Sociology

This book examines how pathologising ideas of failing, chaotic and dysfunctional families create a powerful consensus that Britain is in the grip of a ‘parent crisis’ and are used to justify increasingly punitive state policies.

Using history, artistic practice, writing, poetry, autobiography and collaborative ethnography, this book literally and figuratively re-imagines a place, presenting a ‘how to’ for researchers interested in community collaborative research and accessing alternative ways of knowing and voices in marginalised communities.

Covering a wide range of subjects from non-resident fathers to father engagement in child protection, this major contribution to the field offers unique insights into how to research fathers and fatherhood in contemporary society.

Between 1880 and 1920 many women researched the conditions of social and economic life in Western countries, driven by a vision of a society based on welfare and altruism. Ann Oakley uses the women’s stories to bring together the histories of social reform, social science, welfare and pacifism.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. This book presents evidence from over 40 countries that shows how single parents face a triple bind of inadequate resources, employment and policies, which in combination further complicate their lives.

This edited volume investigates the changing patterns of labour market and unemployment policies in EU member states during the period since the politics of austerity took hold in 2010.

An international comparison of labour markets, migrant professionals and immigration policies, and their interaction in relation to social work.

Drawing on evidence from across Europe, Asia and the USA, this accessible book covers how social workers can engage with research and draw on it in practice.

What can we learn about our society and the need to listen to each other in order to make sense of Brexit within a wider world? This accessible book addresses the causes and implications of Brexit, exploring the anger against political elites as people felt estranged from a political process that no longer expressed their will.

Throughout history there has always been an ‘other’, often based on culture, race, gender or class, that has been demonised by the majority. Whitehead challenges the idea that this is an inevitable fact of life. This important book offers a resolution that benefits society as a whole rather than just the powerful few.

This collection explores the roles of emotion, violence, uncertainty, identity and positionality in doing research in and on conflict zones, as well as the complexity of methodological choices. It presents a nuanced view of conflict research that addresses the uncomfortable spaces of conflict research and the need for reflection on these issues.

A critical analysis of the domino effect of neoliberalism and austerity on social work. Applying theory including those of Bourdieu and Wacquant to practice, it argues that social work should return to a focus on relational and community approaches.