Sam Han is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Bristol and also Honorary Research Fellow at Brunel University of London. He is the author of many books, most recently The Concept of Tragedy: Its Importance for the Social Sciences in Unsettled Times (Routledge).
This volume examines the turn inwards, toward matters of the self, in an era characterized by suffering, destruction and death resulting from large-scale structural problems, including global pandemics, economic inequality and climate change. As uncertainty on a large scale has begotten attempts at certainty on smaller ones, new social and cultural phenomena have emerged that can be understood and analyzed as new ways of crafting selfhood. With a particular focus on "practices of style” that reflect both aesthetic and ethical qualities, the author considers practices stemming from growing interest in sustainability, the popularity of tidying up and the ideology of minimalism, digital detoxing, discourses around "self-care” and the growing digital communities of menswear, style and wellness. An exploration of the trend toward constant reinvention of the self without the scaffoldingillegalscripts of religion and the state, Styling the Self will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology and social theory with interests in culture, consumption and lifestyle.
1. Introduction: The Return Of The Aesthetic And The Return Of The Religious In Absolute Capitalism Part I 2. On The Emergence Of Style As An Ethics 3. From Having To Being: The Character Structure Of A Post-Leisure Society Part II 4. Aesthetic Community: Menswear And The Art Of Craft 5. Taking Care Of The Self: Welfare To Wellbeing To Wellness 6. The Joy Of Shedding: Minimalism And Its Critics 7. Slowing Down: Time, Degrowth And The Ethics Of Inactivity
With a focus on `practices of style´ that reflect both aesthetic as well as ethical qualities, this book examines the emergent forms of contemporary self-making and identity-formation as a turn inwards, towards certainty, in an era characterised by wider uncertainty occasioned by large-scale structural problems.
