Series: Princeton Studies in Cultural Sociology

An inside look at the politics of book reviewing, from the assignment and writing of reviews to why critics think we should listen to what they have to say Taking readers behind the scenes in the world of fiction reviewing, Inside the Critics' Circle explores the ways critics evaluate books despite the inherent subjectivity involved and the uncertainties of reviewing...

Music, and folk music in particular, is often embraced as a form of political expression, a vehicle for bridging or reinforcing social boundaries, and a valuable tool for movements reconfiguring the social landscape. Reds, Whites, and Blues examines the political force of folk music, not through the meaning of its lyrics, but through the concrete social activities that make up...

An in-depth look at why non-Jewish Poles are trying to bring Jewish culture back to life in Poland today. Since the early 2000s, Poland has experienced a remarkable Jewish revival, largely driven by non-Jewish Poles with a passionate new interest in all things Jewish. Klezmer music, Jewish-style restaurants, kosher vodka, and festivals of Jewish culture have become popular, while new...

As one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, has long been the exclusive domain of America's wealthiest sons. But times have changed. Today, a new elite of boys and girls is being moulded at St. Paul's, one that reflects the hope of openness but also the persistence of inequality. In...

A provocative account of what is gained and what is lost when a word that once narrowly referred to neighbourhood change takes on a life all its own. Sociologist Ruth Glass coined the term gentrification in the 1960s to mark the displacement of working-class residents in London neighbourhoods by the professional classes. The Death and Life of Gentrification traces how...