Table Of ContentCONTENTS i
Thinking Sociologically
THINKING
E 2
DIND
TI
O
N
SOCIOLOGICALLY
Zygmunt Bauman and Tim May
© 1990, 2001 by Zygmunt Bauman and Tim May
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA
108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 IJF, UK
550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
The right of Zygmunt Bauman and Tim May to be identified as the Authors of this Work
has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs,
and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published 1990 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Second edition published 2001
Reprinted 2002, 2003, 2004
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bauman, Zygmunt.
Thinking sociologically / Zygmunt Bauman and Tim May. - 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-631-21928-5 (alk. paper)-ISBN 0-631-21929-3 (pb.: alk. paper)
I. Sociology. I. May, Tim. II. Title.
HM51.B364 2001
301-dc21
00-069768
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
Set in 10 on 12 pt Times
by Ace Filmsetting Ltd, Frome, Somerset
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom
by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
For further information on
Blackwell Publishing, visit our website:
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com
c o n t e n t s
Preface to the Second Edition vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: The Discipline of Sociology 1
PART ONE Action, Identity and Understanding in Everyday Life 15
1 Oneself with Others 17
2 Viewing and Sustaining our Lives 28
3 The Bonds that Unite: Speaking of ‘We’ 43
PART TWO Living our Lives: Challenges, Choices and
Constraints 57
4 Decisions and Actions: Power, Choice and Moral Duty 59
5 Making it Happen: Gifts, Exchange and Intimacy in
Relationships 78
6 Care of our Selves: The Body, Health and Sexuality 93
7 Time, Space and (Dis)Order 109
8 Drawing Boundaries: Culture, Nature, State and Territory 125
9 The Business in Everyday Life: Consumption,
Technology and Lifestyles 147
vi CONTENTS
PART THREE Looking Back and Looking Forward 163
10 Thinking Sociologically 165
Questions for Reflection and Further Reading 181
Index 190
CONTENTS vii
p r e f a c e t o t h e s e c o n d
e d i t i o n
Writing the second edition of a book which was originally written by
Zygmunt Bauman was a task that I approached with some trepidation.
The original, after all, was written in a distinctive style that was attractive
to numerous readers in several languages. At the same time, Zygmunt felt
that a new, updated edition would benefit from my input. In the face of
this, quite how I was to preserve this uniqueness, while adding my own
materials, was bound to require some care.
The end result is a totally revised and expanded edition. Original chap-
ters have been altered and we have introduced new ones, whilst materials
have been added throughout the entire text: for example, on health and
fitness, intimacy, time, space and disorder, risk, globalization, organiza-
tions and new technologies. In the end, both of us believe that we have
produced a book that maintains the best parts of the first edition, but adds
to it in ways that significantly improve its overall appeal.
We are both concerned that Thinking Sociologically is attractive to a
wide audience. In terms of those who are studying sociology, we have
sought to anticipate the different topics that are taught within the curricu-
lum, while writing in a way that we hope is illuminating to practising
social scientists in general. We are also keen that the book appeals to a
wider audience who may wish to learn more of a discipline that is gaining
greater attention for the insights it offers into society and social relations.
For us, the reasons for this are clear: sociology provides a valuable and
often neglected perspective on the issues that face us all in the twenty-
first century.
As two sociologists, separated by two generations, we are both de-
voted to our subject in terms of the understanding it offers for making
sense of our experiences within the social environments we inhabit. Think-
ing sociologically not only helps us in our understanding of each other
and ourselves, but also offers important explanations for the dynamics of
viii PREFACEC TOON TTEHNET SSECOND EDITION
societies and social relations in general. We hope, therefore, that you will
emerge from reading this book and agree with us that sociology is an
illuminating, exciting, practical and challenging discipline.
