Handbook of Cultural Sociology

Looking through this handbook, it seems that cultural sociology is the study of everything that humans do. Hall, Grindstaff and Lo, all in the sociology department of the University of California, Davis, might agree, with qualifications. They argue for a broad definition of culture with the "lifeworlds" of each individual intersecting with those of others to form a plurality of cultures. Many of the articles stress the global context of cultures now, facilitated particularly by the Internet, which has allowed the formation of transnational cultures that exist only in cyberspace. While many of the chapters are based in one theory or another, the main impression is that the methods of cultural sociology can and should be applied to every aspect of life, from elder care to music to medical practices. The editors suggest that the handbook be studied by sociology students. However, the format, with references at the end of each chapter, encourages people in every field to read relevant parts and apply them in their own work. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John R. Hall is Professor of Sociology at the University of California - Davis. His published works include Apocalypse: From Antiquity to the Empire of Modernity (Polity, 2009), Visual Worlds (Routledge, 2005, with co-editors), Sociology on Culture (Routledge, 2003, with co-authors), and Cultures of Inquiry (Cambridge University Press, 1999).

Laura Grindstaff is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California – Davis. She is the author of the award-winning Money Shot: Trash, Class, and the Making of TV Talk Shows (University of Chicago Press, 2002) and has published articles on various aspects of popular culture from reality programming to cheerleading.

Ming-Cheng Lo is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California – Davis. She is the author of Doctors within Borders: Profession, Ethnicity and Modernity in Colonial Taiwan (University of California Press, 2002). She has published various articles on the cultural processes of political and medical institutions.