Abstract

'This is an impressive book by one of the leading social theorists working in the field of body studies. It provides a critical summation of theoretical and substantive work in the field to date, while also presenting a powerful. argument for a corporeal realism in which the body is both generative of the emergent properties of social structure and a location of their effects' - Ian Burkitt, Reader in Social Science, University of Bradford. This book offers the most comprehensive overview of the field to date and an innovative framework for the analysis of embodiment. It is founded on a revised view of the relation of classical works to the body. It argues that the body should be read as a multi-dimensional medium for the constitution of society. Upon this foundation, the author constructs a series of analyses of the body and the economy, culture, sociality, work, sport, music, food and technology. The book will act as a focal point for researchers, pulling together existing perspectives on the body and advancing a distinctive and compelling critical perspective based on what Shilling terms corporeal realism.