of contemporary cultural and religious conflicts.
  • Examines how the body has become central to our self-identities, while also becoming subjected increasingly to economic forces.
  • Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over seven million copies sold worldwide.