Housing and Social Theory

<p>Studies in housing have often concentrated on an abstract institutionalised approach isolated from the broader base of the social sciences. This book is the first to treat housing as a subject of social theory. It provides a critique of current research and theorises housing in relation to political science, social change and welfare developing a case study to illustrate these applications. By being sometimes controversial, this book will stimulate debate among housing theorists and sociologists alike.<br> The Author is currently Senior Research fellow at the Swedish Institute for Building Research and Docent in Sociology at Uppsala University. He has written widely on Housing, Urban Studies and Sociology and his books include THE MYTH OF HOME OWNERSHIP and THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN NIGHTMARE.</p> Part 1 Housing and metatheory; Chapter 1 The disciplinary basis of housing studies; Chapter 2 The epistemological grounds of housing studies; Part 2 Bringing theory back in; Chapter 3 Returning to the state in housing research; Chapter 4 A critique of unilinealism in comparative housing research; Chapter 5 Housing and comparative welfare research; Part 3 Toward a divergence thesis in comparative housing and research; Chapter 6 Ideology and divergent social structures; Chapter 7 Divergent social structures and residence; Chapter 8 The political construction of collective residence; Part 4 Toward a theoretically anchored sociology of housing; Chapter 9 Residence and social structure; Chapter 10 Conclusions;