Basil Bernstein is one of the most creative and influential of contemporary British sociologists, yet his work – especially that relating to language and social structure – is widely misunderstood and misrepresented. This book, first published in 1985, addresses the underlying themes and continuities in Bernstein’s work and portrays him as a sociologist in the Durkheimian tradition. This reissue will be of particular value to students interested in the sociology of education, language and society, anthropological linguistics and communication studies.

Basil Bernstein is one of the most creative and influential of contemporary British sociologists, yet his work – especially that relating to language and social structure – is widely misunderstood and misrepresented. This book, first published in 1985, addresses the underlying themes and continuities in Bernstein’s work and portrays him as a sociologist in the Durkheimian tradition. This reissue will be of particular value to students interested in the sociology of education, language and society, anthropological linguistics and communication studies.

First published in 1990, The Ethnographic Imagination explores how sociologists use literary and rhetorical conventions to convey their findings and arguments, and to 'persuade' their colleagues and students of the authenticity of their accounts. Looking at selected sociological texts in the light of contemporary social theory, the author analyses how their arguments are constructed and illustrated, and gives many new insights into the literary convention of realism and factual accounts.

The Giddens phenomenon has been one of the most obvious and talked about features of world sociology since the late 1960’s. This book, first published in 1992, provides a prudent and essential critical introduction to one of the leading sociologists of our time. The book is intended to provide an accessible introduction to Gidden's work and also to situate structuration theory in the context of other approaches. The reissue will be of interest to students of Sociology and those working in the other social sciences.

The volumes in this set, originally published between 1999 and 2003, draw together early works in social theory by leading sociologist Anthony Elliott. The collection covers some of his major works in the field of social theory, with a paticular focus on psychoanalysis, and social theorists within the area of sociology. The works in this set make accessible previously unavailable works from the early stages of Anthony Elliott's ongoing and prolific career to date.

Exploring Social Geography, first published in 1984, offers a challenging yet comprehensive introduction to the wealth of empirical research and theoretical debate that has developed in response to the advent of a social approach to the subject. The argument emphasises the essentially spatial structure of social interaction, and includes a succinct discussion of geographical research on segregation and interaction, which has combined numerical analyses and qualitative ethnographic field research. A distinctive view of social geography is adopted, inspired by the Chicago school of North American pragmatism, but also incorporating the formal sociological theories of Simmel and Weber. Exploring Social Geography will be of value to students of urban geography in particular. However, it will also indicate a wide-ranging and distinctive perspective for all students of the social sciences with a special interest in debates concerning urban, ethnic, racial, anthropological and theoretical issues.

The ‘other’ languages of England — those which originate in South and East Asia, and Southern and Eastern Europe — are now important parts of everyday life in urban England. First published in 1985, this book gives detailed information about which languages are in widespread use among children and adults, patterns of language use in different social contexts, the teaching of these community languages inside and outside of mainstream schools, and the educational implications of this linguistic diversity for all children in England. They authors argue that this continued and widespread bilingualism is a valuable potential resource for both the speakers and society as a whole.

First published in 1989, this book is based on detailed comparative case studies of eight firms’ responses to the recession of the early 1980s, the worst crisis for British manufacturing in the post-war period. Following these companies’ progress from 1979 to 1985, Whittington examines the various recession strategies they adopted and the consequences of these for management change and financial performance in the recovery. Drawing on the Realist social theory of Roy Bhaskar, Whittington argues that the class, gender, generation and ethnicity of the decision-makers involved in the eight case studies collectively made an impact on their strategic choices. This is a timely and practical reissue, which will be of value to students, managers and academics concerned with strategic management, developments in organizational theory, and the current economic climate.

First published in 1980, this reissue is a study of the sociology of language, which aims to bridge the gap between textbook and monograph by alternating chapters of explication and analysis. A chapter outlining a particular theory and suggesting general criticisms is followed by a chapter offering an original application of that theory. The aim of the authors is to treat text and talk as the site of specific practices which sustain or subvert particular relations between appearance and reality.

First published in 1987, this book examines mathematics school teaching from the perspective that it is a language — arguing that this can illuminate many events that occur in classes and highlight issues that may not have previously seemed important. The central concern is with the processes of communication as they are shaped by school conventions and the fact that it is mathematics being discussed. Speaking, listening, writing and reading are examined and analysed with the first half focusing on verbal interactions and the second half examining aspects of pupil written mathematics. Also explored is the nature of the mathematical writing system itself and how pupils gain access to it.