Author Description

Product Description The latest in the successful Oxford Modern Britain series, Kinship and Friendship in Modern Britain provides a succinct introduction to key aspects of kin and friend relationships in Britain today. Graham Allan reviews a cross-section of research to examine the major issues surroundingcontemporary kinship and friendship, analyzing the personal - and social - consequence of these ties. The author examines key aspects of interpersonal relations to discuss the nature and importance of kinship in the late twentieth century. After studying modern perspectives on informal relationships, he focuses on kinship solidarities, highlighting their increased complexity in modern Britain, andreviewing the obligations and commitments between different categories of kin. In later chapters, he examines patterns of friendship, concentrating in particular on how they are organized and their social implications. Graham Allan also studies alternative views of kinship and friendship asnegotiation and as economic exchange, also analyzing how relationships may change in later life. Kinship and Friendship in Modern Britain provides the student with an invaluable introduction to the fundamental aspects of the sociology of family and friendship in contemporary British life. Review `One of his most valuable contributions to the debate about change is that he demolishes many of the cruder stereotypes... Containing as it does such a wealth of material and such balanced interpretations, it will be immensely useful.' Times Higher Education Supplement About the Author Graham Allan, Reader in Sociology, University of Southampton.