Exploring the growing global trend of solo living, this highly original study addresses core debates about contemporary social change in the context of globalization, including individualization and connection, the future of family formation, consumption and identities, belonging and 'community', living arrangements and sustainability.

"Living Alone sets out to investigate the rising incidence of solo-living against a background of research on households that assumes the multi-person household as a unit of analysis. Furthermore, it aims to challenge and deconstruct normative assumptions about solo-living narrating the diverse trajectories, lived experiences and biographies of those living alone. By locating this within broader sociological theories concerned on the one hand with the rise of individualism, and on the other hand with community and sociality, the book presents a nuanced picture of an often stereotyped and misunderstood household arrangement." - BSA Sociology Journal

"Lynn Jamieson and Roona Simpson offer the most comprehensive review and analysis of solo living to date'. - Bella de Paulo, Project Scientist, University of California, USA

Autorentext
Author Lynn Jamieson: Lynn Jamieson is Professor of Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and is a founding director of the interdisciplinary consortium, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships. Her publications include a second edition of Intimacy: Personal Relationships in Modern Societies.

Inhalt

1. Introduction PART I: LIVING ALONE, LIFE COURSE AND LIFE TRANSITIONS 2. Geographies and Biographies of Living Alone 3. Solo-Living with and without Partnering and Parenting PART II:HOME, CONSUMPTION AND IDENTITY 4. The Meaning of Home Alone 5. Living Alone, Consuming Alone? PART III: NETWORKS, COMMUNITY AND PLACE 6. Solo-Living and Connectedness 7. Place, Mobility And Migration 8. The Future of Living Alone