Pandemics, substance abuse, natural disasters, obesity, and warfare: these are not only health crises but social crises as well. Now a panel of leaders in global health explores the vital but understudied social theories behind the practice of health promotion, including cultural capital, risk and causality, systems theory, and the dynamic between individual and community.

This book explores the link between health and society. It presents a theory that contemporary health promotion is, by definition, inextricably linked to its social context. The authors discuss global challenges in terms of cultural capital, risk and causality, systems theory, and the dynamic between individual and community. In the process, they define an entity that: understands the centrality of health to all areas of human life, is committed to equity in access to health-promoting resources, applies a multidisciplinary approach to public concerns, looks beyond quick fixes and simple answers to complex issues, employs a variety of political and social agents to accomplish health objectives, is dedicated to empowerment, facilitation, and inclusiveness. The insights found in Health and Modernity are certain to raise the level of debate among professionals, researchers, and the academic community in the global/public health and health promotion fields.

From a Theory Group to a Theory Book.- Modernity, Public Health, and Health Promotion.- Critical Issues in Theory for Health Promotion.- Cultural Capital in Health Promotion.- Understanding Differentiation of Health in Late Modernity by Use of Sociological Systems Theory.- Managing Uncertainty Through Participation.- Thinking Health Promotion Sociologically.- Health Governance: The Health Society.