The Sociology of the Individual
Relating Self and Society
- Athanasia Chalari - University of Northampton, UK, London School of Economics & Political Science, UK
What it socialization? What is interaction? What do we mean by identity? How can we explain the notion of self? What do we mean by intra-action?
The Sociology of the Individual is an innovative and though-provoking sociological exploration of how the ideas of the individual and society relate. Expertly combining conceptual depth with clarity of style, Athanasia Chalari:
- explains the key sociological and psychological theories related to the investigation of the social and the personal
- analyses the ways that both sociology and psychology can contribute to a more complete understanding and theorising of everyday life
- uses a mix of international cases and everyday examples to encourage critical reflection.
The Sociology of the Individual is an essential read for upper level undergraduates or postgraduates looking for a deeper and more sophisticated understanding of the connection between the social world and the inner life of the individual. Perfect for modules exploring the sociology of the self, self and society, and self and identity.
Athanasia Chalari’s book focuses on the relationship between intra and interaction and the way it relates to symbolic interactionism and to other paradigms - sociotheoretical, sociopsychological and psychoanalytics. It provides new insights which can be useful to all those interested in the conceptualization and empirical investigation of the agency-structure problematic and of other key issues in theoretical and applied sociology. It will be useful not only to scholars interested on the book’s focus on the concept intra-action. By providing in a systematic manner concrete examples, it can also help undergraduate and graduate students to understand better some of the ways that the “individual” can be studied on different levels of analysis.
In The Sociology of the Individual, Chalari offers up a fascinating puzzle to the reader: how is it that we are both unique individuals and social beings at the same time? The answers to this puzzle are sought with the help of a wide range of classical and contemporary sociological and psychological approaches to the individual. Practical examples help bring this wonderful book to life and illustrate to the student the relevance of sociological and psychological theories of the self for everyday life.
The Sociology of the Individual offers a fascinating trip through an array of opinions, perspectives and theses regarding the conceptualisation of the individual and their relative position(s) in society. This approach will be beneficial for early career scholars in search of a theory most compatible with their own ideas and beliefs. It can also be useful for more experienced academics looking to get a taste, in a concise way, of some of the less familiar approaches to understanding the individual.
The book, however, will be appealing for a broader audience, including students and members of the general public with an interest in sociology, as Chalari does a brilliant job of illustrating the value of notoriously abstract concepts with specific practical examples.
Sage College Publishing
