Rethinking Family Practices (Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life)

Leading family sociologist David Morgan revisits his highly influential 'family practices' approach in this new book. Exploring its impact, and how it has been critiqued, Morgan shows the continued relevance of the approach with reference to time and space, the body, emotions, ethics and work/life balance. David Morgan's 'family practices' approach has been hugely influential to the study of families and personal life internationally. First developed in the 1990s, and set out in Family Connections (Polity Press, 1996), this new book revisits and elaborates the original argument, exploring the theoretical antecedents of this approach. Providing detailed treatment of some of the recent ways in which the approach has been used and extended, with careful consideration of alternative approaches to family living as well as of possible criticisms of this approach, the book demonstrates the continuing relevance of the practices approach for family studies examining key issues such as time and space, the body, emotions, ethics and work/life balance. Numerous published studies of family life provide illustrations for these explorations, Morgan concludes by showing why the practices approach continues to be important, arguing for the continuing need to explore family life as well as other forms of emotional or personal life. Written by one of the foremost authorities in the field, this book is a major new contribution to the field of the sociology of family and intimate life '"From a noun to a verb"', David Morgan navigates family practices through changing social theories and historical times: reflecting on his own contribution, critiques and contemporary turns to time, emotion and ethics. This is a wise book, drawing on a lifetime of scholarship yet is fresh and future-oriented. Lucid, accessible and deeply rooted in the discipline of sociology, I would commend this book to a wide readership of researchers, students and teachers in the social sciences and family studies.' - Rachel Thomson, Professor of Social Research, The Open University, UK Front Matter....Pages i-viii The Original Argument....Pages 1-14 Locating Practices....Pages 15-32 Locating Practices — Alternatives....Pages 33-53 Developments and Difficulties....Pages 54-73 Time, Space and Family Practices....Pages 74-89 The Body and Family Practices....Pages 90-109 Emotions and Family Practices....Pages 110-126 The Ethical Turn in Family Studies....Pages 127-143 Work/Family Articulation....Pages 144-160 Conclusion....Pages 161-177 Back Matter....Pages 178-189