Sociology Research Articles

Un-Masking the Mask: Developing the Sociology of Facial Politics in Pandemic Times and After

The story goes that, when he was asked what he thought were the consequences of the French Revolution, the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai replied that it was still too early to tell. The same can be said of the Covid-19 pandemic. No-one knows yet how the pandemic and its multiple and complicated effects will alter the textures of all aspects of life, human and non-human, across the planet in the coming years and decades. But it is clear that, sociologically speaking, some of the consequences are already obvious in general terms. Existing social inequalities and power imbalances have been variously reinforced, extended, and worsened. This is so in terms of all the major sociological axes: class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age, location, legal status, and suchlike. Meanwhile, new inequities are being forged. Conversely, potential novel forms of solidarity and positive social transformation may be in the making, including in terms of modes and forms of citizenship. This is the terrain that a new sociology of masks, masking and facial politics will now have to grapple with. In the normative terms of critical sociology, both negative and positive processes are currently at play, even if the former seem likely to outweigh the latter. This is certainly the case in one of the most striking phenomena of what could be called Covid-19 times, namely the sudden appearance across most parts of the globe of facemasks, worn as protection against infection. Although such masks have been common in many parts of East Asia for a considerable period of time, especially in the wake of the SARS crisis of 2003 (Syed et al 2003), mass masking has not been a central feature of social life in most other world regions until Covid-19 struck. And just as the disease most likely came from East Asia and spread across the planet, so too has mass masking seemed to spread from there too, following in the wake of the virus. Covid-19 and its attendant masking practices are twin and inseparable elements of a certain kind of Asianification of the world (Park, 2019). Of course, the sociologist must be vigilant in making such claims: that apparently neutral statement is itself a kind of observation which right-wing political actors may choose to reframe and promote for their own purposes.

Sosyolojiye Çağrı: Hümanist Bir Perspektif

Bu çalışmada Peter L. Berger’in “Sosyolojiye Çağrı: Hümanist Bir Perspektif” isimli kitabı ele alınmaktadır. Giriş niteliğinde bir eser olan kitap, sosyoloji hakkında bilgi sahibi olmak isteyen genel okur ve sosyoloji disiplinine giriş yapan öğrenciler için değerli bir kaynaktır. Her ne kadar dilimize kazandırılması gecikmiş olsa da sosyolojiye çağrısını sürdüren bu kitabın ülkemiz okurlarına ve sosyoloji öğrencilerine tanıtılmasının önemli olduğu düşünülmektedir.

New perspectives in feminist methodological research

Se han escrito muchas páginas acerca de un tema tan necesario y complejo como es el de las metodologías feministas, y en muchas ocasiones se han plasmado esas aportaciones en esta misma revista. Hay varios factores importantes que contribuyen a que se siga prestando atención a este tema desde hace ya décadas. En primer lugar, las metodologías feministas han recibido atención teórica y aplicaciones prácticas en la mayoría de los campos de investigación, tales como la medicina, el derecho, las ciencias políticas, la historia, la sociología, la lingüística, los estudios cinematográficos y de medios de comunicación, entre muchos otros. En segundo lugar, la labor desarrollada en el terreno de la investigación y del conocimiento feministas han transformado las principales disciplinas académicas, desplazando la atención hacia temas anteriormente infravalorados o descuidados, y cambiando las prioridades y los enfoques en aquellos que ya se habían estudiado anteriormente. La investigación feminista ha alterado de manera decisiva nuestra comprensión del mundo, y ha influido en los propios procedimientos a través de los cuales se aborda la investigación. Esto ha sido así no solo en el campo del feminismo, sino entre quienes investigan desde el rigor académico y siguen los dictados del estado del arte y quieren estar al día en los avances en sus respectivos campos de estudio están necesariamente al tanto de las metodologías feministas. Una tercera razón muy significativa para la atención prestada a los métodos feministas es que las investigadoras y los investigadores que se dedican a este tipo de trabajo mantienen un fuerte compromiso que se materializa en un esfuerzo continuo para ampliar los límites y definiciones de valores tales como la igualdad, la interseccionalidad, el cambio social y los desafíos éticos encaminados a promover la justicia social, particularmente en lo referente al mantenimiento de los privilegios y las relaciones de poder. A partir del compromiso orientado a investigar las voces y experiencias de las mujeres y cuestionar las dicotomías de género, los métodos feministas han ido más allá de estas prioridades iniciales para ir avanzando al ampliar los límites de significado que estos conceptos e ideas sugieren.

Improvisation as Metaphor: The Sociology of Howard Becker

Improvisation as Metaphor: The Sociology of Howard Becker

Should Animals Have a Right to Work? Promises and Pitfalls

The view that non-human animals are ‘co-workers’ is a common trope used by researchers and the farming community, and increasingly forms the centre of inquiry in sociology, philosophy, and political economy. Scholars like Barbara Noske, Jocelyne Porcher, and Diane Stuart claim that animals are alienated from their labour, and that their contributions to our society are not recognized by it. Building on these findings, moral and political philosophers have recently argued that animals should have rights at work, like the right to remuneration or retirement. The much more pressing question, however, is whether animals should have a right to work. The right to work has emerged from a desire to recognize workers’ ‘right to pursue happiness’, and analogously, animals may have an interest in flourishing and in contributing to the wellbeing of their kin, which may be satisfied by fulfilling work. But the right to work is not without risk since it has been interpreted as a duty to work, is accused of reinforcing ableism and promoting dependency. This article provides an overview of the emerging debate, offers critical perspectives on the promises and pitfalls of animal labour, and establishes the necessary safeguards for labour to pave the way for interspecies justice.

Editor’s Introduction: Belgium, Diversity and Sociological Sub-Worlds

Editor’s Introduction: Belgium, Diversity and Sociological Sub-Worlds

3. History, Geography and Sociology

3. History, Geography and Sociology

Modelling farm behaviour on soil fertility with the policy variable: a case from Africa

This paper describes a new approach to make predictions on the behaviour of farms in Africa related to soil fertility management. Not only sectorial factors, but also the larger socio-economic context including policies influence the behaviour of small-scale farms. Science does not yet understand this context due to its vast heterogeneity, contingencies and complexity. We collected and processed qualitative data and sociological parameters to transform them into numbers. The model we constructed is based on probabilistic estimates of behaviour of farm classes under two scenarios in Mali (Mafeya) and Zambia (Chipata). We propose seven distinct farm classes to simulate the likeliness for a change from one class to another under defined policy regimes and other social conditions. In real life, network of actors, institutions and other social formations couple and decouple farmer’s identities and farms in highly dynamic social and ecological processes. We constructed a simplified model based on selected social theories, interpretative sociological inquiry and Markov chains in order to allow simulations under the two policy scenarios “as-is” and “to-be”. Our simulations result in significantly different outcomes per locality and scenario. This approach allows practical simulations of farm, food and agriculture systems and comparative research. We expect a better understanding of the dynamics of farms, faster adoption of innovations and a better base for a research-led dialogue of practitioners and policy makers. The paper demonstrates the primordial role of policies, influencing directly farmers’ behaviour, rural and labour markets as well as food systems and rural development.

Entre la docencia carismática y la burocratización de la enseñanza: las crisis de la sociología y los dilemas de su aprendizaje

En este artículo se ofrecen una serie de reflexiones tentativas sobre algunos de los dilemas que plantea la docencia de la sociología, poniéndolos en conexión con el estado de crisis que vive la disciplina y los cambios sociales y educativos que han acompañado su evolución. En particular, deseamos plantear tres tipos de cuestiones: ¿cómo afrontar en nuestra práctica docente la fragmentación epistémica y el declive público de la sociología?, ¿cómo reenfocar la enseñanza de la disciplina –en concreto, de materias como la teoría y los métodos– para lograr que nuestros/as estudiantes aprendan a hacer sociología? y ¿de qué modos el debate colectivo y el trabajo cooperativo nos pueden servir de ayuda para mejorar nuestras estrategias docentes?

Integrating Art and Sociology: Meaning Making through Drawing Living Places

Integrating Art and Sociology: Meaning Making through Drawing Living Places

Herança e estrutura de classes: uma análise a partir dos grandes números da Receita Federal do Brasil

O objetivo deste artigo é identificar a relevância do direito de herança para a estrutura de classes do Brasil, partindo-se da hipótese de que ele é fundamental para a estabilidade da estrutura vigente. O método consiste em estimar, com base em dados fornecidos pelo relatório “Grandes Números”, da Receita Federal do Brasil, e em três metodologias de cálculo delineadas por Alvaredo, Garbinti e Piketty, a parcela da riqueza nacional privada proveniente de herança por faixa de renda, depois utilizar a categoria social de classe para analisar os resultados. Os resultados confirmam em boa parte a hipótese, já que o direito de herança se mostrou estruturante da classe proprietária brasileira. Conjectura-se, assim, que o aumento da sua tributação poderia ser uma forma eficaz de redistribuição de riqueza.

Established-Outsider Relations and 'Figurational' Analysis

In the introduction to this HSR Special Issue we provide an exposition and over- view of Elias and Scotson's Established and Outsiders, seeking to identify the empirical and conceptual significance of the relational model of inter-group tensions contained therein. Our core argument is that Elias and Scotson wrote in the historical context of a British intellectual Zeitgeist in which a preoccupa- tion with 'established' groups followed from proto-Marxist political/macro- sociological concerns with the reproduction of social elites; and an engage- ment with 'outsiders', which followed from an ascendant micro-sociological concern with sub-cultural and 'deviant' groups who defined themselves in op- position to a dominant mainstream. Elias and Scotson's contribution, viewed in this vein, was to provide a radically relational theoretical-empirical model which synthesised micro, meso and macro sociological concerns with social power dynamics into a unified synthetic scheme. We propose that while such a model is entirely consistent with the broader conceptual architecture of Elias's approach, it is important also to recognise the not insignificant influence of Scotson's empirical work in informing the specific concerns of their study. We further reflect upon the origins of the study and its implications for our more general methodological questions relating to undertaking 'figurational analysis' in the context of historical social research.

A crowdsourced sociology of COVID-19

A crowdsourced sociology of COVID-19

Reprendre la main sur le marché : la construction de circuits intermédiés innovants pour la viande bovine

En s’appuyant sur la sociologie de l’action organisée et la sociologie des agencements marchands, l’article décrit la construction de nouveaux circuits marchands pour la viande bovine observés dans la Loire et en Isère. Pour leurs promoteurs, des éleveurs et des détaillants, l’objectif était de reprendre la main sur l’organisation des circuits de commercialisation sans pour autant construire des circuits courts. Il s’agissait de construire des circuits intermédiés dont les règles du jeu sont conjointement élaborées. Les auteurs soulignent l’ampleur de la tâche nécessaire à la construction de tels circuits en distinguant trois processus qu’ils nomment qualification, tarification et fluidification. Pour chacun d’entre eux, ils montrent que ne pas laisser les intermédiaires organiser le marché requiert des négociations et des apprentissages collectifs.

Locating Millennial Feminism Beyond the Western Context: The Iranian Case

This article aims to contribute towards an understanding of the notion of feminism among young Iranians born after the Iranian revolution, and specifically in the 1990s. Building on an in-depth analysis of the literature and narrative individual interviews with young women and men belonging to the so-called Millennial generation, the paper aspires to shed light on how these youths interpret the feminist ideology today in connection with the history of the women's movement in the country. As the perceived lack of interest in feminism among the Millennials is a subject of continued debate in the international sociological literature, the paper captures a snapshot of the various definitions of feminism from the perspective of Tehran's middle-class youths. Indeed, it unravels some of the complexities of identifying with feminism for youths born and raised in the 1990s, such as the difficulty in accepting the feminist label, the criticisms made to the movement and the persisting differences between women and men.

A Brief Review on the Relationship Between Pain and Sociology.

A Brief Review on the Relationship Between Pain and Sociology.

Geopolitics of Monetary Innovation in the Longue Durée. Financialization, Digitalization and the Crisis of the Global Hegemony

Since the beginning of the new millennium, a great variety of experiences of monetary innovation has taken place worldwide. Actually, very assorted types of social agents, at very different levels of interaction and with very diverse purposes and results, are creating a plethora of global, macro-regional, local or deterritorialized currencies seriously defying both the hegemonic role of the US dollar, and the traditional agents, methods and criteria related to money's creation and circulation. Given such a picture, the main aim of this essay is to characterize and valuate the principle features of the ongoing process of monetary innovation, in light of its modern and contemporary history. We adopt an interdisciplinary theoretical frame, based on the ground of the political sociology and the world system theory, and a genealogical method focused on the monetary history of the United States. The main result here presented is the centrality of the dialectic between innovation and regulation, and of their social and institutional forces. Actually, it can help the comprehension about where, when and why new forms of money appear, as well as the individuation of the main traits characterizing the current stage of global crisis and of its risky implications.

The collector’s world

ABSTRACT The article discusses the figure of the collector. We start with positioning the collector in relation to a lack, emphasizing that collecting is not about aesthetic beauty, pleasure or even perfectness, but primarily about filling a gap. The collection itself is merely a by-product of the desire to collect. Discussing how this desire is socially mediated, we move on to contextualizing the collector in relation to the distinction between the useful and the useless. We stress, in this context, that collecting is an inoperative praxis. This is followed by a discussion of the collector’s psychopathology in terms of affects and interpassivity. Finally, we turn to the history of the collector and to collecting as a field in sociological terms, and end with articulating a typology of the collector.

The cost of saving babies: How economists justify policies

The relationship between economic ideas and public policy is a growing area of sociological inquiry. This paper examines a unique case of economic influence on policy: use of cost-effectiveness analysis in assessing the expansion of newborn screening programmes. Unlike other forms of influence in which economic ideas precede the creation of new policies and are used to aid policy-making, in this case, economics is used to justify newborn screening expansion post-hoc. We describe cost-effectiveness analysis as a technology of economic justification, and we examine how its assembly, standardization and application is the result of compromises made by researchers navigating the tension between standardized guidelines and unreliable data sources.

Jazz, Stuart Hall’s Critique, and the Challenge of the Aesthetic

Jazz, Stuart Hall’s Critique, and the Challenge of the Aesthetic