The Art of Listening (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781845201203)

Our culture is one that speaks rather than listens. From reality TV to political rallies, there is a clamour to be heard, to narrate, and to receive attention. It reduces 'reality' to revelation and voyeurism.

The Art of Listening argues that this way of life is having severe and damaging consequences in a world that is increasingly globalized and interconnected. It addresses the question: how can we listen more carefully? Social and cultural theory is combined with real stories from the experiences of the desperate stowaways who hide in the undercarriages of jet planes in order to seek asylum, to the young working-class people who use tattooing to commemorate a lost love.

The Art of Listening shows how sociology is in a unique position to record 'life passed in living' and to listen to complex experiences with humility and ethical care, providing a resource to understand the contemporary world while pointing to the possibility of a different kind of future.

Author: Les Back
ISBN-10: 1845201205
ISBN-13: 9781845201203
Publisher: Berg Publishers
Language: English
Published: 07/01/2007
Pages: 222
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 9.26h x 6.34w x 0.65d