A powerful appeal for the recognition of others and their value, illuminating an inclusive path forward
How do we measure our self-worth?
For many of us, it signifies accomplishment, self-reliance, and wealth. Decades of neoliberalism have driven our definition of success. Yet, as we have amassed more achievements, we have been overwhelmed and overworked in a world of growing inequality. Should we start judging others, and ourselves, differently?
In this capstone work, acclaimed sociologist Michèle Lamont argues that it is time to move our focus from having to being. We will only heal ourselves by the power of recognition: by rendering others visible and valued. By drawing on nearly forty years of research and interviews, as well as new interviews with Gen Z, change agents, and cultural icons who intentionally practice and promote recognition, she shows how new narratives are essential to shifting our metrics of success to focus on respect and dignity. Seeing Others fills a gaping hole left by recent economic and psychological thinking, with its focus on nudging, grit, and constant striving, offering a powerful, sociological alternative.
This book is a clarion call: it strikes at the heart of our struggles and illuminates an inclusive path forward.
About the Author
Michele Lamont is Professor of Sociology and African and African American Studies at Harvard University, where she also holds the Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies. Lamont is the recipient of honorary doctorates from universities in six countries and has received international honours such as the Carnegie Fellowship, Russell Sage Foundation Fellowship, 2017 Erasmus Prize, and the 2014 Guttenberg Award.
After studying with Pierre Bourdieu at the Sorbonne, Lamont emerged as a contemporary pioneer of cultural and comparative sociology, helping to define these fields as we know them today.
Industry Reviews
Equality is not only about income, wealth and the power to decide about your own life. It is also and mostly about recognition and dignity, mutual respect and empathy, deliberation and participation. In this powerful new book, Michèle Lamont illuminates how recognition must be part of the post-neoliberalism agenda. A must-read
-Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Meaningful healing, these pages reveal in compelling detail, must come through the universal recognition that everyone struggles, everyone dreams, everyone matters, and everyone wants to be seen. It is difficult to imagine a more timely and original work of social analysis, or one more welcome in these troubled times
-Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Harvard sociologist Michèle Lamont has written a landmark book that unpacks how 'recognition chains' work in politics, culture, and in our day-to-day interactions with others. Seeing Others will change the way you see the world, and yourself
-Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of Strangers In Their Own Land
Michèle Lamont's book Seeing Others is so important for this time we're living through - as our country grapples with changing ideas of 'who matters' and how we can move to a more equitable and understanding nation. Her extensive research encompasses the intersectionality that is the key to making a better world for us all. A must read.
-Joey Soloway, creator of Transparent
Michèle Lamont is one of the most prominent analysts of culture and identity in the world today. In this new book she brings her expertise as scholar to a new role as public intellectual. She shows that asking how we see others and how they see themselves has important implications for inequality and for practical efforts to address that growing scourge of contemporary society
-Robert D. Putnam, author of The Upswing
In this original and wide-ranging book, the leading cultural sociologist Michèle Lamont draws on many years of careful, rigorous qualitative research to offer an ultimately optimistic account of how our societies can heal. Her call to embrace inclusive narratives of 'ordinary universalism' unfurls the banner of a better future
-Mike Savage, author of Social Class in the 21st Century
