Work and Society: Sociological Approaches, Themes and Methods

Work and Society is an important new text about the sociology of work and employment. It provides both undergraduate and postgraduate students of sociology, business and politics, with a firm and enjoyable foundation to this fascinating area of sociology, giving comprehensive coverage of traditional areas of the sub-discipline as well as new trends and developments.

The book is divided into three complementary and interconnected sections – investigating work, work and social change and understanding work. These sections allow readers to explore themes, issues and approaches by examining how sociologists have thought about, and researched work and how the sub-discipline has been influenced by wider society itself. Novel features include separate chapters on researching work, domestic work, unemployment and work, and the representation of work in literary and visual media.

Tim Strangleman is a Reader in Sociology at the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, where he teaches and researches the sociology of work. Areas of interest include work identity and meaning, deindustrialisation, nostalgia, and visual methods and approaches.

Tracey Warren is Associate Professor and Reader in Sociology, University of Nottingham. Her research interests lie in the sociologies of work and employment, and of social divisions.

1. Introduction Section 1: Investigating Work 2. Theory and Work 3. Researching Work 4. Representations of Work Section 2: Work and Social Change 5. Work and Industrial Society 6. Work and Post Industrial Society Section 3: Understanding Work 7. Divisions at Work 8. Controlling Work 9. Time and Work 10. Domestic Work 11. Unemployment and Work 12. Culture, Emotion and Identity at Work 13. Conclusion