There is expanding global interest in the relationship between the
psychological and the social. The bringing together of affect, emotion
and feeling with social, political and cultural forces offers a
creative, innovative and rich set of ways of understanding what Charles
Wright Mills called the links between personal troubles and public
issues.
This book is an introduction to psychosocial studies. Drawing on
different approaches to the field, the book introduces the main
theoretical influences on psychosocial studies and their development and
impact, through - for example - concepts such as the unconscious, self
and identity, affect, emotion and the cultural and social unconscious.
It explores the theoretical frameworks of psychosocial studies, and
psychosocial research methods. The book offers examples of case studies
which illustrate the diversity of psychosocial studies and what makes it
distinctive. It asks: what is social about the inner worlds of the
psychological? What is psychological and psychic about social worlds and
social life?
This clear, accessible introduction will be of interest to students and
researchers across the social sciences and humanities, in particular in
sociology, psychology, cultural geography, social policy and politics
and cultural studies.
