A study of `the body' - one of the fastest growing, most influential, and most contested subjects in the social sciences and humanities. Includes cutting edge contributions from Europe, America and Asia Brings together a series of theoretical, methodological and empirical analyses by leading international exponents of body studies Explores the structural, interactional and phenomenological features of human embodiment Connects the concerns of classical sociologists to new advances in social theory, anthropology, feminism and social research Introduces the study of `body pedagogics' Takes the sociological study of the body in an exciting new direction and opens up new horizons for the sociological imagination