Invisibilization of Suffering

This book offers a comprehensive theory of invisibility as a critical sociological concept, addressing the relationship between social suffering and invisibilization.

Herzog draws on social theory and a variety of empirical examples to analyze social grammar and unveil various mechanisms of social suffering. Presenting an original theory of silencing and suffering, this book outlines a substantive theory and methodology of invisibilization as an instrument of authority. This systemic analysis of visibility as both a liberating and dominating mechanism will be a major contribution to the field of critical theory, offering an original framework to help improve the situation of excluded groups and individuals.

Invisibilization of Suffering will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars across sociology, social philosophy, social work, political sciences, criminology, linguistics and education, with a focus on justice theory, marginalization, discrimination and exclusion.

Presents a comprehensive bridge between critical social theory and sociological research methodology, overcoming a sociological deficit of critical theory Brings together more than 10 years of dedication to critical theory and Posits that visibilization is not always the way towards inclusion and solidarity - providing instead a critical view on visibilization as social control

Autorentext
Benno Herzog is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of Valencia, Spain.

Zusammenfassung

"The monograph as a whole makes apparent the difficulties in analyzing social suffering as a conceptual object because there are many intersecting forms of suffering to consider. This text is a useful handbook for understanding these complex linkages in terms of what they are like empirically, rather than of how they should be. In subsequent system analyses that prioritize holism, this work is indispensable. ... His blend of interdisciplinary concern and immanent critique is an impressive feat in critical suffering studies." (Mikaela Brough, Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford Online, Vol. 13 (1), 2021)

Inhalt

1. Understanding Suffering.- 2. Invisibilization.- 3. Towards Critical Research on Invisibility