Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

`A valuable contribution to the burgeoning literature on the social dimensions of selfhood. In addition to providing an extensive, well-researched overview of the wide variety of theories that have explored the social formation of personality and beyond - Burkitt seeks ultimately to formulate his own position on the matters at hand, one that is able to "move beyond dichotomous and dualistic visions of society and individuals.... Burkitt deserves praise for the clarity with which he presents his overview of the relevant theories, for the cogency with which he offers his own critiques of these theories, and for his commitment to thinking dialectically about the self.... For those who wish to bolster or articulate further their own beliefs about selfhood, whether in the direction of sociality or privacy, [the book] will provide a useful means to do so... also provides some solid "ammunition" for continuing the battle in question′ - Theory & Psychology

`Although scholars recognize the need for alternatives to the long dominant concept of the self contained individual, little progress has been made toward such development. Burkitt′s lucid book provides an essential prolegomenon to such a project. Burkitt offers a discerning discussion...the volume is essential reading for anyone concerned with this challenging problem′ - Choice

`Explores a wealth of literature on the social nature of individuality. Essentially, its message is that society and self are intertwined in important ways... an excellent book. It deals with complex material in a clear and readable manner, laying out the rationales behind many different theories with great clarity and precision. Although it challenges many assumptions of traditional social psychology, it is a masterpiece of scholarly analysis and a book that should be read by anyone interested in either personality or social behavior′ - Contemporary Psychology

`This stimulating and thoughtful book provides an extremely good review of the literature on the social formation of personality, as well as representing a significant advance in such theorizing... a very valuable contribution to its field. By following Burkitt, sociological auto/biographers can now treat their subjects as fully social beings whose personalities are formed through the full range of social relations and interdependencies′ - Sociology

Social Selves offers an interdisciplinary overview of theories of the social formation of personality - from symbolic interactionism and ethogenics, to poststructuralism, developmental psychology, Marxism and figurational sociology.

Drawing on insights from sociology, psychology, linguistics and philosophy, Burkitt argues that society and the self are essentially intertwined, with every element of the self being interconnected through social identity. He explains differences between individuals and divisions between different aspects of the personality as being generated by the way social relations and interdependencies both connect and separate us from others. The book′s theme, therefore, is the dialectical relationship between social and cultural formations and the individual activity that occurs within these parameters, creating and recreating the social and personal worlds.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Society and the Individual
• Part 1 Personality as Social Discourse
• Language and the Social Self
• The Self in Everyday Communication
• Power, Knowledge and the Self
• Part 2 Personality in Social Relations and Interdependencies
• Social Relations and Personality
• Social Relations, Culture and the Self
• Power Relations, Interdependencies and the Civilized Personality
• Conclusion
• The Formation and Reconstruction of Social Selves

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Although scholars recognize the need for alternatives to the long dominant concept of the self-contained individual, little progress has been made toward such development. Burkitt's lucid book provides an essential prolegomenon to such a project. After a brief historical look at the monadic view of self and its shortcomings, he undertakes a systematic discussion of major 20th-century theories offering means of understanding the self as inextricably linked to others. Burkitt offers a discerning discussion of the foundational works of Mead and Vygotsky; he moves effectively into the present with a lively though limited account of micro-social and post-structural theory. A chapter on Marx's relevance to the problem of the social self, particularly as amplified through Lucien Seve's work, is a refreshing addition to the dialogue. The volume would have been greatly enriched by discussions of Martin Buber's Ich und du (I and thou), (1923) and John Macmurray (Persons in Relation, 1957), along with explorations of object relations theory and works of Mikhail Bakhtin. And too, the discussion of the intellectual predeccesors culminates in an all too sketchy, and heavily Marxist, synthesis. However, the volume is essential reading for anyone concerned with this challenging problem. Advanced undergraduates and above. K. J. Gergen; Swarthmore College