The Body in Society by Alexandra Howson - 9780745654409

The Body in SocietyAn Introduction\nAuthor(s): Alexandra Howson\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Polity Press\nISBN-13: 9780745654409, 978-0745654409\nSynopsis\nIn everyday life we are not, for the most part, actively conscious of our bodies or the bodies of others we simply take them for granted. This new edition of a lively introduction to the sociology of the body examines what certain aspects of our bodies, such as the size, shape, smell and demeanour, reveal about the social organization of everyday life and how the body is crucial to the way we engage with the world and the people around us. The human body is endowed with varied forms of social significance which sociology has addressed by asking questions such as: To what degree do individuals have control over their own bodies? What interest does the state have in regulating the human body? How significant is the body to the development and performance of the self in everyday l.