Free standard shipping on all orders
  • Visa
  • Master Card
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • JCB

Sociology of Possibility: An Invitation to Legitimation Code Theory book cover

1st Edition

Sociology of Possibility An Invitation to Legitimation Code Theory

By Karl Maton Copyright 2026
312 Pages 58 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

312 Pages 58 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Legitimation Code Theory or ‘LCT’ is having significant impact on research and practice, especially in education. Around the world, scholars and educators are using LCT to reveal the usually hidden ‘rules of the game’ that underlie achievement in social arenas as varied as education, law and media. These ‘legitimation codes’ are then taught and learned or mindfully changed to give access and... Read more

Part I – Invitation and Introductions

1    Making the impossible possible: An invitation to Legitimation Code Theory

2    A sociology of possibility: Introducing the toolkit of LCT

3    A mindset of possibility: Introducing ways of thinking with LCT

 

Part II – Seeing Possibility

4    Legitimation, fields and dispositions: Seeing possibility in practices

5    Constellations: Seeing a universe of possibilities

 

Part III – Analysing Possibility

6     Specialization: Analysing knowledge and knowers

7     Semantics, part 1: Analysing context and complexity

8     Semantics, part 2: Codes and waves of context and complexity

9     Autonomy: Analysing contents and purposes

 

Part IV – Researching Possibility and Overcoming Divides

10   Activation devices: Overcoming the quantitative–qualitative divide

11   Translation devices: Bridging the theory–data divide

12   Doing research is shooting a movie: Transcending disciplinary divides

 

Part V – For Future Possibilities of Your Own

13   Relational glossary

14   Opening both eyes: A slight return

Biography

Karl Maton is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sydney and Honorary Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and Rhodes University. He is the creator of Legitimation Code Theory, a widely used framework that is having significant impact around the world, especially in education.

Add to Cart