Sara Delamont – författare

* Is it true that women have changed and men have not?* Is feminism still relevant?* Are men the new underclass?There is an enormous social science and wider literature on women, and a rapidly growing one on men and masculinity. The cliche that women have changed and men have not is well worn, yet no single text has established the truth behind this claim. Through a thorough examination of research evidence, this volume subjects that cliche to a tough, sceptical sociological analysis. Changing Women, Unchanged Men? compares the experiences of males and females in childhood, adolescence and adulthood within the main spheres of life - for example the family, education and work - and examines the issues of self, body, sexuality, and identity. For each sphere the key questions 'Have women changed? Have men stayed the same?' are posed, within the context of current sociological debates on social change.

In Ethnographic Engagements: Encounters with the Familiar and the Strange Delamont and Atkinson, each with over 40 years of experience as ethnographers, present strategies for designing, conducting and publishing research that contributes original insights.Ethnography is a core qualitative research method, widely used across the social sciences. However, producing good, interesting and thought-provoking ethnography is never easy. This book provides effective research strategies for combatting familiarity in the context of empirical fieldwork. The authors rehearse ways that challenge the ethnographer to avoid taken-for-granted ideas, and to make the familiar strange. The book covers the cycle of research from research questions to publication and leaving the field and brings together the central themes of their life’s work in one clearly written volume.This book is aimed at researchers at postgraduate level and beyond, their supervisors and principal investigators, and at experienced investigators who want to improve their thinking. Any ethnographer will find ideas and proposals to help them reflect self-critically and creatively about their research practice.

In Ethnographic Engagements: Encounters with the Familiar and the Strange Delamont and Atkinson, each with over 40 years of experience as ethnographers, present strategies for designing, conducting and publishing research that contributes original insights.Ethnography is a core qualitative research method, widely used across the social sciences. However, producing good, interesting and thought-provoking ethnography is never easy. This book provides effective research strategies for combatting familiarity in the context of empirical fieldwork. The authors rehearse ways that challenge the ethnographer to avoid taken-for-granted ideas, and to make the familiar strange. The book covers the cycle of research from research questions to publication and leaving the field and brings together the central themes of their life’s work in one clearly written volume.This book is aimed at researchers at postgraduate level and beyond, their supervisors and principal investigators, and at experienced investigators who want to improve their thinking. Any ethnographer will find ideas and proposals to help them reflect self-critically and creatively about their research practice.

Appetites and Identities is a clear, inviting and fascinating introduction to the social anthropology of western Europe. It covers food, migration, politics, urban and country life, magic, religion, sex and language in an accessible and straightforward fashion, introducing the student to aspects of the anthropology of contemporary European culture from mussel farmers in the Netherlands to Basque chambermaids in Lourdes, and from unhappy bachelors in western Ireland to unwitchers in Portugal.Avoiding the technical language of many anthropological textbooks, Appetites and Identities sets out the anthropological literature on the rich diversity of dialects, cultures and everyday lives of western European people, offering fascinating insights on how each region and community differs from its counterparts despite the notion of an integrated Europe. The book will stimulate curiosity about social anthropological investigation, and about life in Europe today.

Appetites and Identities is a clear, inviting and fascinating introduction to the social anthropology of western Europe. It covers food, migration, politics, urban and country life, magic, religion, sex and language in an accessible and straightforward fashion, introducing the student to aspects of the anthropology of contemporary European culture from mussel farmers in the Netherlands to Basque chambermaids in Lourdes, and from unhappy bachelors in western Ireland to unwitchers in Portugal.Avoiding the technical language of many anthropological textbooks, Appetites and Identities sets out the anthropological literature on the rich diversity of dialects, cultures and everyday lives of western European people, offering fascinating insights on how each region and community differs from its counterparts despite the notion of an integrated Europe. The book will stimulate curiosity about social anthropological investigation, and about life in Europe today.

This collection of papers draws on insights from social anthropology to illuminate historical material, and presents a set of closely integrated studies on the inter-connections between feminism and medical, social and educational ideas in the nineteenth century.Throughout the book evidence from both the USA and UK shows that feminists had to operate in a restricting and complex social environment in which the concept of "the lady" and the ideal of the saintly mother defined the nineteenth-century woman’s cultural and physical world.

Schools reflect the society which surrounds them but they must also be agents of change. The last few decades have seen an explosion of research on gender and education and, in this volume the author examines in a rigorous but highly accessible way, new research findings and new strategies for change, continuing to argue that both sexes lose out from sexist schooling.

Focusing on pupils moving from primary to middle or secondary school, it describes and evaluates the schools’ programmes to ease transfer, and includes material provided by the pupils themselves. The main body of the book is a rich and detailed account of the first months of life in new secondary schools, where the pleasures and perils of new friends, new teachers and new subjects, and a new approach to teaching are encountered. The book conveys vividly how pupils experience a new environment, and meet its dangers, rules and regulations, timetable, complex groupings and ideology.Inside the Secondary Classroom was the first comparative ethnography of school life in Britain, carried out in six schools. It reveals surprising similarities and differences between them.The cases studied range from highly successful pupils with nine ‘O’ levels to others with severe social and personal problems.

Focusing on pupils moving from primary to middle or secondary school, it describes and evaluates the schools’ programmes to ease transfer, and includes material provided by the pupils themselves. The main body of the book is a rich and detailed account of the first months of life in new secondary schools, where the pleasures and perils of new friends, new teachers and new subjects, and a new approach to teaching are encountered. The book conveys vividly how pupils experience a new environment, and meet its dangers, rules and regulations, timetable, complex groupings and ideology.Inside the Secondary Classroom was the first comparative ethnography of school life in Britain, carried out in six schools. It reveals surprising similarities and differences between them.The cases studied range from highly successful pupils with nine ‘O’ levels to others with severe social and personal problems.

This collection of papers draws on insights from social anthropology to illuminate historical material, and presents a set of closely integrated studies on the inter-connections between feminism and medical, social and educational ideas in the nineteenth century.Throughout the book evidence from both the USA and UK shows that feminists had to operate in a restricting and complex social environment in which the concept of "the lady" and the ideal of the saintly mother defined the nineteenth-century woman’s cultural and physical world.

How has feminism influenced contemporary educational practices? Is feminism relevant to today's teachers? Feminism and the Classroom Teacher undertakes a feminist analysis of the work and everyday realities of the school teacher, providing evidence that feminism is still relevant as a way of thinking about the social work and as a lived reality.Providing a unique contribution to the literature in the area of gender and education, the authors' objective is to articulate the educational discourses of gender - how gender is constructed, performed and sustained through discourse and material practices. The overall aim of the book is to ascertain the extent to which women teachers specifically, and the feminist project more generally, have contributed to theoretical understandings and practical accomplishments of teaching.

How has feminism influenced contemporary educational practices? Is feminism relevant to today's teachers? Feminism and the Classroom Teacher undertakes a feminist analysis of the work and everyday realities of the school teacher, providing evidence that feminism is still relevant as a way of thinking about the social work and as a lived reality.Providing a unique contribution to the literature in the area of gender and education, the authors' objective is to articulate the educational discourses of gender - how gender is constructed, performed and sustained through discourse and material practices. The overall aim of the book is to ascertain the extent to which women teachers specifically, and the feminist project more generally, have contributed to theoretical understandings and practical accomplishments of teaching.

Richly illustrated with case studies and interviews, this book identifies key themes pervading academic life: the nature of research and research supervision; key social processes and problems; distinct and contrasting sub-cultures of departments and disciplines in universities; mentorship and sponsorship; and apprenticeship and rites of passage for postgraduate students. Anyone developing policy and practice in Higher Education, or wishing to understand their own position within the wider picture will benefit from reading this book.

Key Themes in Qualitative Research is an attempt by three well-respected ethnographic researchers to present a balanced view of qualitative methodology and research. The book is structured around classic texts, written by methodological pioneers, which comprise the basic foundation of modern qualitative research. The authors examine key premises in these texts, such as intimacy, advocacy, and validity, and how they may be supported, redesigned, or made problematic in today's field. This allows for a critical analysis of Old Guard vs. Avant-Garde ideas and provides for the reader a guide to wade through the proliferation of texts and theories available since the postmodern turn. While not designed as a primer in qualitative research methods, anyone with modest experience in the field should find this book extremely useful.

In Contours of Culture the authors discuss the uses of various ethnographic methods in the study of culture, drawing on their field research with an opera company, Welsh artists, and classes on the popular Brazilian martial art capoeira. In their practical research and in the research of other scolars, they encounter complex problems and themes that often require new ways of organizing and conceiving cultural material, and even new ways of giving expression to phenomena that are only partially understood. This book is not only about the inherent complexities involved in ethnography; it is also about the kinds of opportunities available to researchers immersed in this complexity and how they might grasp cultural settings in their entirety.

In Contours of Culture the authors discuss the uses of various ethnographic methods in the study of culture, drawing on their field research with an opera company, Welsh artists, and classes on the popular Brazilian martial art capoeira. In their practical research and in the research of other scolars, they encounter complex problems and themes that often require new ways of organizing and conceiving cultural material, and even new ways of giving expression to phenomena that are only partially understood. This book is not only about the inherent complexities involved in ethnography; it is also about the kinds of opportunities available to researchers immersed in this complexity and how they might grasp cultural settings in their entirety.

`I wish the Handbook of Ethnography had been available to me as a fledgling ethnographer. I would recommend it for any graduate student who contemplates a career in the field. Likewise for experienced ethnographers who would like the equivalent of a world atlas to help pinpoint their own locations in the field, the Handbook of Ethnography is it' - Journal of Contemporary Ethnography

`This wonderful Handbook establishes the central, and complex place ethnography now occupies in the human disciplines. All future work will begin here' - Norman K Denzin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

`A marvellous achievement! The Handbook has all the marks of a winner - compelling writing, comprehensive coverage and very useful discussions. This is a real benchmark for ethnography. It will set the background for debate and point to new directions for years to come. My graduate students will love it' - Jaber F Gubrium, University of Florida, Gainesville

`The Handbook of Ethnography compiles invaluable, original, critical essays on ethnographic work, earning it a place on everyone's must-have bookshelf' - Virginia Olesen, University of California, San Francisco

`The Handbook is a remarkable synthesis of existing thinking in and around ethnography' - Forum for Qualitative Social Research - follow the link below to read the complete review

`No self-respecting qualitative researcher should be without Paul Atkinson (et al's) handbook on ethnography. This really is encyclopaedic in concept and scope. Many "big names" in the field have contributed so this has to be the starting point for anyone looking to understand the field in substantive topic, theoretical tradition and methodology. The chapters on visual ethnography and semiotics expand the field marvellously, while those on field notes and on ethics are accomplished surveys of the field' - SRA News

Ethnography is one of the chief research methods in sociology, anthropology and other cognate disciplines in the social sciences. This Handbook provides an unparalleled, critical guide to its principles and practice.

The volume is organized into three sections. The first systematically locates ethnography firmly in its relevant historical and intellectual contexts. The roots of ethnography are pinpointed and the pattern of its development is demonstrated.

The second section examines the contribution of ethnography to major fields of substantive research. The impact and strengths and weaknesses of ethnographic method are dealt with authoritatively and accessibly.

The third section moves on to examine key debates and issues in ethnography, from the conduct of research through to contemporary arguments.

The result is a landmark work in the field, which draws on the expertise of an internationally renowned group of interdisicplinary scholars. The Handbook of Ethnography provides readers with a one-stop critical guide to the past, present and future of ethnography. It will quickly establish itself as the ethnographer's bible.

`Sara Delamont eloquently explores the impact of feminism on sociology and powerfully argues that it has been marginalised. A "must read" for all sociologists searching for a complete account of the development of the discipline' - Emma Wincup, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent at Canterbury

`This is a model of what a textbook should be, for Delamont states what she intends to do, does it with clarity, summarises succinctly and provides interesting and pertinent references' - Sociological Research Online

This book explores the achievements of British feminist sociology in theory, methods and empirical research. It outlines the barriers to the development of feminism and explores contemporary challenges. It provides an unrivalled guide to the origins of feminism in the discipline of sociology, analyses the uneasy relationships between feminists and the founding fathers and elucidates the opportunities and challenges presented by post-modernism. The book was written in the spirit of trying to be even-handed in its discussion of the various schools of feminism. It draws on a variety of empirical areas, from science to stratification and from healths and illness to the professions to illustrate the depth and vitality of feminist perspectives.

Published in 1995, this book comprises a group of original studies in education. It includes detailed empirically-based accounts of a variety of educational settings which are under represented in the sociological literature, for instance special schools, psychiatric adolescent units, further education colleges and government policy settings. Studies of other neglected issues include teachers’ understandings of subject, the promotion of cross curricular themes and pupils’ acquisition of knowledge about menstruation. Ethnographic fieldwork in Maltese classrooms and a study of Asian pupils in a Welsh school provide an international dimension to the volume. Most contributions draw on ethnographic approaches and by using close observation and / or in-depth interviews they capture the internal workings of a classroom, institution or culture.

Published in 1995, this book comprises a group of original studies in education. It includes detailed empirically-based accounts of a variety of educational settings which are under represented in the sociological literature, for instance special schools, psychiatric adolescent units, further education colleges and government policy settings. Studies of other neglected issues include teachers’ understandings of subject, the promotion of cross curricular themes and pupils’ acquisition of knowledge about menstruation. Ethnographic fieldwork in Maltese classrooms and a study of Asian pupils in a Welsh school provide an international dimension to the volume. Most contributions draw on ethnographic approaches and by using close observation and / or in-depth interviews they capture the internal workings of a classroom, institution or culture.

Published in 1983, this second edition builds on the success of the first edition which provided the first sociological account of classroom life. In the seven years between editions great activity and interest in classroom studies ensued, the author therefore revised and expanded her text to accommodate further material. In this book the reader is taken into a variety of classrooms, shown the methods and techniques of classroom observation and encouraged to get behind the deceptively familiar façade. Attention is paid to the context of the classroom, to teacher and pupil careers, and to the curriculum. At the heart of the book is an emphasis on understanding how the participants make sense of classroom life.

Published in 1983, this second edition builds on the success of the first edition which provided the first sociological account of classroom life. In the seven years between editions great activity and interest in classroom studies ensued, the author therefore revised and expanded her text to accommodate further material. In this book the reader is taken into a variety of classrooms, shown the methods and techniques of classroom observation and encouraged to get behind the deceptively familiar façade. Attention is paid to the context of the classroom, to teacher and pupil careers, and to the curriculum. At the heart of the book is an emphasis on understanding how the participants make sense of classroom life.

Published in 1996, this volume includes the presidential address of Sara Delamont, the first female President of Bera written and presented in 1984. The book also includes a selection of papers on gender and education. Topics covered include: female pupils’ experiences, resistance to sex equality messages, science education for girls and women in universities. Providing historical and sociological perspectives on gender and education this book will interest sociologists, anthropologists, and those in the field of education.This book was originally published as part of the Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research series edited by Paul Atkinson, Sara Delamont and Amanda Coffey. The series publishes original sociological research that reflects the tradition of qualitative and ethnographic inquiry developed at Cardiff. The series includes monographs reporting on empirical research, edited collections focussing on particular themes, and texts discussing methodological developments and issues.

Published in 1996, this volume includes the presidential address of Sara Delamont, the first female President of Bera written and presented in 1984. The book also includes a selection of papers on gender and education. Topics covered include: female pupils’ experiences, resistance to sex equality messages, science education for girls and women in universities. Providing historical and sociological perspectives on gender and education this book will interest sociologists, anthropologists, and those in the field of education.This book was originally published as part of the Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research series edited by Paul Atkinson, Sara Delamont and Amanda Coffey. The series publishes original sociological research that reflects the tradition of qualitative and ethnographic inquiry developed at Cardiff. The series includes monographs reporting on empirical research, edited collections focussing on particular themes, and texts discussing methodological developments and issues.

Originally published in 1980 The Sociology of Women: An Introduction aimed to provide a sociological, biographically organised portrait of women written from a feminist perspective. It was the first self-contained analytical textbook treatment to present an account of the situation of women in modern Britain that was informed by sociological research. At the same time, it remained a straightforward and elementary text in the sense that it assumed no previous knowledge and is written throughout with the beginning student in mind; it provided a lively, thorough and realistic introduction to a range of sociological issues and problems; it is abundantly illustrated by examples from research findings and views women always in the context of the wider society around them; nor does it shirk controversial questions.The book opens with a short chapter on sex and gender, then traces women’s lives as they grow from childhood through to old age. There are chapters on childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in the first part of the book, which deals principally with the home, the school and friendship patterns. In part two the focus shifts to the adult lives of women. The chapters here are on work, illness and deviance; on class and community; on politics, leisure and religion; and on motherhood and old age. An important feature of the book will be the extensive guidance it provides on further reading and the inclusion of a full bibliography of material on women’s lives.

Originally published in 1980 The Sociology of Women: An Introduction aimed to provide a sociological, biographically organised portrait of women written from a feminist perspective. It was the first self-contained analytical textbook treatment to present an account of the situation of women in modern Britain that was informed by sociological research. At the same time, it remained a straightforward and elementary text in the sense that it assumed no previous knowledge and is written throughout with the beginning student in mind; it provided a lively, thorough and realistic introduction to a range of sociological issues and problems; it is abundantly illustrated by examples from research findings and views women always in the context of the wider society around them; nor does it shirk controversial questions.The book opens with a short chapter on sex and gender, then traces women’s lives as they grow from childhood through to old age. There are chapters on childhood, adolescence and early adulthood in the first part of the book, which deals principally with the home, the school and friendship patterns. In part two the focus shifts to the adult lives of women. The chapters here are on work, illness and deviance; on class and community; on politics, leisure and religion; and on motherhood and old age. An important feature of the book will be the extensive guidance it provides on further reading and the inclusion of a full bibliography of material on women’s lives.

In Knowledgeable Women, originally published in 1989, Sara Delamont traces the history of women's education and the elites it produces. She examines class and gender divisions in the structure and contest of education in Britain and the USA from 1850 to 1989. Her empirical focus is of course elites – especially elite women – but the justification for this is the belief that sociologists should study the powerful as well as the poor and powerless. Above all, Delamont argues the case for the relevance to sociology of a serious study of women, their schooling and professional training, and their struggle to enter the professions.She also encourages a broader focus to the sociology of education itself, viewing her subject from an anthropological structuralist perspective and encouraging the inclusion of anti-sexist ideas and material from other areas of sociology such as the study of science and stratification. She demonstrates for the first time the relevance to education of structuralist theorists such as Mary Douglas.Knowledgeable Women is a structuralist and feminist challenge to the sociology of education by an author highly regarded in Britain and the USA. It offers a non-sexist, structuralist, fully sociological sociology of education.

In Knowledgeable Women, originally published in 1989, Sara Delamont traces the history of women's education and the elites it produces. She examines class and gender divisions in the structure and contest of education in Britain and the USA from 1850 to 1989. Her empirical focus is of course elites – especially elite women – but the justification for this is the belief that sociologists should study the powerful as well as the poor and powerless. Above all, Delamont argues the case for the relevance to sociology of a serious study of women, their schooling and professional training, and their struggle to enter the professions.She also encourages a broader focus to the sociology of education itself, viewing her subject from an anthropological structuralist perspective and encouraging the inclusion of anti-sexist ideas and material from other areas of sociology such as the study of science and stratification. She demonstrates for the first time the relevance to education of structuralist theorists such as Mary Douglas.Knowledgeable Women is a structuralist and feminist challenge to the sociology of education by an author highly regarded in Britain and the USA. It offers a non-sexist, structuralist, fully sociological sociology of education.

Schools reflect the society which surrounds them but they must also be agents of change. The last few decades have seen an explosion of research on gender and education and, in this volume the author examines in a rigorous but highly accessible way, new research findings and new strategies for change, continuing to argue that both sexes lose out from sexist schooling.