American Sociology Research Articles

Combate na zona de dissertação

In this article originally published in 2005 in The American Sociologist, Michael Burawoy proposes a 30-year self-analysis of his supervising practice at UC Berkeley. Highlighting the power imbalance structuring the relationship between supervisor and supervisee, Burawoy unveils paths for a sociology of sociological supervising, opening the black box of the interactions, rites and interests surroun- ding the production of a dissertation – inviting others to follow the same reflective path, both in the United States and in Brazil.

Уильям Огборн и идея культурного лага. К столетию гипотезы

The article introduces the publication in Russian of selected sections of the book “Social Change, with Respect to Culture and Original Nature” (1922) by the American sociologist William F. Ogburn, in which the main provisions of the cultural lag hypothesis are outlined. The milestones of Ogburn’s biography and scientific work are considered. It is shown that the cultural lag hypothesis has become the basis of a program of comprehensive studies of the social effects of technical inventions, which Ogburn has been implementing for several decades. The contribution of the cultural lag hypothesis to the social reflection of the phenomenon of technology is discussed, as well as the main directions of criticism of this concept.

Из книги «Социальное изменение». Часть IV. Социальные рассогласования

This text is a Russian translation of two chapters of the fourth part of the book “Social Change, with Respect to Culture and Original Nature” by American sociologist William Ogborn, the first edition of which was published in 1922. These parts outline the main points of the cultural lag hypothesis, according to which changes in material culture arose adaptation of a certain part of non-material culture and this adaptation takes some time, forming a lag of one or another duration. The hypothesis of cultural lag became a methodological guideline for Ogborne’s later studies, and also served as a starting point for discussions about mutual influence of technical and social progress and a determining role of the factors of material and non-material culture. The translation was made by V.G. Nikolaev.

Performance Leite Derramado: desafiando as imagens de controle

ABSTRACT The article proposes to analyze the performance Leite Derramado (2013) by artist Ana Musidora from the perspective of the representation of the Black mother. In this regard, we investigate the concept of controlling images by American sociologist Patricia Hill Collins and the images invoked to define black women in Brazil, by Anthropologist Lélia Gonzalez. We reflect on how Leite Derramado explores critical layers on the images/historical representations sorted according to patriarchal and slavocratic values on Black women.

The Implications of Psychological Contract on Employee Job Performance in Education Service Delivery: A Study of Ebonyi State University

This paper examined the implications of psychological contract on employee job performance in Ebonyi State University Abakaliki. The paper adopted descriptive research design, based on primary and secondary empirical data exploration to deal concretely with the phenomena of public personnel management as it bothers on psychological contract in employment relations and the implication on employee job performance. The study queried the psychological contract enigma in education service delivery organizations such as Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Nigeria. Primary data were drawn from structured questionnaire administered on a sample size of 346, with secondary data sourced from empirical academic journals, newspaper publications, other internet materials, etc. In testing the research hypotheses, weighted mean and z-test statistical tools were utilized. In other to depict a clear narrative from the theoretical and empirical point of view, the paper employed the “Social Exchange Theory”, propounded by the renowned American Sociologist George C. Homans (August 11, 1910-May 29, 1989). The paper revealed that the efficient and effective job performance of Ebonyi State University employees has been inhibited by breach of psychological contract, particularly on the part of the employer (i.e., the state government). The paper indicated that psychological contract problem has a serious inefficiency and brain drain implication for the University as well as incapability of the University in delivering on its mandate and mission statement “to provide a conducive atmosphere for teaching, learning, research and rapid development in order to transform the untapped, abundant unskilled, human resources in Ebonyi state into skilled power”. The paper called on the state government to further create humane work environment (i.e., favorable organizational climate) that would facilitate appropriately remunerated promotions, provide adequate training and opportunities for career advancement, and stimulate a climate that accommodates cooperation, consensus and employees’ participation in decision making.

The Phenomenon Of Agrarian Elites In The Processes Of Deindustrialization Of The Territories Of The Macroregion Of Central Russia

Based on the theory of the American sociologist R. Lakhman about the role of the phenomenon of agrarian and industrial elites in the industrial development of national states, the authors prove their hypothesis that the dominance of agrarian elites in the subjects of the Russian Federation largely predetermined the process of deindustrialization of territories in the 1990s and 2000s. On the example of 17 regions of the macro-region of Central Russia and based on the content analysis of empirical data and using statistical analysis, the possibilities and directions of overcoming the consequences of deindustrialization by the regions of the "rust belt" of the Central Federal District are investigated. At the same time, from the perspective of management sociology, a special place in the process of modernization of territories carried out by the authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is assigned to development institutions (industrial and industrial parks, SEZs, TOSERS), which provide institutional changes and a productive process of reindustrialization of territories.

Cross-cultural Competence as a Foundation for Professional Diplomacy in the New Post-COVID-19 Reality

In this contribution we argue that cross-cultural competence (CCC or 3C) is being an indispensable proficiency in professional work of diplomats worldwide despite any changes that happened in professional interaction due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. It is also suggested that deglobalizing processes significantly strengthened by COVID-19 have made the necessity for specialists professionally involved in international relations to acquire cross-cultural competence even greater than before. The current global situation shows that deglobalization — slowing down of globalization in all spheres of life — is a new reality and it is important to adjust to it as soon as possible. Cross-cultural competence is defined here as a complex of theoretical knowledge and key practical skills enabling to efficiently and successfully communicate with the representatives of different cultures and religious traditions as well as to feel psychologically comfortable in a foreign environment. A reduced number of personal business interactions lead to the urge for their higher efficiency that is supposed to be reflected in a better understanding of the interlocutor’s motivations, stands and reactions. At the same time cultural specifics remains the main factor shaping human communication whether it is conducted offline or online. Today as the tendency to conduct online conferences and meetings increases, we witness an increased need to learn to understand the attitudes of our virtual interlocutors, who are coming from various national cultures and traditions. In the course of online meetings, the necessity to correctly decipher their body language, for example, has decreased — one can hardly see a full figure on the PC screen. And consequently, verbal communication started to prevail over non-verbal one increasing the demand for proper interpretation of words, phrases, tone, mimics and gestures that are still very widely used during virtual communication. The next step would be using the most relevant arguments and approaches to deliver one’s own position and/or opinion. To successfully apply both mechanisms — of receiving messages and replying to them — during communication of people from different national cultures it would require the knowledge of cultural specifics that is provided by cross-cultural competence courses, training, seminars, or any other educational programmes. Programmes in cross-cultural competence are supposed to include at least three following components: 1) regional studies, 2) axiological orientations, 3) models and norms of behavior, while axiological orientations are seen as the most important one. Finally, the conclusion is made about a serious need to include cross-cultural competence programmes into the training of diplomats-to-be at the early stages of their professional education. At the same time, it is highly recommended for professional upgrade of the already serving diplomats worldwide. The methodological approach used in the present research combines content analysis of the post-COVID publications by the leading international experts in the diplomatic field as well as acting diplomats with the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) elaborated by the prominent American sociologist Milton Bennet. The latter is a six-level sсheme, according to which it is possible to figure the level of person’s skillfulness in cross-cultural communication.

Formation of sociological imagination in students of technical institutions in education in the process of teaching sociology

The article is devoted to the problem of formation of sociological imagination in the process of teaching sociology to students studying in technical educational institutions. The concept of “sociological imagination”, introduced into scientific circulation by the American sociologist Wright Mills, is being clarified. It turns out that the concept of sociological imagination has acquired the status of one of the main in modern sociology and began to play an important educational role, and in sociological science, respectively, methodological and methodological. Attention is paid to the peculiarities of teaching sociology in technical educational institutions, and in view of this, the problem of forming the sociological imagination of students. The fact is that sociology in technical educational institutions is not professional, so it is taught exclusively as a general discipline of worldview. The purpose of teaching sociology in such higher education institutions is to promote the formation of students’ sociological imagination, ie to help future specialists in engineering to develop the ability to think socially, ie to adequately perceive, comprehend and interpret social processes and phenomena, analyze and be ready to solve complex social problems. The solution of this problem involves the use of such methods of teaching sociology, which would be related to the specific practices of modern society, taking into account the universal and professional interests of future professionals. The own experience of teaching sociology at the National Transport University is analyzed. There are examples of using different methods of teaching sociology, aimed at forming a sociological imagination that allow students to perceive the social world around them and relate their professional problems with general social problems, educate and shape their civic position and increase their general cultural level.

Sticky Stock Market Analysts

Technological progress in recent years has made new methods available for making forecasts in a variety of areas. We examine the success of ex-ante stock market forecasts of three major stock market indices, i.e., the German Stock Market Index (DAX), the Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJI), and the Euro Stoxx 50 (SX5E). We test whether the forecasts prove true when they reach their effective dates and are therefore suitable for active investment strategies. We revive the thoughts of the American sociologist William Fielding Ogburn, who argues that forecasters consistently underestimate the variability of the future. In addition, we draw on some contemporary measures of forecast quality (prediction-realization diagram, test of unbiasedness, and Diebold–Mariano test). We reveal that (a) unusual events are underrepresented in the forecasts, (b) the dispersion of the forecasts lags behind that of the actual events, (c) the slope of the regression lines in the prediction-realization diagram is <1, (d) the forecasts are highly biased, and (e) the quality of the forecasts is not significantly better than that of naïve forecasts. The overall behavior of the forecasters can be described as “sticky” because their forecasts adhere too strongly to long-term trends in the indices and are thus characterized by conservatism.

‘Nothing Is Less Universal than the Idea of Race’

In 1950, the cultural anthropologist Alfred Métraux, a student of Marcel Mauss, was appointed to head a new Race Bureau at UNESCO in Paris whose mission was to combat racism with the tools of social science. Métraux had worked in the Americas since the 1930s, and his appointment allowed French social scientists to join the global struggle to remove prejudice ‘from the minds of men’. To what extent did French scholars help shape Métraux’s efforts, given that at the time American sociologists and social psychologists dominated the study of race relations? Booklets commissioned by UNESCO and authored by French and American scientists in the early 1950s suggest that linguistic and conceptual barriers made cross-national discussions of race difficult, but not impossible. Thanks in part to Métraux’s campaign, the social scientific study of race relations in post-war France began earlier than is typically remembered.

Становление и развитие американской элитологии в XX — начале XXI века

This study analyzed in details the genesis of American school of study of elites in the period from the middle of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century. In this case the author makes an attempt to classify the main phases of American elitology from the 40s of the 20th century. Based on an analysis of papers of well-known American sociologists and political scientists who study elites, the author states the main approaches in relation to the study of elites. Thus, in the 1940s, the dominant approach to understanding elites was the liberal-democratic, according to which access to the elites is open for everyone who has extra skills in different spheres of society. At the same time stands a technocratic approach, which define elite as a group of professional managers who form a new class of technocracy. In 50s–60s liberal-democratic approach has been criticized by left-wing approach. From this point, elite was defined as a narrow layer of financiers and persons, who are close to the president, and this layer is closed. In the 60s–70s, the most popular approach of studying elites was pluralism. According to which, elite has no monolithic origin — it is a complex of interconnected independent elites. From the beginning of the 70s, the basic principles of pluralism have been criticized by neoelitism, according to which the most elite representatives included in most elite groups simultaneously. The late 20th — early 21st century can be characterized in two ways: dispute between pluralists and neoelitists and attempts to operationalize the concept of elite.

Соціальне служіння церков як провайдер практик соціальної допомоги

The paper presents an analysis of churches social service of in the context of its ability to ensure the implementation of social assistance practices which carry out by members of religious congregations. Namely to act as a provider of such interaction in society. Analyzed and compared terminological field of social service research, differences between social service, social activity, social assistance and confessional social work. The origins of social service, its content and conditions of transformation are determined. In particular, the tendency to actualize research on social service in the scientific environment is pointed out and the need to implement the task of institutionalizing social service both within churches (Second Vatican Council) and in the wider community is proved. The most notable scientific achievements of American and British sociologists are summarized; new types of social service are presented. Changes in the structure of social service, common and different in the practices of social assistance of religious associations, their relations with government agencies and civil society depending on the structure and level of institutionalization of the organization are identified. The advantages of social service are emphasized, which are that even in countries with a developed social security system, a well-established structure of social services, social assistance practices provided by members of religious congregations within social service are much more mobile and able to respond more quickly to societal challenges, due to the lack of bureaucratic procedures inherent in state structures. Particular attention is paid to defining the principles of functioning and development of social service in Ukraine, as well as social assistance practices carried out within this activity. The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is considered in detail as the newest direction of social service. Based on the data of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the main practices of social assistance, which are carried out within this area of social service, are analyzed. Examples of the most notable projects by confessional affiliation are also given.

Women, Research and Methods. A Short Reflection on The Chicago Social Reformers

This paper is a brief reflection on the presence of women such as Jane Addams, Florence Kelley, Alice Hamilton, and other female reformers of Hull-House, an emblem of the growing female presence in social analysis from the year 1889 ahead. It is not our goal to extol the feminist pragmatism of women active in Chicago – outside the University – but rather to consider the activity of those women in terms of the real characteristics of their position in the field of American Sociology; expecially in relation to investigations linked to the rights of individuals, women and children, and for their special contribution to the methods of their research.

Sociology versus economics: Economic life as social fact and social struggle

This review essay critically engages with recent works by Mark Granovetter, an American sociologist whose articles about social networks are among the most cited in the history of the discipline, and Thomas Piketty, a French economist whose early, illustrious career turned to worldwide public recognition with the publication of le Capital au XXieme siècle in 2015. The contrast is therefore between a well-known sociologist, one of the foremost scholars in economic sociology in the English language, and an economist of international renown who has challenged mainstream economics with his research on economic inequality and his call for participatory public involvement in economic decision-making. Both insist on the economic as social, but in distinctive ways. In this essay, first, I consider Granovetter’s long-awaited Society and Economy: Framework and Principles and Piketty’s recent Capital et idé ologie, a follow-up to his earlier, best-selling book, on their own terms. Second, I think through how each scholar might understand and critique the other, pointing to complementarities and important differences in their approaches. I conclude that although both Granovetter and Piketty challenge mainstream economistic accounts of economic life, while emphasizing human agency and so the contingency of given economic relationships, they differ significantly in their respective analytical and political-normative focus. For Granovetter, what matters is that economic life is a social fact, while for Piketty it is a social struggle.

Loneliness Is No Longer What It Used to Be

Loneliness is a historical affect that emerges from a long history of religious, poetic, and sociological ideas about isolation, solitude, and existential angst. There is a complex journey from theological and poetic ideas about loneliness to some key themes in modern American sociology. Today, the experience of loneliness is dramatically affected by the need for social distancing and the use of social media. In these new circumstances, has the meaning of loneliness radically changed?

English

These are times that trouble the soul. American sociologist, pragmatist, and race historian, W.E.B. Du Bois can be helpful in examining and resolving some of the racial and political tensions in the United States. After the lynching of sixty-two African Americans in Atlanta in 1906, Du Bois wrote a year later that the problem of the nineteenth century is the problem of color line. An examination of his’ race theory is helpful in the same way as history is instructive. Black history is intertwined and forms with the mosaic of American history.  Du Bois as a sociologist cannot be separated from Du Bois as a social activist. His life was one of incessant struggle to challenge the status quo and to expose the contradictory nature of nation’s ideals. His intellectual pedigree underscores his political and social activism. Du Bois is relevant today to the secular as well and the religious world in the struggle for social justice. This paper argues that a re-reading of Du Bois should be examined in view of the totality of his own professed religious and spiritual temperament and sensibilities.  Du Bois challenges the discipline of sociology to probe into the unexplored dimension of his life and works. This is also a clarion call for young people of all races and ethnicities to interrogate the relevance of his work in addressing social justice. His theory informs his praxis more so today as the nation faces new challenges in post-Obama presidency and the ravaging effects of COVID-19.   Key words: Africanism, double consciousness, Africa, justice inequality, Jim Crow, racism, sociology, prophets, secular.

Not only scholarships


 This paper deals with the Ford Foundation’s support for sociology in Poland, especially with its influence on the development of the social research in this country. It is based on materials from both American and local archives—sources which have never before been combined. The role of the Ford scholarships for Polish scholars is relatively well known, but this paper covers two less known aspects of the Foundation’s activity—funding American sociologists’ visits to Poland and the material support for local libraries and statistical laboratories. The American visitors were neither numerous, nor was their role particularly significant, except one: Herbert Menzel, who spent almost a year in Poland, helping to spread the know-how of quantitative social research. The Ford Foundation also supported libraries and helped to equip the statistical research lab of the Institute of Sociology of the Polish Academy of Science, tripling the technical base of quantitative social re­search in this country. Although Polish empirical sociology was successful and Poland became the center of empirical research in Eastern Europe for a while, Poles were hardly able to spread it all over the region on their own, as they were dependent on Western support. 

Some turning points in the early sociology of Robert King Merton

ABSTRACT Robert King Merton's early sociology of science is significant for the understating of modern sociology. The relationship between unplanned consequences and developments in science and technology is fundamental for a definition of the contemporary picture of social action developments. Theoretical interests link to the working-in-progress formulations. Empirical development emerges from these perspectives. The significance of the theoretical progression encapsulated in the American sociologist's doctoral dissertation is astounding (1938). The theory-research connection is equally significant when placed in relation to the scholarly output of the 1950s. In addition, the questions posed by Merton apply in the 1970s and 1990s sociology. They are fertile with interesting answers even today, which is a dramatically disturbed time due to the technological progress. This progress raises new ethical, political, and social questions about the future of humanity. Other sources of disorder derive from the ecological crisis that leads to a rethinking of the man-environment relationship. Merton does not address this topic. The twentieth-century totalitarianisms that have survived into the twenty-first century embed dangerously within the scientific technological development (e.g. the China case). The development of new medical-biological theories and practices impose new questions about the value attributed to life. This is of particular relevance today due to the global and devastating Covid 19 pandemic crisis.

The strength of weak bonds: Substituting bodily copresence in diplomatic social bonding

One of the central puzzles in the study of diplomacy is why some interactions between leaders result in positive social bonds, while others are mired in distrust and hostility. Recent research in the field of microsociology, the study of everyday interactions, most notably the pioneering research of American sociologist Randall Collins, suggests several critical ingredients for a successful interaction, including bodily copresence. In this article we interrogate this claim and provide theoretical reasons why textual communication may serve as a proxy for copresence in leader interactions. We demonstrate that while copresence, in the form of face-to-face interaction, is required for strong bond formation, mediated interaction in the form of letters can serve to create weak social bonds. The strength of weak bonds is in the reduction of distrust and the gradual development of trust that can be critical to the de-escalation of crises. Empirically, we explore our argument in two hard cases for social bond formation: the letters exchanged between Nikita Khrushchev and John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the interactions, both textual and face-to-face, between Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan at the end of the Cold War. We conclude by pointing toward an interdisciplinary research agenda on the determinants of social bond formation in diplomacy.

Biographical Analysis in Historical-Sociological Research. Summing up 20 Years of Experience. Interview prepared by Kozlova, L.A.

Doctorov gives an interview where issues are touched upon related to the development and achievements of a project on the history of Soviet/Russian sociology, a project which he has been curating for almost 20 years, as well as to a biographical study in the field of American sociology and the study of public opinion. Doctorov’s project deals with solving the theoretical, methodological and empirical issues of applying the biographical method in historical-sociological research. The author’s main methodological developments include the concept of Russian sociology’s rebirth, substantiation for generational-functional analysis, and the notion of a biographical quality to creative work in sociology, which includes the recently launched development of non-linear biographical analysis. The article discusses the author’s empirical research related to determining the generational structure of Russia’s sociological community, as well as the possibility of its study by means of in-depth interview via e-mail. It also examines the content and relevance of a collection of interviews with Russian sociologists (titled “Big portrait”), as well as an online-book titled “Biographical interviews with social scientist colleagues” (this one is interactive) and the nine-volume “Modern Russian sociology: historical-biographical pursuits”, all of which mention the main findings of B. Doctorov’s project.