Classical Sociology Research Articles

Du Bois and the wounds of the First World War

W. E. B. Du Bois occupies a singular place in classical sociology as the most prolific African American scholar of his times. This article demonstrates the profound impact the First World War had on Du Bois’s life, intellectual work and political evolution. While viewing the roots of the war through the lens of the global color-line and Europe’s imperial exploitation of Africa, he nevertheless believed it represented a possibility for the expansion of democracy for people of African descent and African Americans in particular. In the aftermath of the war, Du Bois attempted to reckon with its historical and sociological meaning by writing a book, which he ultimately never completed. Du Bois’s failure to finish what would have been one of his most important works represented the failure of the war itself and his inability to effectively marshal the tools of social science to make sense of the conflict, personally, and intellectually. The war ultimately shaped the trajectory of Du Bois’s scholarship and political radicalism in ways unlike any other sociologist in the 20th century.

Россия в перспективе исторической социологии: эвристические перспективы и методологические проблемы

The article discusses the heuristic and methodological potential of historical sociology as one of the most dynamically developing disciplines of modern social and scientific knowledge. It is argued that this area of research is functionally capable of taking on the role of today's analytical philosophy of history in the form of integrity and, at the same time, the operational reflection of the historical experience of our country. The article points out the deficient nature of previous conceptualizations of the domestic past from the point of view of historical sociology. First, the development of this discipline in the West is briefly analyzed, starting with the classics of world sociology. The qualitative and quantitative growth of historical and sociological research in the second half of the 20th century—which led to a significant expansion of the explanatory repertoire of macrosociology—is highlighted. Next, the ambivalent position of historical sociology in Russia is discussed, where—despite the existing interest in its methodological categories and substantive results—a full-fledged institutionalization of this sociological discipline has not yet occurred. Thus, a conclusion is made about the existence of a serious local tradition of interest in historical-sociological synthesis, starting with the classics of historiography and pioneers of Russian sociology at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At the same time, substantial progress is highlighted on the part of the domestic social-scientific community in the reception of the achievements of world-historical sociology at the beginning of the 21st century. The next section shows the particular relevance of modern historical-sociological approaches to the problematization of the past in the context of the domestic epistemological situation. A number of the most promising thematic complexes in modern Russian academia are highlighted. In conclusion, we highlight issues concerning framework research and scientific organization faced by historical sociology in Russia.

Как можно понимать и как тогда практиковать историческую социологию

The essay presents its author's understanding of historical sociology, as well as a view on how to practice historical sociology. The preconditions that have been necessary for the emergence of historical sociology from the American intellectual tradition are the following: first, to overcome the ‘historiosophical ahistoricism’ of classical sociology and the ahistoricism of early empirical sociology in the United States. Second, the emergence of ‘social history’ in Europe under the influence of the Great War and the social sciences rejecting the idea of progress in its evolutionary and revolutionary interpretations. The essay provides a detailed investigation of the features of the ‘new historical science’ in comparison with its traditional counterpart, as well as exploring the similarities and differences between social history and historical sociology. Social history is considered as an intermediate link between the classical ‘sociology of history’ and American historical sociology. Following social history, historical sociology turns to comparative studies and quantitative methods, but at the same time does not abandon hermeneutics. Historical sociology presupposes a mutual weakening of the nomothetics of classical ‘grand theories’ and the ideography of traditional history. It also implies a full-fledged sociological investigation of historical phenomena using procedures accepted in empirical sociology, rather than the reinterpretation of historical research in sociological-theoretical terms. This results in the emergence of special (rather than general) processual and medium-level theories of social change based on historical facts. Historical sociology focuses on theoretical generalizations, which clearly distinguishes it from social history. The essay investigates the different approaches and purposes of using the comparative historical method - and the quantitative methods that complement it. In turn, their utilization leads to problems with the acceptance of their results by traditional historians specialized in a single country and on studying primary sources in the original. Instead of concluding, the author discusses his experience and participation in the institutionalization of historical sociology in Russia and points out the problems hindering it.

Classical Sociologists' views of the Nation and its Main Paradigms About the Origin of the Kurds

This interdisciplinary article addresses two primary investigations: the sociological standpoint on the notion of nation and fundamental approaches concerning the Kurds' origin. Consequently, we seek responses to the following pair of inquiries: Firstly, it delves into the foundational aspects of understanding the origin of Kurds and Kurdish nationalism, questioning its historiography. Secondly, it investigates the categorization of fundamental ideas and approaches regarding nation and nationalism and examines the extent of their influence on Kurdish literature in the related field. The study takes a dual perspective. Initially, it explores the perspectives of classical sociologists such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and George Simmel on the concept of nation. In contrast to historical perspectives, sociologists analyze the notion through the prisms of social solidarity, moral environment, citizenship, Western rationality, and the nation as a superstructure. The second part of the article delves into the core approaches of primordialism, constructionism, and ethno-symbolism. The study concludes that the investigation into the origins of Kurds is a relatively recent development, influenced by a myriad of external and internal factors. Kurdish researchers have conducted their studies within the framework of the three above-mentioned methods, with visible differences of opinion regarding the origin of Kurds and Kurdish nationalism. Simultaneously, a distinct approach is emerging, asserting the uniqueness of the Kurdish issue and suggesting it transcends common modern paradigms.

Establishing the Health Governance of Flows: Authority Performances and Expertise at the International Sanitary Conference of 1892

Abstract At the 1892 International Sanitary Conference in Venice, experts established international health politics as governing the flows of people, traffic, and information. This focus has remained ingrained in current health politics and shaped the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper focuses on the micropolitics among these experts to understand the emergence of such governance expertise. In Venice, experts struggled to perform authority as European governments were unwilling to accept authoritative international expert practice. In response, the experts limited the role of international politics to regulating the movements of information, traffic, and people to make their expertise more agreeable. Such compromising governance expertise entailed two acts of silencing. The experts claimed that interventions that limited themselves to governing these flows were still highly effective and also silenced the de facto intrusiveness of their expertise into colonized sites. Combining classical sociology with science and technology studies, this article contributes conceptually by detailing how authority performances affect governance expertise. Contributing to the history of international relations, I show how the notion of international health politics as governing flows—rather than targeting ill health with global sanitary reform—became established in the late nineteenth century.

Comparative Analysis: Machine vs Human Translation of Educational Scientific Texts. Challenges and Solutions

Introduction. The purpose of this article is to analyze the features of identity formation and identification processes in postmodern society and in digital society. The article explores various approaches to the concept of «identity» within the framework of socio-humanitarian theories. The interrelation of real and virtual identity, the emergence of new forms and models of identity are considered. Two approaches to the analysis of identity in a digital society are analyzed and compared: digital optimism and digital pessimism.Methodology and sources. The article uses a comparative analysis of various theoretical approaches to identity formation. An interdisciplinary approach is used to understand the features of identity in the era of digitalization. As the main sources for the study of the phenomenon of identity there were used works of classics of sociology and psychology E. Erickson, J.G. Meade, E. Durkheim, as well as studies of representatives of modern philosophical and sociological theories Z. Bauman, A. Giddens, S. Turkle, A.A. Lisenkova, T.G. Leshkevich.Results and discussion. It is shown that in postmodern society, identity is characterized by the processes of individualization, fragmentation and the absence of a single cultural center. In a digital society, along with the processes of individualization, there are processes of standardization and unification of person. It is concluded that in a digital society, identity has positive and negative sides. On the one hand, there is a positive vector for the use of online communications, network interaction of people, which destroys spatial and temporal boundaries, as well as social barriers. On the other hand, new types of virtual identity are being formed, challenging a person's own identity.Conclusion. It is concluded that the digital society changes human identity, identification practices and strategies. The consequence of these processes is the formation of a person fused with digital technologies, which leads to the transformation of the social order, social norms and society as a whole.

Digital Technologies and Society: Identity Transformation

Introduction. The purpose of this article is to analyze the features of identity formation and identification processes in postmodern society and in digital society. The article explores various approaches to the concept of «identity» within the framework of socio-humanitarian theories. The interrelation of real and virtual identity, the emergence of new forms and models of identity are considered. Two approaches to the analysis of identity in a digital society are analyzed and compared: digital optimism and digital pessimism.Methodology and sources. The article uses a comparative analysis of various theoretical approaches to identity formation. An interdisciplinary approach is used to understand the features of identity in the era of digitalization. As the main sources f or the study of the phenomenon of identity there were used works of classics of sociology and psychology E. Erickson, J.G. Meade, E. Durkheim, as well as studies of representatives of modern philosophical and sociological theories Z. Bauman, A. Giddens, S. Turkle, A.A. Lisenkova, T.G. Leshkevich.Results and discussion. It is shown that in postmodern society, identity is characterized by the processes of individualization, fragmentation and the absence of a single cultural center. In a digital society, along with the processes of individualization, there are processes of standardization and unification of person. It is concluded that in a digital society, identity has positive and negative sides. On the one hand, there is a positive vector for the use of online communications, network interaction of people, which destroys spatial and temporal boundaries, as well as social barriers. On the other hand, new types of virtual identity are being formed, challenging a person's own identity.Conclusion. It is concluded that the digital society changes human identity, identification practices and strategies. The consequence of these processes is the formation of a person fused with digital technologies, which leads to the transformation of the social order, social norms and society as a whole.

Space of perception of holidays by Ukrainians: towards the possibilities of conceptualization

The article is devoted to the study of the perceptual space of the functioning of the holiday in Ukrainian society. The authors refer to the materials of the multi-year survey-omnibus KІIS with the aim of analyzing the differentiation of distances and relationships between a number of religious, secular, and state holidays in Ukrainian society using the method of multidimensional scaling. The article proposes its own conception of the space of perception, built on a number of known concepts of social perception. Proposing hypotheses regarding the potential axes of spatial structuring is carried out using the work of such sociologists and anthropologists as representatives of the College of Sociology (J. Bataille, R. Caillois), classical sociology (E. Durkheim) and carnival theory (M. Bakhtin). At the conceptual level, the authors take into account the dialectic of unity and struggle of individual and collective, sacred and profane, rational and irrational, public and intimate, etc. in the holiday. Within the framework of the analysis, the authors identified and described the axes that are stable and reproduced in all years of the KІIS omnibus survey, which the authors designate as "rational modernity - irrational archaic" and "publicity - privacy". The authors pay special attention to the dynamics of the holidays selected for analysis; they refer to the holidays that demonstrate the greatest "movements" in space over the years. Considerable attention is paid to attempts to explain the reasons for such dynamics, which the authors look for in externalities relative to public awareness of holidays (political events, pandemic (self) isolation, cultural processes, social phenomena, etc.). Among the holidays, the authors receive special attention Trinity, Victory Day (May 9), Independence Day of Ukraine, Defender's Day, New Year, Christmas, International Women's Day, which, firstly, turned out to be the most sensitive to the factors of dynamics specified by the authors, and - the second - the most dynamic and sociologically demonstrative. A number of prospects for further research of this topic are proposed, starting from what the authors have already achieved in this article.

The Evolution of Sociological Approaches Towards Conceptualizing Consumption in Western Sociology

The second half of the 20th century saw multiple directions of consumer research emerge in sociology, including a cultural turn, a material turn, a practical turn, a turn towards sustainability, and a digital turn. These turns indicate trends in sociological thought, which arise with increasing speed and overlap each other. On the one hand, these directions build upon ideas about consumption brought forth by the classics of economic theory and sociology, and on the other hand they constantly attempt to critically comprehend basic concepts and fill them with new meaning. The purpose of the article is to expand on the concept of consumption by reviewing the historical evolution of views on this concept in sociology of the 20–21 centuries. It first considers the integral definitions of consumption presented by contemporary sociologists (V. Radaev, E.R. McDonnell, A. Warde). From there it outlines the basic views on consumption held by classics of sociology (K. Marx, G. Simmel, T. Veblen, M. Weber, the Frankfurt School, P. Bourdieu). Finally, sociological approaches towards consumption that appeared during the second half of the 20th century are examined. A review of key approaches towards consumption demonstrates how the concept of consumption has consistently acquired new meanings and contexts, also acquiring an internal independent logic and transforming into a multidimensional concept in sociology. The paper covers a broad timeline and is based on key sociological works, without claiming to be able to comprehensively describe them. Also this paper does not consider the Russian tradition of research.

What can women in classical sociology teach us about contemporary sociology of religion?

What can women in classical sociology teach us about contemporary sociology of religion?

Dystopian Views of Classical Sociologists and Their Social Extensions

Classical sociologists such as Marx, Comte, Durkheim, Weber have made significant contributions to the understanding of social life, institutions, norms and structures by studying society, social dynamics and the complexity of human behavior, providing profound insights and laying the foundation for modern sociological thought. While the theories of these sociologists have greatly enriched the understanding of social structures and the formation of predictions about future social order, their works also contain sharp warnings about utopian fictions of social trends and their potential dystopian consequences, but they often offer gloomy predictions of a dystopian future depicting an undesirable or chaotic society. While critically examining the dystopian elements in the works of classical sociologists, who portrayed the depressing picture of social life in different ways by emphasizing social inequality, the oppressive nature of capitalism, the alienation of the individual and the anomie of modern society, from a sociological perspective, this article discusses the theories based on dystopian thought and addresses their relevance to contemporary issues and their validity in today's society, and also assesses the validity of ideas and the consistency of predictions in the contemporary world where dystopian elements continue to manifest. It is therefore important to gain a deeper understanding of the sociological imagination and the continuing relevance of classical sociological thought by examining these dystopian perspectives of sociologists who emphasize their concern about the potential consequences of uncontrolled social developments.

Theoretical and conceptual foundations of research on religious Conservatism as a social structure in the works of Karl Mannheim and Talcott Parsons

The article is devoted to the study of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the research field of religious conservatism. By itself, religious conservatism as a phenomenon of public life and social structure, since its inception, has had a great influence not only on the religious sphere of society, but also on the political and even economic spheres. The modern research field of religious conservatism is quite diverse, there are a large number of different directions and schools in it, but most of them borrow their methodological foundations from a certain number of classical works on sociology, formed within the framework of mainstream sociological secularism. In this regard, secularism attitudes continue to be reproduced quite often in modern sociological science. The purpose of this work is to examine the early, fundamental theoretical and methodological positions created in classical sociological works on the topic of religious conservatism as a social structure and social phenomenon. To achieve the goal, it was necessary to solve the following tasks: 1) To characterize the works of the early stage of the study of religious conservatism in sociology; 2) To identify and characterize the theories of society in which the main works were created; 3) To define the concept of religious conservatism as a social phenomenon or social structure; 4) Describe the impact of these concepts on further sociological discussion. The research materials were theoretical studies by foreign authors devoted to the conceptualization of the theme of religious conservatism. The research methodology is based on secondary analysis. The results revealed the main patterns of the theoretical foundations of religious conservatism in the works of the classics of sociology.

To Invite or Not to Invite to Sociology? Thinking about P. Berger`s Critical Essay “Sociology: A Disinvitation?”

The authors of an unpublished translation of P.L. Berger's essay, written in the early 1990s and published in the journal “Society” (1992), demonstrate the relevance and surprising timeliness of this work for a wide readership. Sociology sometimes experiences crises and deadlocks in theory and research. Contemporary global events exacerbate these crises, and sometimes it seems that sociology can no longer cope with the study and explanation of new phenomena and processes. From the point of view of the authors, P.L. Berger, while criticizing and lamenting the shortcomings of his contemporary sociological theory and the short-sightedness of sociologists, paradoxically does not disappoint or discourage sociology, but invites once again and more insistently to engage in this science, recalling what the classics of sociology wrote and did.

The postwar Columbia tradition in sociology: Its cognitive commonalities and social mechanisms

For a period of some three decades (1940s–1970s) the faculty and graduate students at the Department of Sociology at Columbia University, and its associated research unit (the Bureau of Applied Social Research: BASR), successfully produced a stream of innovative sociological studies which was particularly important in building on the foundations of classical sociology to establish modern sociology. Modern Sociology was produced as a theoretically sophisticated scientific enterprise firmly based on a solid empirical foundation produced by appropriate social research methods (as master-minded by Paul F. Lazarsfeld). The ‘Columbia Tradition’ is an approach, rather than being focussed on any particular subject matter, involved the development of ‘middle-range theory’, often broken-out from classic theory (as propounded by Robert K. Merton), and backed up by efforts at knowledge cumulation and institution building. But the School included a glittering array of important sociologists and hosts of others who extended the work of the two leaders, developing it in further directions, as is expected of any school. This school was sustained by the vision of a developing scientific sociology propounded by its founders, but it faltered as its founders retired from active leadership roles, in addition to being impacted by changes in Columbia University and broader Sociology environments.

History, sociology and the study of empires: Reflections of a historical sociologist

Despite the urging of classical sociologists such as Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, history and sociology have largely followed different professional and institutional tracks. The result has been detrimental to both disciplines. The loss is especially apparent in the study of empires. Historians have made great contributions to the study of individual empires but have been reluctant to theorize and generalize about them. Sociologists for their part have followed their founders in largely ignoring empires, though there has been a new interest more recently. A rapprochement, or perhaps a synthesis, between history and sociology is urgently needed if the study of empires is to progress. Especially important is the need for a comparative approach, which sociologists are particularly well placed to offer.

Analysis of the Philosophical and Sociological Foundation of Human Freedom in the Political-Social Order of the West

This paper seeks to elucidate the problems of individuals immersed in the "universe" of the social and their development under historical power relations, viewed from long before the birth of sociology as a science of the study of structures, functioning, and development of social life with its human activities. The aim is for the new generations of postmodernity to understand how to face the challenges posed by some new forms of power associated with state bureaucracy, which classical sociologists such as E. Durkheim, Karl Marx, and especially Max Weber had warned about, as well as some philosophers like Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, who foresaw the constant changes and alterations in human affairs in the West. This convergence between philosophy and sociology examines the problem of freedom of human actions and their social structuring and development, viewed from the relationship between sociology and the critique of the form of self-knowledge of contemporary society, analyzed through the lens of power and domination relations and the insights provided by philosophy since antiquity, where the concept of freedom had a different meaning than what we understand today.

The dialogue between Kant and Weber: The relationship between ethics, values and social action in Weber’s understanding methodology

In this paper, methodological and epistemological solutions will be discussed and additionally problematized in terms of the study of the relationship between values and social action in the methodological program of one of the classics of sociology ? Max Weber. We will show how Weber defines values and how, as one of the crucial elements, he positions them in his methodology and epistemology. The discussion will be theoretically contextualized within the framework of Weber?s distinction between the ethics of responsibility and the ethics of conviction, since these are concepts that more closely connect both mentioned subjects of research. Also, it will be the basis for considering the impact of Kant?s theoretical system on Weber?s epistemology, and consequently methodology, which we believe (more or less indirectly) shaped the epistemological thought of this classic. Finally, we will offer a critique of certain shortcomings in Weber?s methodology, primarily those concerning the concept of value neutrality and his methodological individualism.

Religious beliefs and their reasons, according to Raymond Boudon

The sociologist Raymond Boudon sought to explain increasingly complex social phenomena. After studying collective actions, he focused on collective beliefs: he was first interested in positivist beliefs, such as science, and then turned to normative beliefs, such as morality or politics. At the end of his career, he increasingly homed in on religious beliefs. This article aims to bring together the elements of his final contribution. First, a modeling of each person’s reasons to believe is presented, along with a dynamic formulation of the rational evolution of religious beliefs. This then allows me to position this theory in relation to the theories it coincides with—those of classical sociologists such as Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber, and Émile Durkheim—and those it refutes, namely the naturalistic theories of suspicion from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Auguste Comte, and Karl Marx to the most extreme neuroscientists. To enhance the analysis, I will contrast this theory with Peter Berger’s, who uses similar sources, and with the epistemology of religious beliefs, which criticizes the same opponents.

BARGAINING POSITIONS OF WOMEN & FEMALE CANDIDATES IN POLITICAL CONTESTATION

After 25 years of reform and several elections, the 30% quota for women's representation as legislators - both at the national level (DPR RI), as well as at the regional level (Provincial DPRD) and Regency/City DPRD, can be said to have never been fulfilled. In the 2019 election, women's representation in the DPR RI only reached 20.8% or 120 people out of the 575 members of the DPR RI. This fact, of course, raises questions. The fact that several elections have taken place and the level of women's representation in parliament (central/regional DPR) has not yet reached the ideal minimum level (30%) is an interesting phenomenon and needs to be explained. Through this study, the researcher/author tries to analyze and explain this phenomenon from the perspective of Classical Sociology , namely from a Marxist, Durkheimian and Weberian perspective. By analyzing the problem using a sociological approach, it is intended to provide a theoretical and empirical picture of " what " and " why " the phenomenon of women's low bargaining power ( gaining ) in the political arena still occurs. It is hoped that the results of this study can provide constructive input for more equal contemporary political dynamics, especially for increasing women's representation in the field of practical politics . The method used in this research is the Qualitative Descriptive Method with the research objective to examine the central theme of women's representation in legislative institutions. The results of the research show that there is the phenomenon of women's votes, then there is the phenomenon of female legislative candidates, the existence of political parties and female legislative candidates, as well as the existence of problems in the political arena ( Political Barriers ) .

Герои, антигерои современной российской молодежи

The article examines the issue of the formation of group identity among young people. Heroes of the time act as symbolic value-behavioral complexes, they are part of the conceptual apparatus for analyzing changes in attitudes towards historical personalities, historical memory as the basis of solidarity. The current state is char-acterized by trends of changes in value attitudes among Russian students, which inevitably affects social soli-darity. The theoretical apparatus is based on an appeal to the classics of sociology (E. Durkheim), the concept of anomie is considered in relation to the current period. A hypothesis of the causes of the state of disunity is formulated based on the destruction of the feedback mechanism in traditional methods of forming social soli-darity. In his cultural forms of behavior, a person relies on eternal truths, formulated in the form of moral imper-atives, captured in traditional forms (songs, fairy tales) and institutional practices of conveying meanings and patterns of behavior (upbringing, education). Heroes and anti-heroes act as triggers for the fragmentation of youth and Russian society. The article presents the results of a 2022 pilot survey of university youth, character-izing attitudes towards personalities of Russian history (authorities). The results obtained are compared with secondary data from 2023 surveys.