Representing the Family: combines perspectives from a range of theories including media and cultural studies, sociology, and social history to show how certain types of family life are pathologised; highlights the discrepancies between contemporary representations of the `ideal′ family and lived experience; compares the British experience with that of the United States and Australia.
Representing the Family provides a rich and an engaging illustration of the ways in which the media produce meaning. It also demonstrates the ways in which critical social issues are played out across a range of discursive sites - academia, politics, and public policy.
Deborah Chambers is a Reader in Sociology of Culture and Communication, Department of English and Media Studies, at Nottingham Trent University.