The Art of Listening

Our culture is one that speaks rather than listens. From reality  TV to political rallies, there is a clamour to be heard, to narrate, and  to receive attention. It reduces 'reality' to revelation and voyeurism.  

The Art of Listening argues that this way of life is having  severe and damaging consequences in a world that is increasingly  globalized and interconnected. It addresses the question: how can we  listen more carefully? Social and cultural theory is combined with real  stories from the experiences of the desperate stowaways who hide in the  undercarriages of jet planes in order to seek asylum, to the young  working-class people who use tattooing to commemorate a lost love.

The  Art of Listening shows how sociology is in a unique position to record  'life passed in living' and to listen to complex experiences with  humility and ethical care, providing a resource to understand the  contemporary world while pointing to the possibility of a different kind  of future.