Sociological Reflections on the Neurosciences

Book details for Sociological Reflections on the Neurosciences

Series: Advances in Medical Sociology v. 13

Contributor(s): Martyn Pickersgill (editor), Ira Van Keulen (editor), Barbara KatzRothman (series editor),

Format: Paperback, 234 x 156 x 13mm , 366 pp

Publication date: 30 Jul 2012

Imprint: Emerald Group Publishing Limited

ISBN: 9781780526324

Price: £26.95

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Synopsis

The neurosciences are the new cutting edge in biomedicine, and this is the first book to take a sociological imagination to this field. The neurosciences are more than a collection of scientific practices they offer up new ways of thinking about mind, body and society. Up to now, debate about the new brain sciences has been limited within sociology. As the neurosciences gain ever more traction within professional arenas, policy processes and popular culture, it is time to go beyond the primarily speculative and theoretical analyses we have had to date, and bring our sociological imagination to bear. This collection addresses this need for sociological insight through empirically rich, theoretically innovative chapters that range across methods, traditions and foci in order to cast new light on the place, role and impact of neuroscience. At the same time, this volume reflects on the insights the neurosciences have to offer sociology. With cutting-edge contributions from leading scholars from Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, the UK and the USA, Sociological Reflections on the Neurosciences will be a benchmark text in the new sociology of neuroscience.

Reviews

This is a fruitful gathering of sociological and anthropological perspectives on developments in the brain sciences. Not only does the social world of brain scientists come alive in these chapters, but we also learn a lot about patients and families who struggle with various disabilities and disorders. It is particularly gratifying to see newer scholars contributing to an area that should become a core interest for social scientists.' Ilina Singh, Co-Editor, BioSocieties