Stretching the Sociological Imagination: Essays in Honour of John Eldridge [Hardcover]

This edited collection calls for renewed attention to the concept of the sociological imagination, allowing social scientists to link private issues to public troubles. Inspired by the eminent Glasgow-based sociologist, John Eldridge, it re-engages with the concept and shows how it can be applied to analyzing society today.

This collection is evidence of why the British Sociological Association awarded John Eldridge a Distinguished Service to British Sociology Award. Following the themes of his work, it offers a series of original essays on the sociology of work and industry, social theory and the sociology of the media. Characteristically, Eldridge himself is a generous contributor to the collective enterprise. Reading these essays will remind established practitioners and show new readers why we value our discipline of sociology. - Lynn Jamieson, University of Edinburgh, UK

This is sociology at its best: a provocative, informed, clearly-written collection of essays which throws exciting new light on such diverse areas as industry, the mass media, and social theory. In all these respects this volume is a wonderfully appropriate tribute to John Eldridge, a sociologist whose enduring modesty is matched by an absolute commitment to an imaginative sociology that can translate private troubles into public issues. Not that you need to know John Eldridge or his work to appreciate these essays in his honour. His influence and inspiration and breadth of scholarship inform every chapter. - Laurie Taylor, Host of BBC Radio 4's Thinking Allowed

This book is a rare treat constituting as it does a collection of specially commissioned writings to honour John Eldridge's contribution to British and indeed world sociology. All of the chapters are written by scholars who have either worked with or been mentored by John in his long and distinguished career. The three main sections of the book cover the Sociology of Work and Industry, SolÓ"