Rethinking Friendship: Hidden Solidarities Today

by Liz Spencer, Ray Pahl

From Aristotle to contemporary soap operas, friendship has always been a subject of fascination. But scholarly investigation of the broad social relevance of friendship has been neglected. Rethinking Friendship describes the varied nature of personal relationships today, and also locates friendship in contemporary debates about individualization and the supposed "collapse of community." Exploring friendships with partners and family as well as "friends," the book reveals ways in which friends and friendlike ties are an important and unacknowledged source of social glue.


Using a rigorous analysis of in-depth interviews, the authors develop a set of innovative concepts--friendship repertoires (the range of friendships people have); friendship modes (the way people make and maintain friendships over time); and patterns of suffusion (the extent to which boundaries between friends and family become blurred). These concepts form the basis of a typology of personal communities that vary in the roles played by friends, family, partners, and neighbors.


Combining scholarly depth and rich description, this absorbing and accessible book will appeal to all those interested in informal social relationships, including students of methodology and policymakers. With its challenge to pessimistic commentators, Rethinking Friendship urges us to resist sweeping generalizations and to acknowledge the sheer diversity of social life today.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 21, 2006

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liz Spencer and Ray Pahl have written a fascinating book based around a research project they conducted into modern friendship, personal networks and social capital. A particular strength of this book for me was the large amount of empirical material which was provided, including transcripts, data collection materials and letters sent to participants.

A very accessible work, it is not just of use to academics, but to anyone with an interest in the study of friendship and the value of the networks which we create around ourselves.