Working Method demonstrates the potential that rigorous, theoretically informed qualitative research has for understanding the experience of youth and creating changed lives. Weis and Fine deftly explore forms of oppression and spaces for change, all with a sense of hope and possibility
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–Jane Gaskell, Dean of Education at the Ontario Institute for the Study of Education at the University of Toronto

Book Description

Working Method explores the theory, method, and politics of contemporary social research. Through ethnographic and qualitative study, noted scholars Lois Weis and Michelle Fine investigate communities under siege and document both the costs of oppression and the strengths of endurance that circulate among the young, poor, and working-class in America. They provide an important model for negotiating the complexities involved in this type of research and give thoughtful consideration to the various strategies and tools available to social researchers

Being Ken Wilber, he couldn't resist answering these questions by folding the "Theory of Everything" into some of his own personal visions and theories. This overlay is presented in his signature straightforward, clearly written style. The upshot is that common readers can easily follow Wilber on a quantum journey and wind up with a lasting souvenir--a scientific and spiritual understanding of how the mind, body, soul, and universe all work together like a never-ending symphony. And that's just in the first four chapters. From there he shows readers the practical applications of this vision--explaining how it could lead to more integrative styles of business, education, medicine, ecology, and even how we address world conflicts. Wilber admits that this "holistic quest is an ever-receding dream, a horizon that constantly retreats as we approach it." Nonetheless, he can still take readers on an incredible journey--one that's well worth the price of the ticket. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Beliefnet
Ken Wilber, a spirituality and psychology writer of the highest caliber, is one of the few people who could even attempt a book like this--a book that reflects a Renaissance-like optimism that all disciplines can be known, and all knowledge acquired, by a single person.

Wilber adapts the idea behind string theory (the notion that all of physics can be united under a single theory explaining the behavior of matter) to suggest that disciplines as diverse as medicine, economics, and spirituality work in the same way. Wilber sees the Western split between rational and spiritual knowledge as a dangerous mistake; he rejects, for example, Stephen Jay Gould's dualistic insistence that religion and science are "nonoverlapping realms." For Wilber, overlap is the key to the universe. He seeks to integrate all aspects of an individual, and from there a society. The book's diagrams show circular flows of knowledge: spiraling levels of selfhood, types of knowledge, variations of society.

Such an ambitious project necessarily elides what people have come to regard as important differences among cultures; Wilber's chart showing Sub-Saharan Africa as an example of "horizontal" civilization over and against Euro-American "vertical meme structure" risks gross stereotyping, at best.

While some of Wilber's ideas are interesting--and readers should tip their hats to him for even trying such a project in our hyper-specialized society--it suffers from its own elephantine proportions, and misses the trees for the forest. (Beliefnet, Sept. 2000) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Though some of their social analysis is less than fully thought out--surely e-mail isn't a truly unique form of communication, as they suggest--the work as a whole is strong and merits attention. Science, it turns out, does have much to say about our messy feelings and relationships. While much of it could be filed under "common sense," it's nice to know that common sense is replicable. Hard-science types will probably be exasperated with the constant shifts between data and appeals to emotional truths, but the rest of us will see in A General Theory of Love a new synthesis of research and poetry. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
The Beatles may have sounded naive when they assured us that "all you need is love," but they may not have been far off the mark. New research in brain function has proven that love is a human necessity; its absence damages not only individuals, but our whole society. In this stimulating work, psychiatrists Lewis, Amini and Lannon explain how and why our brains have evolved to require consistent bonding and nurturing. They contend that close emotional connections actually change neural patterns in those who engage in them, affecting our sense of self and making empathy and socialization possible. Indeed, the authors insist, "in some important ways, people cannot be stable on their own." Yet American society is structured to frustrate emotional health, they contend: self-sufficiency and materialistic goals are seen as great virtues, while emotional dependence is considered a weakness. Because our culture does not sufficiently value interpersonal relationships, we are plagued by anxiety and depression, narcissism and superficiality, which can lead to violence and self-destructive behaviors. It is futile to try to think our way out of such behaviors, the authors believe, because emotions are not within the intellect's domain. What is needed is healthy bonding from infancy; when this does not occur, the therapist must model it. The authors' utopian vision of emotional health may strike some as vague or conservative to a fault, and the clarity of their thesis is marred by indirect and precious writing. Yet their claim that "what we do inside relationships matters more than any other aspect of human life" is a powerful one. Agent, Carol Mann. 9-city author tour.
Copyright 2000 Reed business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.