About

This is a new group which plans to look sociologically at the meaning of alcohol use in society.  Its founder members come from a variety of disciplines, and they will be focusing on the exploration of the 'contested meanings' (Gusfield 1996) of alcohol use, examining the interplay between social harm and social good.  They will be looking at alcohol's role in the delineation of private and public space, and the position of 'treatment' as moral guardian.  They are also interested in media portrayals of alcohol in relation to public health, at the focus on risk and the relative lack of interest in issues of poverty and domestic abuse, as causal factors, and the role of alcohol in leisure and pleasure.