Toward a Theory of Strategic Action Fields

Abstract

This chapter starts by briefly touching on the most original aspects of the theory, relative to other perspectives on fields. Second, it discusses the general challenge of accumulating knowledge in sociology and more generally in the social sciences. Third, in light of this general problem, it notes a very surprising thing: the discovery of fields is in fact a cross-disciplinary phenomena and it pervades thinking in many subfields in sociology. This lends support to the view that in spite of the differences in social science, something important is afoot around the theory of fields. Finally, in spite of this exciting collective discovery, there remain many issues that can only be resolved by close scrutiny of scholars working in different disciplines and subfields with different methods. The chapter identifies seven key issues that need to be resolved in order to arrive at a general theory of strategic action fields. It concludes with a sketch of, and invitation for, a genuinely collaborative program of research and theory in this area.