Steven Threadgold – författare

The concept of everyday struggles can enliven our understanding of the lives of young people and how social class is made and remade. This book invokes a Bourdieusian spirit to think about the ways young people are pushed and pulled by the normative demands directed at them from an early age, whilst they reflexively understand that allegedly available incentives for making the ‘right’ choices and working hard – financial and familial security, social status and job satisfaction – are a declining prospect.

In Youth, Class and Everyday Struggles, the figures of those classed as ''hipsters'' and ''bogans'' are used to analyse how representation works to form a symbolic and moral economy that produces and polices fuzzy class boundaries. Further to this, the practices of young people around DIY cultures are analysed to illustrate struggles to create a satisfying and meaningful existence while negotiating between study, work and creative passions.

By thinking through different modalities of struggles, which revolve around meaning making and identity, creativity and authenticity, Threadgold brings Bourdieu’s sociological practice together with theories of affect, emotion, morals and values to broaden our understanding of how young people make choices, adapt, strategise, succeed, fail and make do.

Youth, Class and Everyday Struggles will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, of fields including: Youth Studies, Class and Inequality, Work and Careers, Subcultures, Media and Creative Industries, Social Theory and Bourdieusian Theory.

The concept of everyday struggles can enliven our understanding of the lives of young people and how social class is made and remade. This book invokes a Bourdieusian spirit to think about the ways young people are pushed and pulled by the normative demands directed at them from an early age, whilst they reflexively understand that allegedly available incentives for making the ‘right’ choices and working hard – financial and familial security, social status and job satisfaction – are a declining prospect.

In Youth, Class and Everyday Struggles, the figures of those classed as ''hipsters'' and ''bogans'' are used to analyse how representation works to form a symbolic and moral economy that produces and polices fuzzy class boundaries. Further to this, the practices of young people around DIY cultures are analysed to illustrate struggles to create a satisfying and meaningful existence while negotiating between study, work and creative passions.

By thinking through different modalities of struggles, which revolve around meaning making and identity, creativity and authenticity, Threadgold brings Bourdieu’s sociological practice together with theories of affect, emotion, morals and values to broaden our understanding of how young people make choices, adapt, strategise, succeed, fail and make do.

Youth, Class and Everyday Struggles will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as postdoctoral researchers, of fields including: Youth Studies, Class and Inequality, Work and Careers, Subcultures, Media and Creative Industries, Social Theory and Bourdieusian Theory.

Bourdieusian Prospects considers the ongoing relevance of Bourdieu''s social theory for contemporary social science. Breaking with the tendency to reflect on Bourdieu''s legacies, it brings established and emergent scholars together to debate the futures of a specifically Bourdieusian sociology. Driven by a central leitmotif in Bourdieu’s oeuvre, namely, that his work not be blindly appropriated but actively interpreted, contributors to this volume set out to map the potentials of Bourdieusian inflected social science. While for many social scientists the empirical and theoretical developments of the twenty-first century mark a limit point of Bourdieusian social theory, this collection charts both how and why a Bourdieusian sociology has a future, which is crucial for the ongoing development and roll out of an engaged, relevant and critical social science.

Bourdieusian Prospects considers the ongoing relevance of Bourdieu''s social theory for contemporary social science. Breaking with the tendency to reflect on Bourdieu''s legacies, it brings established and emergent scholars together to debate the futures of a specifically Bourdieusian sociology. Driven by a central leitmotif in Bourdieu’s oeuvre, namely, that his work not be blindly appropriated but actively interpreted, contributors to this volume set out to map the potentials of Bourdieusian inflected social science. While for many social scientists the empirical and theoretical developments of the twenty-first century mark a limit point of Bourdieusian social theory, this collection charts both how and why a Bourdieusian sociology has a future, which is crucial for the ongoing development and roll out of an engaged, relevant and critical social science.

Studying social life? This book provides an engaging, concise introduction. It covers a diverse range of theorists from the rich history of sociology and shows how thinking sociologically can help us understand our lives, the groups we are part of, and the rapid social changes and inequalities that shape contemporary societies. In this book you will encounter:

·   Compelling international examples and a range of theoretical perspectives from across the world;

·  A brand new chapter on Digital Lives, covering a range of topics from filter bubbles and memes to digital inequalities;

· The latest approaches emerging from efforts to build an inclusive global sociology, equipped for the challenges of the 21st Century.

The book is essential reading for anyone new to studying sociology and is supported by a wide range of podcasts, videos, discussion questions and further reading recommendations at thisissociology.home.blog

Studying social life? This book provides an engaging, concise introduction. It covers a diverse range of theorists from the rich history of sociology and shows how thinking sociologically can help us understand our lives, the groups we are part of, and the rapid social changes and inequalities that shape contemporary societies. In this book you will encounter:

·   Compelling international examples and a range of theoretical perspectives from across the world;

·  A brand new chapter on Digital Lives, covering a range of topics from filter bubbles and memes to digital inequalities;

· The latest approaches emerging from efforts to build an inclusive global sociology, equipped for the challenges of the 21st Century.

The book is essential reading for anyone new to studying sociology and is supported by a wide range of podcasts, videos, discussion questions and further reading recommendations at thisissociology.home.blog

This is Sociology is an engaging, concise introduction to the key concepts used for studying social life. It covers a diverse range of theorists from the rich history of sociology and shows how thinking sociologically can help us understand our lives, the groups we are part of, and the rapid social changes and inequalities that shape contemporary societies.Key features:

The book is essential reading for anyone new to studying sociology and is supported by a wide range of podcasts, videos, and discussion questions.

This is Sociology is an engaging, concise introduction to the key concepts used for studying social life. It covers a diverse range of theorists from the rich history of sociology and shows how thinking sociologically can help us understand our lives, the groups we are part of, and the rapid social changes and inequalities that shape contemporary societies.Key features:

The book is essential reading for anyone new to studying sociology and is supported by a wide range of podcasts, videos, and discussion questions.