Social theories of risk and uncertainty : an introduction /

Over the last few decades, the assessment and control of risk has become a central concern of governments, corporations, social institutions, and individuals. During this time, risk has also become a strategic concept in the social sciences for grasping some of the defining features of late modern life. Zinn (Univ. of Kent) has collected essays that provide an overview of some of the important theoretical contours in the study of risk found in the social sciences over the last couple of decades. After an introductory overview, the book contains chapters that examine five distinct strands in risk theorizing: (1) the risk society approach associated with Ulrich Beck; (2) the "governmentality" perspective originating with the work of Michel Foucault; (3) Niklas Luhmann's systems theory; (4) the concept of edgework put forward by Stephen Lyng; and (5) the cultural approach associated with the writings of Mary Douglas. After laying out each of these ways of theorizing risk, the book concludes with a comparison and critique of their general theoretical arguments. While the book itself doesn't extend any of these theoretical strands, it nevertheless performs a valuable service by linking and explicating their central arguments and contextualizing them within more general social theory. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. C. Ward Western Connecticut State University