Wednesday 16:00-16:30
Laurie Taylor discusses the latest social science research.
25 January 2006
COMMUNITIES IN THE MIND
Sociologists have been trying to make sense of communities for decades. What accounts for the decline of local solidarities and a 'sense of community'?
Laurie Taylor talks to Ray Pahl, Research Professor in Sociology at Essex University and Chris Phillipson, Professor of Applied Social Studies and Social Gerontology at Keele University about the ways in which social networks have become less locality bound and less close-knit over the years. They discuss why people now seem to be turning more and more to friends and family to provide emotional and practical support.
CREOLISATION
One of the most prominent and growing characteristics of the global age is, arguably, cultural complexity. There have been many attempts to find new understandings of the diverse societies in which we now live. New research suggests that one way of understanding this diversity and complexity is through the lens of 'creolization' and 'hybridity' - by examining what it means to be Creole and how this informs our notions of mixed identities.
Laurie Taylor is joined by Robin Cohen, Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick, to discuss the value of these concepts and their potential for describing our complex world.
Additional information:
Professor Ray Pah, Research Professor in Sociology at Essex University
Are all communities communities in the mind? The Sociological Review 2005 (November edition)
Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Chris Phillipson, Professor of Applied Social Studies and Social Gerontology at Keele University
Professor Robin Cohen, ESRC Professorial Research Fellow and Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick
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