Overview
- Illuminates the contours of late modernity by reviving and revitalizing the social ethics of Plato and Aristotle as a means of understanding our commitments and vulnerabilities enacted through the rituals in which we find ourselves
- Offers a new repertoire of ideas to understand the relationship between the tragic and social life
- Makes a compelling case for social tragedy's capacity to guide moral action and stimulate political change
Part of the book series: Cultural Sociology (CULTSOC)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Reviews
"Social Tragedy illuminates the contours of late modernity by reviving and revitalizing the social ethics of Plato and Aristotle as a means of understanding our commitments and vulnerabilities enacted through the rituals in which we find ourselves, as participants and spectators. Baker's achievements in this book are immense, linking our media-mediated experiences with classic imagery in an accessible text as thoughtful as it is insightful." - Jack Barbalet, Chair Professor in Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR China
"Philosophically sophisticated and political relevant Baker's book includes a dizzying array of case studies that fascinate and surprise, from the death of Diana Princess of Wales to Zinedine Zidane's coup de boule. A wonderful read offering a new repertoire of ideas to understand the relationship between the tragic and social life." - Les Back, Professor of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
"Social tragedy is usually mediated through pity and fear. The disturbing dislocation in order which is the raw nub of tragedy is hijacked and used as a launching pad for reflections on power, justice and democracy. Baker's book is scene-changing. By adroitly relating tragedy to myth and social transformation it provides that most unexpected thing: an optimistic reading of tragedy. Her book lays down the twin challenges of relating personal tragedy to tragic times, and offers a compelling account of why society needs the raw nub of disturbing dislocation. This is cultural sociology with its eyes wide open: a recommended and admirable achievement." - Chris Rojek, Professor of Sociology, City University, UK
"Stephanie Alice Baker's erudite, path-breaking book enlists Aristotle, Plato and Durkheim (among others) in making sense of the mediated performance of emotion, astutely applying her concept of 'social tragedy' to subjects as diverse as Lady Diana's funeral, Zinedine Zidane's infamous head-butt, Englishstreet riots, KONY 2012, Occupy and the Arab Spring. This smart cultural sociological take on collective representation makes a compelling case for social tragedy's capacity to guide moral action and stimulate political change." - David Rowe, Institute for Culture and Society, University of Western Sydney, Australia
About the author
Stephanie Alice Baker is a Researcher in Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Social Tragedy
Book Subtitle: The Power of Myth, Ritual, and Emotion in the New Media Ecology
Authors: Stephanie Alice Baker
Series Title: Cultural Sociology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137379139
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences Collection, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2014
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-38613-7Published: 05 June 2014
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-48150-7Published: 05 June 2014
eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-37913-9Published: 05 June 2014
Series ISSN: 2946-3572
Series E-ISSN: 2946-3580
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 224
Topics: Political Sociology, Media Studies, Cultural History, Cultural and Media Studies, general, Regional and Cultural Studies, Sociology of Culture