Passionate sociology

the long version

What is passionate sociology? Does sociology merit passion? Too often sociology is taught as a detached system of thought and practice. Passion is regarded as something to be avoided or treated with suspicion. Now at last we have a book that frankly argues for passion as being necessary for sociology. The text is not simply about passionate sociology, it demonstrates passionate sociology. This book deliberately sets out to excite students with an account of what sociology can achieve in helping them to understand their own lives and the social conditions of our time. Introducing and developing a number of major themes - including identity, knowledge, metaphor, magic, desire, power, everyday life and cultural mediation - Passionate Sociology argues that students should analyse these themes through practices of reading, writing, speaking, learning, storytelling, performing and organizing. The authors bring students to the subject through a controlled engagement with practical sociological ideas and ways of seeing, and thus encourage readers to participate in the creative possibilities of sociology. Their aim is to sharpen and deepen experience and move beyond the meanings of passionate sociology, beyond our present outlook.