Liquid Sociology: Metaphor in Zygmunt Bauman's Analysis of Modernity

by Mark Davis, Stjepan Mestrovic

Overview

Each chapter in this unique collection takes seriously Bauman’s analysis of modernity as ‘liquid’, throwing new light upon global social problems, as well as opening up a space for assessing the nature of Bauman’s contribution to sociology, and for understanding what may be gained and lost by embracing an artistic sensibility within the social sciences. With contributions from internationally renowned scholars, this book will appeal to all those interested in Bauman’s work, especially within sociology, social, political and cultural theory, and to anyone curious about the value of metaphor in interpreting the social world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781409473862
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	12/28/2013
Series:	Classical and Contemporary Social Theory
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Mark Davis is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Leeds, UK. He is the founder and Director of the Bauman Institute, the author of Freedom and Consumerism: A Critique of Zygmunt Bauman’s Sociology and co-editor of Bauman’s Challenge: Sociological Issues for the Twenty-First Century.

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction: liquid sociology - what for?, Mark Davis; Blurring genres: a conversation with Zygmunt Bauman on metaphors, science versus art, fiction and other tricks of the trade, Michael Hviid Jacobsen; Bauman's challenge: metaphors and metaphormoses, Anthony Bryant; Bauman’s travels: metaphors of the token and the wilderness, Kieran Flanagan; ‘Welcome to the Hotel California’: Bauman and Virilio on utopia, dystopia, and globalisation, Mark Featherstone; The Heineken effect: Bauman, Baudrillard and Žižek as metaphorical thinkers of liquidity, Paul A. Taylor; On the liquidity of evil: modernity and the dissolution of ethics in Bauman’s social theory, Ross Abbinnett; Strangers, ‘others’ and the unstable metaphors of race representation in liquid modernity: the case of the gypsy weddings, Simon Weaver; Risk, nichtwissen and fear: searching for solidity in liquid times?, Gabe Mythen and Sandra Walklate; From ‘solid’ producers and consumers to ‘liquid’ prosumers, George Ritzer and P.J. Rey; The question of a sociological poetics: metaphors, models and theory, Janet Wolff; 'Metaphormosis: on the metaphoricity of Zygmunt Bauman’s social theory, Michael Hviid Jacobsen; Conclusion - liquid sociology, Peter Beilharz; Index.