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Sociology

    Michèle Lamont on The Sociology of Inequality

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    Michèle Lamont on The Sociology of Inequality - Durable Inequality by Charles Tilly

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    Durable Inequality
    by Charles Tilly

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    Michèle Lamont on The Sociology of Inequality - Engines of Anxiety by Michael Sauder & Wendy Espeland

    2

    Engines of Anxiety
    by Michael Sauder & Wendy Espeland

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    Michèle Lamont on The Sociology of Inequality - Paying for the Party by Elizabeth Armstrong & Laura Hamilton

    3

    Paying for the Party
    by Elizabeth Armstrong & Laura Hamilton

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    Michèle Lamont on The Sociology of Inequality - Creating a Class by Mitchell Stevens

    4

    Creating a Class
    by Mitchell Stevens

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    Michèle Lamont on The Sociology of Inequality - Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs by Lauren A. Rivera

    5

    Pedigree: How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs
    by Lauren A. Rivera

Michèle Lamont on The Sociology of Inequality

“If we come to understand the human value and dignity of people from different backgrounds, we can do a bit to deflect inequality in our everyday interactions,” says Harvard Professor and winner of the 2017 Erasmus Prize Michèle Lamont. Here, she recommends five books that illuminate the sociology of inequality.

    The best books on Heavy Metal, recommended by Keith Kahn Harris

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    The best books on Heavy Metal - Running with the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal Music by Robert Walser

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    Running with the Devil: Power, Gender and Madness in Heavy Metal Music
    by Robert Walser

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    The best books on Heavy Metal - Queerness in Heavy Metal Music: Metal Bent by Amber R Clifford-Napoleone

    2

    Queerness in Heavy Metal Music: Metal Bent
    by Amber R Clifford-Napoleone

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    The best books on Heavy Metal - Black Sabbath's Master of Reality by John Darnielle

    3

    Black Sabbath's Master of Reality
    by John Darnielle

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    The best books on Heavy Metal - Into the Black: The Inside Story of Metallica, 1991-2014 by Ian Winwood and Paul Brannigan

    4

    Into the Black: The Inside Story of Metallica, 1991-2014
    by Ian Winwood and Paul Brannigan

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    The best books on Heavy Metal - True Norwegian Black Metal by Peter Beste

    5

    True Norwegian Black Metal
    by Peter Beste

The best books on Heavy Metal, recommended by Keith Kahn Harris

Metal music, developed in the sixties and seventies, is notorious for its dark and disturbing imagery and its aggressive sound. But there’s nothing to be afraid of, says sociologist and fan Keith Kahn-Harris: it’s all part of the mythmaking of metal.

    The best books on Academia, recommended by Les Back

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    The best books on Academia - Killing Thinking: The Death of the Universities by Mary Evans

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    Killing Thinking: The Death of the Universities
    by Mary Evans

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    The best books on Academia - Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures by Edward Said

    2

    Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures
    by Edward Said

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    The best books on Academia - The Great University Gamble: Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education by Andrew McGettigan

    3

    The Great University Gamble: Money, Markets and the Future of Higher Education
    by Andrew McGettigan

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    The best books on Academia - Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents by Elaine Showalter

    4

    Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents
    by Elaine Showalter

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    The best books on Academia - Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom by bell hooks

    5

    Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
    by bell hooks

The best books on Academia, recommended by Les Back

Current UK higher education policies, which treat students as consumers, are not only killing thinking but also likely to lead to a financial crisis. And yet, academia is a beautiful vocation, with the power to transform lives year in, year out. University of London professor, Les Back, picks the best books on academia.

    The best books on The Role of Religion, recommended by Selina O'Grady

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    The best books on The Role of Religion - The Aeneid by Virgil

    1

    The Aeneid
    by Virgil

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    The best books on The Role of Religion - The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman

    2

    The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
    by Philip Pullman

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    The best books on The Role of Religion - Our Church: A Personal History of the Church of England by Roger Scruton

    3

    Our Church: A Personal History of the Church of England
    by Roger Scruton

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    The best books on The Role of Religion - The Human Stain by Philip Roth

    4

    The Human Stain
    by Philip Roth

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    The best books on The Role of Religion - The Children Act by Ian McEwan

    5

    The Children Act
    by Ian McEwan

The best books on The Role of Religion, recommended by Selina O'Grady

Religion has an ability to create groups and communities that has yet to be surpassed, argues Selina O’Grady, author of And Man Created God: A History of the World at the Time of Jesus.

    The best books on Popular Culture, recommended by Susan Bordo

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    The best books on Popular Culture - The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael by Pauline Kael

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    The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael
    by Pauline Kael

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    The best books on Popular Culture - Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media by Susan J. Douglas

    2

    Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media
    by Susan J. Douglas

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    The best books on Popular Culture - The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America by Daniel J. Boorstin

    3

    The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America
    by Daniel J. Boorstin

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    The best books on Popular Culture - On Photography by Susan Sontag

    4

    On Photography
    by Susan Sontag

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    The best books on Popular Culture - Maus by Art Spiegelman

    5

    Maus
    by Art Spiegelman

The best books on Popular Culture, recommended by Susan Bordo

Popular culture shapes our fantasies, our expectations and our beliefs about what is real, argues Susan Bordo. She picks five books that shed light on popular culture.

    The best books on Feminism, recommended by Maria Sveland

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    The best books on Feminism - Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

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    Mrs Dalloway
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Feminism - Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

    2

    Fear of Flying
    by Erica Jong

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    The best books on Feminism - The Women’s Room by Marilyn French

    3

    The Women’s Room
    by Marilyn French

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    The best books on Feminism - The Terror Dream by Susan Faludi

    4

    The Terror Dream
    by Susan Faludi

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    The best books on Feminism - Wetlands by Charlotte Roche

    5

    Wetlands
    by Charlotte Roche

The best books on Feminism, recommended by Maria Sveland

The feminist author chooses liberating literature for women, from Virginia Woolf to Erica Jong. She says that men still don’t share equal responsibility in the home, and that life after divorce can be easier.

    The best books on How Americans Vote, recommended by Andrew Gelman

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    The best books on How Americans Vote - The Almanac of American Politics by Michael Barone and Chuck McCutcheon

    1

    The Almanac of American Politics
    by Michael Barone and Chuck McCutcheon

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    The best books on How Americans Vote - The 480 by Eugene Burdick

    2

    The 480
    by Eugene Burdick

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    The best books on How Americans Vote - The Rational Public by Benjamin I Page and Robert Y Shapiro

    3

    The Rational Public
    by Benjamin I Page and Robert Y Shapiro

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    The best books on How Americans Vote - Fire on the Prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago Politics, and the Roots of the Obama Presidency by Gary Rivlin

    4

    Fire on the Prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago Politics, and the Roots of the Obama Presidency
    by Gary Rivlin

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    The best books on How Americans Vote - The Emerging Republican Majority by Kevin P Phillips

    5

    The Emerging Republican Majority
    by Kevin P Phillips

The best books on How Americans Vote, recommended by Andrew Gelman

As Romney vs Obama enters the final stretch, the statistician and author of Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State uncovers the (often surprising) realities of how Americans of different backgrounds vote

    The best books on Economic Sociology, recommended by Neil Fligstein

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    The best books on Economic Sociology - The Social Meaning of Money by Viviana A Zelizer

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    The Social Meaning of Money
    by Viviana A Zelizer

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    The best books on Economic Sociology - Getting a Job by Mark Granovetter

    2

    Getting a Job
    by Mark Granovetter

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    The best books on Economic Sociology - Forging Industrial Policy by Frank Dobbin

    3

    Forging Industrial Policy
    by Frank Dobbin

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    The best books on Economic Sociology - Distinction by Pierre Bourdieu

    4

    Distinction
    by Pierre Bourdieu

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    The best books on Economic Sociology - An Engine, Not a Camera by Donald MacKenzie

    5

    An Engine, Not a Camera
    by Donald MacKenzie

The best books on Economic Sociology, recommended by Neil Fligstein

It’s important to understand social aspects of economic behaviour, particularly when times of crisis reveal the shortcomings of traditional economic theory, says sociologist Neil Fligstein.

    The best books on Multiculturalism, recommended by Tariq Modood

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    The best books on Multiculturalism - Multicultural Citizenship by Will Kymlicka

    1

    Multicultural Citizenship
    by Will Kymlicka

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    The best books on Multiculturalism - Rethinking Multiculturalism by Bhikhu Parekh

    2

    Rethinking Multiculturalism
    by Bhikhu Parekh

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    The best books on Multiculturalism - The Home We Build Together by Jonathan Sacks

    3

    The Home We Build Together
    by Jonathan Sacks

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    The best books on Multiculturalism - Multiculturalism Without Culture by Anne Phillips

    4

    Multiculturalism Without Culture
    by Anne Phillips

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    The best books on Multiculturalism - Still Not Easy Being British by Tariq Modood

    5

    Still Not Easy Being British
    by Tariq Modood

The best books on Multiculturalism, recommended by Tariq Modood

Critics claim that Muslims don’t fit in with our secular policies but, although Britain may be a secular country, the ways in which we are secular are ways inclusive of religious people, says sociology professor Tariq Modood. He recommends the best books on multiculturalism.

    The best books on The Ethnography of Music, recommended by Phillip Vannini

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    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Music in Everyday Life by Tia DeNora

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    Music in Everyday Life
    by Tia DeNora

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    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Sound Moves by Michael Bull

    2

    Sound Moves
    by Michael Bull

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    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Club Cultures by Sarah Thornton

    3

    Club Cultures
    by Sarah Thornton

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    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Music Scenes by Andy Bennett and Richard A Peterson

    4

    Music Scenes
    by Andy Bennett and Richard A Peterson

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    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Inside Subculture by David Muggleton

    5

    Inside Subculture
    by David Muggleton

The best books on The Ethnography of Music, recommended by Phillip Vannini

The Professor of Communication and Culture enlightens us about musical enthnography — what people do with music, and how they interact with music (and with one another)

    The best books on The Crisis in Education, recommended by Frank Furedi

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    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Bringing Knowledge Back In by Michael F D Young

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    Bringing Knowledge Back In
    by Michael F D Young

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    The best books on The Crisis in Education - The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education by Kathryn Ecclestone and Dennis Hayes

    2

    The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education
    by Kathryn Ecclestone and Dennis Hayes

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    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Left Back by Diane Ravitch

    3

    Left Back
    by Diane Ravitch

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    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Freedom and Authority in Education by G H Bantock

    4

    Freedom and Authority in Education
    by G H Bantock

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    The best books on The Crisis in Education - Between Past and Future by Hannah Arendt

    5

    Between Past and Future
    by Hannah Arendt

The best books on The Crisis in Education, recommended by Frank Furedi

The sociology professor and blogger at spiked-online.com says when society is faced with problems like homophobia, healthy eating or integration, for example, then we try to

    The best books on Conservatism and Culture, recommended by Sam Tanenhaus

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - God and Man at Yale by William F Buckley Jr

    1

    God and Man at Yale
    by William F Buckley Jr

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Mr Sammler’s Planet by Saul Bellow

    2

    Mr Sammler’s Planet
    by Saul Bellow

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Rabbit Redux by John Updike

    3

    Rabbit Redux
    by John Updike

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Nixon Agonistes by Garry Wills

    4

    Nixon Agonistes
    by Garry Wills

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    The best books on Conservatism and Culture - Confessions of a Conservative by Garry Wills

    5

    Confessions of a Conservative
    by Garry Wills

The best books on Conservatism and Culture, recommended by Sam Tanenhaus

Sam Tanenhaus, editor of The New York Times Book Review from 2004 to 2013, explains how the American right reinvented itself as a cultural counter-revolution and selects five books as backgrounders to conservatism.

    The best books on Education and Society, recommended by Alison Wolf

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    The best books on Education and Society - The Rise of the Meritocracy by Michael Young

    1

    The Rise of the Meritocracy
    by Michael Young

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    The best books on Education and Society - The Harpole Report by James Lloyd Carr

    2

    The Harpole Report
    by James Lloyd Carr

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    The best books on Education and Society - The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs

    3

    The Economy of Cities
    by Jane Jacobs

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    The best books on Education and Society - Education and the Working Class by Brian Jackson and Dennis Marsden

    4

    Education and the Working Class
    by Brian Jackson and Dennis Marsden

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    The best books on Education and Society - Independent People by Halldor Laxness

    5

    Independent People
    by Halldor Laxness

The best books on Education and Society, recommended by Alison Wolf

KCL Professor Alison Wolf is an authority on education and the labour market. She recommends books on education and society, highlighting Icelandic pastoral neo-myth Independent People

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