Shortlisted for the Saltire Society/NLS Scottish Research Book of the Year Award, 2005Living in Scotland gives an account of the key social changes in Scottish society, describing how it has been transformed over the last two to three decades. Drawing on a uniquely wide range of data from government statistics, social surveys and over-time data sources, the book tells the story of society in Scotland during the approach and arrival of the new century. The authors analyse the large-scale changes which have profoundly altered Scottish society affecting the country’s demography, patterns of work and employment, the distributions of income, wealth and poverty, social class and social mobility, educational opportunities, and patterns of consumption and lifestyle. While Scotland shares many of these social trends with similar western societies, its reaction to them is shaped by its own history and culture. The authors argue that Scotland is now a more affluent, comfortable and pleasant place to live in than just two or three decades ago, but that it remains seriously divided and stratified. A significant minority of its people remain disadvantaged and relatively deprived. This represents the major political and cultural challenge for the new Scotland.Living in Scotland is written by three of the country’s foremost sociologists. Together, they build a picture of a changing Scotland at the beginning of the 21st century.Key Features:* A cd-rom of all the key tables is provided with the book* Written by three of Scotland’s foremost sociologists* Builds a picture of the changing society of Scotland over the second half of the twentieth century* Uses a uniquely wide range of statistical data sources which are set in context and explained in non-technical ways

Prizes

Short-listed for Saltire Society Awards: Research 2005

Lindsay Paterson is Emeritus Professor of Education Policy, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. His main academic interests are in education, civic engagement and political attitudes. He has contributed to many debates in Scotland since the early 1990s on education, on social change, and on politics. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Frank Bechhofer is University Fellow and Emeritus Professor of Social Research, University of Edinburgh. In 1986 he founded the Research Centre for Social Sciences and was its Director until 1997. David McCrone is emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh; a Fellow of the British Academy, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He co-founded the university’s Institute of Governance in 1999, and has written extensively on the sociology and politics of Scotland, and the comparative study of nationalism. His books include Who Runs Edinburgh? (Edinburgh University Press, 2022), The New Sociology of Scotland (Sage Publications, 2017), and The Sociology of Nationalism: tomorrow’s ancestors (Routledge, 1998). He coordinated a series of studies on national identity in Scotland and in England, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, which culminated in his co-authored book Understanding National Identity, published in 2015 by Cambridge University Press.