This handbook articulates how sociology can re-engage its roots as the scientific study of human moral systems, actions, and interpretation. This second volume builds on the successful original volume published in 2010, which contributed to the initiation of a new section of the American Sociological Association (ASA), thus growing the field. This volume takes sociology back to its roots over a century ago, when morality was a central topic of work and governance. It engages scholars from across subfields in sociology, representing each section of the ASA, who each contribute a chapter on how their subfield connects to research on morality.
This reference work appeals to broader readership than was envisaged for the first volume, as the relationship between sociology as a discipline and its origins in questions of morality is further renewed. The volume editors focus on three areas: the current state of the sociology of morality across a range of sociologicalsubfields; taking a new look at some of the issues discussed in the first handbook, which are now relevant in sometimes completely new contexts; and reflecting on where the sociology of morality should go next.
This is a must-read reference for students and scholars interested in topics of morality, ethics, altruism, religion, and spirituality from across the social science.
Steve Hitlin is Professor of Sociology & Criminology at the University of Iowa. He is the co-author of Unequal Foundations (2018, Oxford), co-author of the forthcoming The Science of Dignity (Oxford) and a co-editor of the Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, Vol. 1 (2010). His work has appeared in a variety of journals across social science, including the American Journal of Sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, Social Psychology Quarterly, Child Development, Social Forces and Social Science Review. He publishes on morality, values, agency, identity, dignity, and other hard-to-define concepts.
Shai M. Dromi is Associate Senior Lecturer on Sociology at Harvard University. He is the author of Above the Fray: The Red Cross and the Making of the Humanitarian NGO Sector (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2020) and Moral Minefields: How Sociologists Debate Good Science (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2023, co-authored with Samuel D. Stabler). Hiswork has appeared in journals such as Theory & Society, Sociological Theory, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, and Rural Sociology. He publishes on religion, humanitarian aid, morality, organizations, and social knowledge production.
Aliza Luft is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is currently completing a book, Sacred Treason: Race, Religion, and The Holocaust in France, under contract with Harvard University Press. Other work has appeared in journals such as Sociological Theory, Sociology Compass, European Journal of Sociology, Qualitative Sociology, and Political Power and Social Theory. She also regularly contributes to public sociology in venues such as The Washington Post; New Yorker; LA Times; NY Times; and elsewhere. Her research examines the fluctuating relationships between social identity, ideology, and interpersonal, socio-political action in contexts marked by war and violence.
