Turner, Bryan

Bryan Turner's (b. 1945) work is best understood as an attempt to revive action sociology from the perspective of embodiment. Together with “emplacement” (the relation of humans to the environment), embodiment is understood to be a universal category of human experience. Turner's work is a critique of both social constructionism and cultural relativism. The body is theorized as the material basis for social solidarity with the potential to transcend cultural difference and social variation. In the application of this [Page 849]theory, embodiment and emplacement are explored as the basis for a universal theory of citizenship and human rights. In particular, the need for companionship and the material facts of bodily frailty and vulnerability are articulated as the incentive for the formal recognition of sympathy and ...