Academic Sociology Research Articles

Religion Matters (And Doesn't Go Away When Sociologists Ignore It)

Religion remains among the most powerful and pervasive forms of social behavior around the world, including the United States. Yet academic sociology has long ignored its relevance and is consequently neglecting a responsibility to provide accurate and comprehensive explanations of social life to the world. I consider several reasons for this neglect, including the uncomfortable topic of anti‐religious bias within the discipline. I propose that correcting our collective suspicion toward religion, religious people, and the specialists who study them is not only ethical, but it helps us do better science, prevents us from excluding minorities who are also more likely to be religious, and helps us earn the trust of the wider public. I conclude by calling for a reprioritization of religion in the discipline.

Revolution or Incursion? Academic Sociologists and Gender in the 21st Century

Revolution or Incursion? Academic Sociologists and Gender in the 21st Century

W. E. B. Du Bois’ Indian Romance

Former colonial powers are living through a moment of self-discovery. They are examining the enormous benefits they reaped from colonialism as well as the heavy costs they inflicted on the colonised. Academic disciplines have set about questioning their own foundations, some more successfully than others. Sociology, in particular, is experiencing its decolonial moment. In the United States at the centre of debate is W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)—a brilliant sociologist, historian, novelist, dramatist, socialist, civil rights and peace activist and Pan-Africanist. Despite being the leading African American public intellectual of the 20th century, he was largely ignored by academic sociology. An ardent advocate of national self-determination and an enthusiastic admirer of Nehru and Gandhi, he was the author of a surreal novel Dark Princess (2007 [1928]) that placed India at the centre of world revolution. In this talk, I try to disentangle the global significance of canonising Du Bois for the decolonisation of sociology.

Mobility and Inequality in the Professoriate: How and Why First-Generation and Working-Class Backgrounds Matter

Social science research has long recognized the relevance of socioeconomic background for mobility and inequality. In this article we interrogate how and why working-class and first-generation backgrounds are especially meaningful and take as our case in point the professoriate and the discipline of sociology, – i.e., a field that intellectually prioritizes attention to group inequality and that arguably offers a conservative empirical test compared to other academic fields. Our analyses, which draw on unique survey items and open-ended qualitative materials from nearly 1,000 academic sociologists, reveal significant background divergences in academic job attainment, tied partly to educational background. Moreover, and especially unique and important, findings demonstrate significant consequences across several dimensions of inequality including compensation and economic precarity, professional visibility, and isolation at departmental, college or university, and professional levels. We conclude by highlighting how our discussion and results contribute in important ways to broader sociological concerns surrounding mobility, group disadvantage, and social closure.

РЕЦЕНЗИЯ НА НАУЧНУЮ МОНОГРАФИЮ "ОТ ПРЕКАРНОЙ ЗАНЯТОСТИ К ПРЕКАРИЗАЦИИ ЖИЗНИ" ПОД РЕД. Ж.Т. ТОЩЕНКО. М.: ВЕСЬ МИР, 2022. 364 С.

The review deals with the publication and analysis of the main provisions of the new collective monograph “From precarious employment to precarization of life” (ed. RAS Zh.T. Toshchenko. Moscow: Ves’ Mir, 2022), written by the staff of the Federal Research Sociological Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian State University for the Humanities, the National Research Institute of Trust, Dignity and Law. On the pages of that peer-reviewed work, the reader learns about the key features and specifics of the public and private life world of the precariat, about the precarization of the quality of the main spheres of life (labor, social sphere, public and political life, cultural and everyday life), about the degree of precarization in the health care system, science and higher education. As in previous collective monographic works (which have gained undoubted success), the new work, based on numerous both primary and secondary data, reflects new trends and ideas about the precariat. The present work is addressed to a wide range of readers and will be very useful not only to professional academic sociologists, but also to all those who care about the study of the lifestyle of individuals in the realities of the current socio-economic structure of society.

Sociologist Takebe Tongo — the Japanese Interpreter of August Comte’s Positive Theory

The article considers the views of one of the brightest representatives of Japanese academic sociology Takebe Tongo. In his work he tried to combine the social philosophy of Auguste Comte and social ideals of Confucianism. The ideas of the French scientist are interpreted by Takebe from conservative and even nationalistic point of view. Using Comte’s constructive principles of ‘positive society’ and trying to harmoniously combine them with the postulates of Confucianism, the Japanese sociologist created the concept of ‘Japanese positive society’. The positivistic thesis, according to which any society exists by natural laws, Takebe supplemented with the Eastern, Japanese conviction of patriarchal essence of State. Adopting some Comte’s ideas, Takebe tried to fill them with concrete content of traditional Eastern views. The ‘Concreteness’ of thinking, one of specific features of the Far Eastern cultures, is expressed in written language — Chinese characters, which had a great impact on the process of adopting and assimilation of Western abstract way of thinking. At the same time Western impact couldn’t lead to the demolition of the stereotypes of traditional social views in Japan because such stereotypes had been utilized as the basement for preserving the spiritual solidarity of the Japanese population by national ideologists as Takebe Tongo.

Claims to (S)expertise in the British Sex Survey, c. 1960s–1990s

Summary This article focuses on one main producer of knowledge about sexual subjects in the twentieth century: the social sciences. Sociological interest in issues relating to sex and sexuality intensified in the 1950s, along with the rise of post-war social science deployed to gather information on a changing post-war British nation. Family planning surveys were central to this new academic sociology, and increasingly framed women respondents as experts on family planning practices. This article argues that social surveys related to contraceptive and sexual health practices became increasingly interested in questions of subjectivity from the 1970s, reflecting a broader shift in the social sciences. This led researchers to turn their attention towards men as valid contributors. In doing so, this article charts the development of sexual knowledge and makes broader interventions into the history of knowledge production, by providing insights into the changing ideas regarding legitimate sources of knowledge and expertise.

Book Review of “School Zone: A Problem Analysis of Student Offending and Victimization”

The subject of school violence remains an enduring subject of media coverage and discourse in the United States and a consistent source of conversation both public and private. That, of course, reflects the steady drumbeat of school shootings in this country that justifiably garner so much attention (and horror). Yet, as School Zone makes clear, those horrific incidents that symbolize the issue of school violence represent only a small component of that issue, and the many other aspects of school violence—and school-based crime more generally—are neither interrogated nor understood nearly enough outside the realm of academic sociology, criminology, and psychology. What the authors do with this book, therefore, is shine a light on the full scope of that issue to illuminate what does and does not go on in school, attempt to answer the important question of “why?”, and distill some important lessons from this information about what can be done in response. As such, this book is both timely and needed, and it serves an important role in translating sociological knowledge for broader use.

Inequality in Ecuadorian Sociology of the 1950s and 1960s

ABSTRACT Heavy inequalities mark Ecuador. Ecuadorian sociology was always aware of this. Inequality is a central political language of academic sociology in Ecuador and the main field of contact with global sociology, politics, and other local traditions. This is why the treatment of inequality by sociologists in Ecuador shows in an exemplary manner the conceptual shifts taking place – including the local relation to global tendencies in the sense of a global intellectual history. Early Ecuadorian sociology was based on the pre-classics of sociology and their organicist understanding of society: inequality appeared related to morals, education, and work. The main problem was the artificial barriers in society that hindered the participation of indigenous peoples in society, thus producing a social divide. This reading fit well with the political language of that time, allowing for paternalistic reformism that did not put actual social structures into doubt. The 1950s and 1960s condense the development of the sociological debates on inequality, introducing a push for modernisation. However, the concrete possibilities to open Ecuadorian sociology to global debates could not be used. The more contemporary class analysis was finally replaced by a strictly Marxist approach in the 1970s.

The sociological craft through the lens of theatre

Since its inception as an academic discipline in the 19th century, sociology has carried an internal tension between the “scientific” and the “hermeneutic” orientations. In response to this tension, the present article reviews important sociological publications that address the art-science dichotomy and explores the relationship between academic sociology and artistic work on society. It takes its departure point from a collaboration between the author and the dramatist Mattias Andersson in the documentary theatre project The mental states of Gothenburg (2006, Angered Theatre). To a large extent, the play’s script consisted of extracts of interviews with young people from different parts of the city of Gothenburg. Both “the sociologist”, who carried out the interviews, and “the dramatist” ended up as characters on stage. The article especially emphasises the relevance of The sociological imagination by C. Wright Mills (1967[1959]), arguing that through collaborative work with artists, the sociological craft can be further cultivated and thus realise its potential in terms of making well-founded interventions, both in academic discussions and in public conversations.

Ukrainian Sociology of Perestroikatimes: Reconstruction of Restoration Processes

The article is devoted to the stages and specifics of the formation of Ukrainian sociology in the period of perestroika. In particular, it is determined that in the era of “perestroika”, domestic sociology consisted of four conventional segments: scientific-academic, scientific-university, factory, and party-ideological. Each of them had its own structural and organizational construction and was characterized by a specific dominant area of activity: theoretical and academic sociology, applied (in the field of social planning, sociology of labor, management), sociology of education and ideological activities. The article notes that, although formally domestic sociology has become an independent, legitimized at the state level scientific discipline, focused on socio-cultural problems of the population, only after the country gained independence in 1991, it inherited the experience of previous generations of sociologists and relied on it, while being inextricably linked with the historical transformations that took place in the course of the national revival. The fact that for a long time Ukrainian sociology was formed as a part of the general Soviet sociology has a negative consequence; in particular, there is still no understanding of this science by the society. Thus, the lack of objective information about the real capability of sociological science, public ignorance of the value of sociological knowledge (including the example of foreign experience of developed countries) led to a distorted perception of the general concept of “sociology”, the emergence of widespread stereotypes about sociology as public opinion polls on certain issues.

On the origins of the methodology of social knowledge in Russia: A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky and contemporary discussions

The article considers those aspects of the development of sociological knowledge in Russia that were determined by the scientific and organizational activities of A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky (1863-1919). His contribution to the development of the Russian social and humanitarian thought is associated mainly with the development of the foundations of history, historiography and source studies, which is widely admitted in scientific works. However, Lappo-Danilevskys contribution to the development of sociology, to the identification of the specifics of its subject and to the creation of a model of systemic courses on the historical reconstruction of sociological knowledge are still widely discussed. The authors consider the creative component of Lappo-Danilevskys legacy and the strategy he developed for creating an interdisciplinary methodology for social sciences. The article aims at describing his contribution to the institutionalization of Russian sociology, which allows not only to clarify the origins of social knowledge in Russia, but also to actualize Lappo-Danilevskys legacy. The authors pose new questions and problematize the research potential of the works of Russian scientists at the turn of the 20th century, which has prospects for supplementing the history and methodology of sociology. The description of the activities of Lappo-Danilevsky - from the development of the institutional foundations of Russian sociology to the clarification of the methodological principles of social knowledge - raises the question of the influence of positivism and neo-Kantianism on the scientific community. On the other hand, the study of the scientific and organizational activities of Lappo-Danilevsky allow to expand the field of history and methodology of sociology by supplementing it with a description of the institutionalization of sociology in Russia. The study of the foundations of sociological knowledge emphasizes three points: creation of methodology, separation from related disciplines, and acceptance of the historical component in the development of academic sociology. The article also mentions contemporary discussions which consider the sociological legacy of Lappo-Danilevsky not only as a historical reconstruction of the development of social knowledge, but also in the interdisciplinary perspective of contemporary sociology.

The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir

The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir

Outsiders Within Transforming the Academy: The Unique Positionality of Feminist Sociologists

Several initiatives recognize the importance of transforming institutions, not just changing individuals, to diversify STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields. Universities and colleges are distinctive gendered work organizations because workers (faculty) are highly educated and have authority in hiring, evaluation, and policy (shared governance). This article explores whether feminist sociologists are particularly well suited to guide institutional change to diversify the academy. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with 24 feminist academic sociologists at the rank of associate or full professor, I analyze how their feminist and sociological identities intersect with institutional locations to create opportunities to transform the academy. Outsiders within, feminist sociologists revise and use the master’s tools to produce knowledge that improves recognition of, and ability to reduce, structural inequalities. Proficiency with these tools confers insider legitimacy and access to a “seat at the table” where disciplinary expertise and political commitments contribute to institutional change. Inevitably, these professors confront resistance, and in response develop strategies to advance their goals. Insights from feminist sociologists suggest that to transform universities to reflect the diversity of institutions and lived reality of contemporary faculty, it may be more useful to identify a set of commitments and principles that inform policies and practices, rather than specifying actions to support culture change.

The Production of Contemporary Sociological Knowledge in Hong Kong

AbstractThis paper explores the development of academic sociology in Hong Kong since the expansion of higher education and increased student enrolment in the nineties. Colleges gained university titles and sociology departments matured as a result. I attempt to trace the current state of sociology in teaching programs and research directions. I conclude with a discussion of future developments with specific reference to the repositioning of Hong Kong within sociology as the former British colony continue to negotiate, navigate and grapple its relationship with Mainland China both as a productive site for sociological research and a reference point to be different in method.

The Culture of ”Crossroads”: the Emergency of Blues as a Countercultural Declaration

Introduction. Apart from classical academic musicology, sociology, social anthropology and related disciplines such as sociolinguistics, philology, and cultural studies contributed to the development of research of music and its role in social, interpersonal relations, and individual experiences. The aim of this research is to investigate musical and singing traditions within the context of social relations, historical challenges, and sub-cultures by sociological and social anthropological approaches. In the last decades these research is of relevance for scholars interested in creativity and creative individuals whose impact effect is ambient in current social and political processes. The main tradition can be approached as a socio-cultural phenomenon emerging in the form of sub-culture.Methodology and sources. Methodological b ackground o f t his r esearch i s o f s tructuralfunctional character. Within this framework art and creativity can be approached by various sets of research techniques. Culture of music can be studies both as an object and as a text; hence, textual and contextual approaches are of significance. In result, we can discover reasons motivating people to influence social relations and preconceptions within certain groups and societies. This approach allows the analysis the connections between individual and collective perceptions of people regarding their identities and place in a society. Finally, not only music shapes the context of sociolultural phenomena, but it is the context itself per se. For this paper I used texts and bibliographic data of singers such as follows: Son House, Robert Johnson, Skip James, William Samuel McTell, Edward W. Clayborn.Results and discussion. The analysis of social history of blues in the end of the nineteenth and in the beginning of the twentieth centuries as well as biographies of bluesmen along with the texts of their songs clearly demonstrates poetic motifs, individual and social reflections of different communities. The images such as love and flirt, manqué love, rest from hard work, roads, railways, trains, abandoned home with simultaneous lack of home, prison, illness, death and cemetery as well as the demonstration of all the listed images by socially oriented creativity in music, represents deep forms of marginality of those who sing it out in front of respected citizens living normal lives.Conclusion. The material scrutinized in this paper clearly shoes that blues as a genre of music along with bluesmen who are representatives of a certain sub-culture, constitute a coherent social system which can be characterized a s a c ounter-culture. This social and cultural phenomenon in a way we encounter it derived from marginal status of its representatives. This marginal status becomes visible in blues as emotion and soulreflection to a large degree contradictory to the idea of respectable citizens and so-called “right way of life”.

МИССИЯ СОЦИОЛОГА В СОВРЕМЕННОМ РОССИЙСКОМ ОБЩЕСТВЕ

Modern Russian society is characterized by rapid development of the sociological industry. The purpose of this article is to examine the development of academic sociology, the formation of public sociology and the introduction of a comprehensive training of a new generation of sociologists-researchers through the prism of the professional activity of academician M. K. Gorshkov. The author comes to the conclusion that due to the valuable contribution of the scientist to the development of sociological thought in the Russian Federation, and the establishment of scientific schools and unique platform for training a new generation of sociologists (School of young sociologist), in the nearest future Russian society will be characterized not only by high quantitative indicators of development of domestic sociology, but also her deep meaningful component.

The Problem of Theorizing On / Of Sociology and Problematization of Sociological Theory

The article analyzes the problems of theorizing in modern sociology, limitations and problems that sociologists face when building a sociological theory in modern conditions. Author explores the different modes of practice and reproduction of theory in academic sociology. Problems of the status of theory in modern sociology, its academic, didactic and social representations are analyzed. It is emphasized that the service, subordinate, limited position of fundamental interpretations in the modern sociology’s structure is dangerous for the (re)production of sociology as it is. Author classifies and analyses typical practices and structures of the use and (re)production of fundamental theory in modern sociological science. A special emphasis is made on the study of the didactic aspects of theorizing both in the classroom and outside it. Here, the most important plot is the connection between university education as the production of a universal human image, on the one hand, and theoretical, generalizing, abstractive thinking – on the other. In addition, an important aspect is the problem of social and disciplinary identity of sociology, its use of conceptual, categorical and methodological arsenal in arguing its autonomy and epistemological legitimacy. The possibilities of developing the theoretical tools of sociology from the standpoint of the production of plurality as a condition of its systemic development are investigated. Ideological, educational, socialization, communicative functions of the fundamental theory are underlined. The conclusion about the possibilities and limitations of fundamental theorizing in sociology in modern social and epistemological conditions is formulated.

Measures and Their Countermeasures: Reflexivity and Second‐Order Reactivity in Quantifying Immigrant Integration

Sociology is inherently reflexive. It deals with actors who themselves are constantly engaged in sociological reasoning. Concepts from academic sociology are thus prone to enter and affect the very dynamics they describe. The sociology of quantification is particularly attuned to such paradoxical effects of “reactivity,” that is, measurements and categories altering observed realities. The article builds on these insights but extends them by adding one more iteration of reflexivity. Examining administrative integration departments in Germany that have implemented statistical indicators for measuring immigrant incorporation, it attends to a case where bureaucrats are themselves anticipating “reactivity” of the measurements they use. Integration officers fear that integration indicators may inadvertently reify and stigmatize the statistical category of first‐ to third‐generation immigrants, or “persons with a migration background.” Consequently, they engage in various counterstrategies to offset such effects. Most notably, they launch a counter‐campaign against negative connotations of migration background that their own measurements are reinforcing as they frame migration background as an asset for society. The article argues that this is an example of second‐order reactivity, a phenomenon as yet neglected in the literature: Officers alter reality in reaction to an anticipated reactivity of their own integration statistics.

The Chicago School and City Planning

While sociology and urban planning might seem respectively to represent the theory and the practice of knowledge about cities, their relation has usually been distant. British sociology and urban planning were closely related before 1914, but largely because sociology was not a bounded specialty: community investigation methods were common throughout the British reform world, finding particular and successful application via city planning’s focus on housing and industrial location. In the United States, by contrast, sociology early became a clearly-defined academic discipline, and sociological empirical methods, although widely shared, supported only generalized reform demands, because local planning of housing and industry was politically impossible outside industrial communities. Most prewar city planning aimed at middle-class and aesthetic values rather than socially ameliorative community design. Between the wars, British academic sociology continued to develop slowly, and community sociological investigation fell largely to the rapidly developing profession of city planning, whose success and power culminated in the masterful plans for postwar London. In the United States, by contrast, sociology rapidly evolved towards national survey analysis, distancing itself even further from practical application in city planning. In general, then, the theory and practice of knowledge about cities remained separate in the first half of the twentieth century in Britain and the United States.