First published in 1983, this book focuses on the twentieth-century writer as both a product, and an interpreter, of his or her society. It explores the social basis of our conceptions of literature and the ways in which writing is affected by the media, institutional and technical, through which it reaches readers. The text looks at experiences of the period in terms of domestic and world affairs, sexuality, and philosophical and religious attitudes. It discusses the social and economic structures which specifically affect the act of writing, and considers the dominant developments of the period in three genres: novels, poetry and writing for theatre.

First published in 1986, the aim of this book is to present some of the changing thinking on popular writing to a wider audience in view of the enormous growth of mass culture after the war, but also to offer a historical perspective on a specific form of popular fiction: the romance. The essays collected here reflect diverse positions and methods in the current debate: sociological, psychoanalytic and literary. Some focus more on texts or readers, others concentrate on theoretical questions about narrative or ideology. All of the essays, however, view popular forms and their uses historical in historical context — rejecting the notion they are a contaminated by-product of industrialism.

First published in 1992, Sexual Sameness examines the differing textual strategies male and female writers have developed to celebrate homosexuality. Examining such writers as E.M. Forster, James Baldwin, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Audre Lourde, this wide-ranging book demonstrates how literature has been one of the few cultural spaces in which sexual outsiders have been able to explore forbidden desires. From the humiliating trials of Oscar Wilde to the appalling stigmatisation of people living with AIDS, Sexual Sameness reveals the persistent homophobia that has until recently almost completely inhibited our understanding of lesbian and gay writing. In opening up homosexual literature to informed and objective methods of reading, Sexual Sameness will be of interest to a large lesbian and gay readership, as well as to students of gender studies, literary studies and the social sciences.

First published in 1987, this book encompasses a broad range interdisciplinary research into homosexuality — displaying a full spectrum of points of view — and, given that the major traditions of modern homosexual research began in Europe, is not restricted to works in English.. In general topics that are densely covered in the literature are presented in this guide selectively, with some less studied topics, such as Economics and Music, fleshed out with signposts to more comprehensive research. It seeks to not only mirror existing publications, but also to stimulate new work by pinpointing neglected themes and methods. This book will be of interest to students of sociology.

First published in 1978, this title analyses a range of problems that arise in the study of North Africa and the Middle East, bridging the gap between studies of Sociology, Islam, and Marxism. Both Sociology and the study of Islam draw on an Orientalist tradition founded on an idealist epistemology, ethnocentric values and an evolutionary view of historical development. Bryan Turner challenges the basic assumptions of Orientalism by considering such issues as the social structure of Islamic society, the impact of capitalism in the Middle East, the effect of Israel on territories, revolutions, social classes and nationalism. A detailed and fascinating study, Marx and the End of Orientalism will be of particular interest to students studying the sociology of colonialism and development, Marxist sociology and sociological theory.

This title was first published in 1979. This important book is the product of a remarkable experience. A sociologist domiciled in Hungary, the author has intermittently taught and studied in France, Britain and the United States. Few social scientists of the post-Second World War generation have had this range of experience. And, as we know from the history of theoretical physics, psychoanalysis, economic and other fields, Hungary is the incubator of great talents. A Society in the Making can be read on three levels: as a study of Hungarian social structure, as a case-study in comparative social policy, or as a contribution to the theory of social policy. As a study of Hungary, the author's book is one of the small but growing number of analyses of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union which avoid denunciamentos and apologetics. It is a sympathetically critical account (as she says 'In social science, there is no neutral act') from which much can be learned.

Reader's Guide Literature in English provides expert guidance to, and critical analysis of, the vast number of books available within the subject of English literature, from Anglo-Saxon times to the current American, British and Commonwealth scene. It is designed to help students, teachers and librarians choose the most appropriate books for research and study.