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Citing costly memory-related inconveniences suffered by average individuals, a science journalist...
Books published by Polity
Work Time
Polity |
May 8, 2012 |
200 pages
Work Time is a sociological overview of a complex web of relations that shapes much of our experience of work and life yet often goes without critical examination. Cynthia Negrey examines work time past and present, exploring structural economic change and the gender division of labor to ask: what... More Info
States of Denial
Polity |
March 5, 2001 |
344 pages
Do these phenomena have anything in common? When we deny, are we aware of what we are doing or is this an unconscious defence mechanism to protect us from unwelcome truths? How do organizations like Amnesty and Oxfam try to overcome the public's apparent indifference to distant suffering and... More Info
Science in the 20th Century and Beyond
Polity |
April 17, 2012 |
256 pages
Surveying modern developments in science from 1900 to the present day, this fascinating volume explores Einstein's new physics, the Manhattan Project, eugenics, biotechnology, the Human Genome Project and much more.
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Global Transformations
Polity |
August 8, 2003 |
624 pages
The world is changing dramatically and a vigorous public debate is under way about the nature and historical significance of these changes. At the centre of this debate lie conflicting claims about the extent, form and consequences of contemporary globalization. On the one hand there are the... More Info
Power in the Changing Global Order
Polity |
May 22, 2012 |
224 pages
Power has been compared to the weather: people discuss it all the time, but very few really understand it. This book seeks to demystify this complex concept by providing students with an incisive and engaging introduction to the shifting configurations of power in the contemporary global order.... More Info
The Dark Side of Family Communication
Polity |
July 24, 2012 |
216 pages
This text provides for the first time in book form an exploration of the communicative aspects of the darker side of family life, ranging from, for example, severe acts of violence to more subtle forms of conflict. In addition to offering a working definition of the concept of the "dark side" in... More Info
$26.95
Dignity in Adversity
Polity |
November 15, 2011 |
288 pages
The language of human rights has become the public vocabulary of our contemporary world. Ironically, as the political influence of human rights has grown, their philosophical justification has become ever more controversial. Building on a theory of discourse ethics and communicative rationality,... More Info
$23.95
Travels in China
Polity |
January 24, 2012 |
240 pages
In 1974 Roland Barthes travelled in China as part of a small delegation of distinguished French philosophers and literary figures. They arrived in China just as the last stage of the Cultural Revolution was getting underway - the campaign to criticize Lin Biao and Confucius. While they were... More Info
Media Representation and the Global Imagination
Polity |
October 23, 2012 |
296 pages
This book is a clear, systematic, original and lively account of how media representations shape the way we see our and others’ lives in a global age. It provides in-depth analysis of a range of international media representations of disaster, war, conflict, migration and celebration. The book... More Info
$26.95
Scandal and Silence
Polity |
May 22, 2012 |
280 pages
This timely and engaging book challenges the conventional wisdom on media and scandal in the United States. The common view holds that media crave and actively pursue scandals whenever they sense corruption. Scandal and Silence argues for a different perspective.
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Virilio and the Media
Polity |
September 21, 2010 |
160 pages
In books such as The Aesthetics of Disappearance, War and Cinema, The Lost Dimension, and The Vision Machine, Paul Virilio has fundamentally changed how we think about contemporary media culture. Virilio’s examinations of the connections between perception, logistics, the city, and new media... More Info
Pragmatism
Polity |
June 5, 2012 |
224 pages
Pragmatism: An Introduction provides an account of the arguments of the central figures of the most important philosophical tradition in the American history of ideas, pragmatism. This wide-ranging and accessible study explores the work of the classical pragmatists Charles Sanders Peirce, William... More Info
$21.95
Fish
Polity |
June 28, 2011 |
296 pages
Fishing has played a vital role in human history and culture. But today this key resource faces a serious crisis as most species are being overfished or fished to their very limit. Governments have tried to tackle the problem with limited success. Many of their actions have been counterproductive... More Info
The I in We
Polity |
October 23, 2012 |
240 pages
In this volume Axel Honneth deepens and develops his highly influential theory of recognition, showing how it enables us both to rethink the concept of justice and to offer a compelling account of the relationship between social reproduction and individual identity formation. Drawing on his... More Info
$23.95
Joining the Resistance
Polity |
May 31, 2011 |
140 pages
Since the publication of her landmark book In a Different Voice, Carol Gilligan has transformed the way we think about women and men and the relations between them. It was ‘the little book that started a revolution’, and with more than 800,000 copies in print it has become one of the most... More Info
Global Health Governance
Polity |
June 19, 2012 |
240 pages
In recent years the spread of diseases such as AIDS, SARS and avian flu has pushed health issues towards the top of the international agenda. Such outbreaks have serious political, economic, and social consequences and remind the world of the necessity of global cooperation in order to deal... More Info
Eve Escapes
Polity |
September 25, 2012 |
208 pages
"I get up every day with one day more," says Eve, the writer's 97-year-old mother. She is escaping into the New Life and the writer must race to catch up. As things slip away and fall into oblivion, as her mother's world and thus her own relentlessly shrinks, the writer is stunned to see for the... More Info
$26.95
A Sociology of Family Life
Polity |
June 19, 2012 |
256 pages
New kinds of intimate relationships such as post-divorce families, co-habiting couples, 'friends as family' and same-sex unions are now commonplace. This book explores the growing diversity of family life by presenting a comprehensive assessment of recent research and theory, and foregrounds new... More Info
Moscow, 1937
Polity |
September 4, 2012 |
650 pages
Moscow, 1937: the soviet metropolis at the zenith of Stalin’s dictatorship. A society utterly wrecked by a hurricane of violence. In this compelling book, the renowned historian Karl Schlögel reconstructs with meticulous care the process through which, month by month, the terrorism of a... More Info
Contemporary Health Studies
Polity |
July 31, 2012 |
320 pages
Contemporary Health Studies: An Introduction provides a lively and accessible introduction to the current issues and key debates in this area. It contains a strong, up-to-date, global, social-scientific focus examining the human experience of health particularly emphasizing its social, political... More Info
Oil
Polity |
November 13, 2012 |
200 pages
Oil pulses through our daily lives. It is the plastic we touch, the food we eat, and the way we move. Oil politics in the twentieth century was about the management of abundance, state power and market growth. The legacy of this age of plenty includes declining conventional oil reserves, volatile... More Info
On Society
Polity |
May 15, 2012 |
208 pages
'Society' is one of the most frequently used words in public life; it is also a foundational term in the social sciences. In our own time, however, the idea has never been so much in dispute and so little understood. For some critics, society is simply too consensual for a world of intensive... More Info
Social Policy
Polity |
June 19, 2012 |
176 pages
How do human societies provide for the wellbeing of their members? How far can we organise the ways in which we care for and about each other? And who should take responsibility for providing the support we all need? These are some of the fundamental questions addressed by social policy today. In... More Info
Trauma
Polity |
June 26, 2012 |
180 pages
In this book Jeffrey C. Alexander develops an original social theory of trauma and uses it to carry out a series of empirical investigations into social suffering around the globe. Alexander argues that traumas are not merely psychological but collective experiences, and that trauma work plays a... More Info
Demobilizing Irregular Forces
Polity |
July 24, 2012 |
208 pages
From Afghanistan and Sierra Leone to East Timor, the aftermath of any armed conflict presents a complex set of challenges. Whatever political agreements may have been reached, conflicts are often at risk of reigniting, and the fates of their former participants remain uncertain. Armed groups may... More Info
Letters to Hitler
Polity |
July 17, 2012 |
240 pages
Between 1925 and 1945 thousands of ordinary Germans of both sexes and all ages wrote letters to Hitler. Lost for decades, a large cache of these letters was recently discovered in the KGB Special Archive in Moscow, having been carted off to Russia by the Soviet Secret Police at the end of the war.... More Info
Contemporary Confucian Political Philosophy
Polity |
July 31, 2012 |
220 pages
Confucian political philosophy has recently emerged as a vibrant area of thought both in China and around the globe. This book provides an accessible introduction to the main perspectives and topics being debated today, and shows why Progressive Confucianism is a particularly promising approach.... More Info
On Psychoanalysis
Polity |
September 4, 2012 |
240 pages
Paul Ricoeur's Freud and Philosophy was a major reinterpretation of psychoanalysis and its philosophical significance, but Ricoeur also wrote many important articles on similar themes. This volume makes available some of his key writings on Freud and psychoanalysis: together with Freud and... More Info
Whats Wrong with the United Nations and How to Fix It
Polity |
July 31, 2012 |
288 pages
Six decades after its establishment, the United Nations and its system of related agencies and programs are perpetually in crisis. While the twentieth-century's world wars gave rise to ground-breaking efforts at international organization in 1919 and 1945, today's UN is ill-equipped to deal with... More Info
Israel / Palestine
Polity |
July 3, 2012 |
280 pages
What explains the peculiar intensity and evident intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Of all the "hot spots" in the world today, the apparently endless clash between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East seems unique in its longevity and resistance to resolution. Is this conflict really... More Info
Humanitarian Intervention
Polity |
April 10, 2012 |
240 pages
A singular development of the post Cold-War era is the use of military force to protect human beings. From Rwanda to Kosovo, Sierra Leone to East Timor, and more recently Libya to Côte d'Ivoire, soldiers have rescued some civilians in some of the world's most notorious war zones. Could more be... More Info
Knowledge
Polity |
June 26, 2012 |
224 pages
Introductions to the theory of knowledge are plentiful, but none introduce students to the most recent debates that exercise contemporary philosophers. Ian Evans and Nicholas D. Smith aim to change that. Their book guides the reader through the standard theories of knowledge while simultaneously... More Info
What Is Media Archaeology
Polity |
June 13, 2012 |
200 pages
This cutting-edge text offers an introduction to the emerging field of media archaeology and analyses the innovative theoretical and artistic methodology used to excavate current media through its past. Written with a steampunk attitude, What is Media Archaeology? examines the theoretical... More Info
Changing Difference
Polity |
September 16, 2011 |
180 pages
Translated by CAROLYN SHREAD In the post-feminist age the fact that 'woman' finds herself deprived of her 'essence' only confirms, paradoxically, a very ancient state of affairs: 'woman' has never been able to define herself in any other way than in terms of the violence done to her. Violence alone... More Info
Decadence of Industrial Democracies
Polity |
October 11, 2011 |
200 pages
Translated by Daniel Ross Bernard Stiegler is one of the most original philosophers writing today about new technologies and their implications for social, political and personal life. Drawing on sources ranging from Plato and Marx to Freud, Heidegger and Derrida, he develops a highly original... More Info
Multiculturalism
Polity |
June 18, 2013 |
193 pages
At a time when many public commentators are turning against multiculturalism in response to fears about militant Islam, immigration or social cohesion, Tariq Modood, one of the world's leading authorities on multiculturalism, provides a distinctive contribution to these debates. He contends that... More Info
Marital Communication
Polity |
December 20, 2011 |
208 pages
Marital Communication provides insight into healthy relationships for those who want to better understand key communication processes between long-term, committed, romantic partners. Writing with students, teachers, researchers, practitioners, and couples in mind, this book uses marriage as a... More Info
Handbook of Transnational Governance
Polity |
July 20, 2011 |
296 pages
When we speak of global governance today, we no longer mean simply state-to-state diplomacy, international treaties, or intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations. Alongside these ‘traditional' elements of global politics are a host of new institutions ranging from global networks of... More Info
The Material Child
Polity |
November 1, 2011 |
256 pages
Children today are growing up in an increasingly commercialised world. But should we see them as victims of manipulative marketing, or as competent participants in consumer culture? The Material Child provides a comprehensive critical overview of debates about children’s changing engagement with... More Info
Climate Change and Society
Polity |
July 12, 2011 |
200 pages
This book explores the significance of human behaviour for understanding the causes and impacts of changing climates and for assessing varied ways of responding to such changes. So far the discipline that has represented and modelled such human behaviour is economics.
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Communication in Health Organizations
Polity |
November 15, 2011 |
208 pages
Only book to date focusing on communication occurring in health organizations. Flexibility for use in different health communication courses and class formats. Breadth of research reviewed applies to exploring communication in multiple health-related disciplines.
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Health Justice
Polity |
October 14, 2011 |
288 pages
Social factors have a powerful influence on human health and longevity. Yet the social dimensions of health are often obscured in public discussions due to the overwhelming focus in health policy on medical care, individual-level risk factor research, and changing individual behaviours. Likewise,... More Info
The Triumph of Politics
Polity |
November 15, 2011 |
200 pages
The Triumph of Politics offers a comparative and historical interpretation of Venezuela's Chavez, Bolivia's Morales and Ecuador's Correa - South America's most prominent ‘21st century socialists'. It argues that the claims of these 21st century socialists should be taken seriously even though not... More Info
Free Will
Polity |
April 19, 2011 |
200 pages
These are just some of the questions considered by Joseph Keim Campbell in this lively and accessible introduction to the concept of free will. Using a range of engaging examples, the book introduces the problems, arguments, and theories surrounding free will. Beginning with a discussion of... More Info
Hayden White
Polity Press |
August 16, 2011 |
224 pages
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116 Third AvenueOttawa, Ontario, Canada
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613-233-2589
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251 Bank Street
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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613-688-0752