Sleep and Society

Simon Williams is Reader in Sociology at the University of Warwick. He has published widely within the sociology of health, the sociology of the body, and the sociology of emotions. He is currently involved in a range of sleep-related projects and is co-organiser of the new Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) seminar series on ‘Sleep and Society’.

• 1. Changing Theories and Explanations of Sleep 2. Sleep Through the Centuries 3. Sleep, Embodiment and the Lifeword 4. The Social Patterning and Social Organization of Sleep 5. Colonizing/Capitalizing on Sleep 6. Conclusions

'Sleep and Society provides an excellent inventory of the existing work in the now growing 'field' of sociological research on sleep...It belongs in the book shelf of every social scientist and will be an important tool for framing any sociological research on sleep.' - Brigitte Steger, University of Vienna