Public Sociology

Sociologists In the Press

by Matthias Revers

The American Sociologist 40 (4), 272-288.

“Sex in Some Cities: Explorations of AIDS/HIV Education and Hooking Up.”

by Rebecca Plante

In Sociologists in Action, edited by Korgen, Kathleen Odell, Jonathan White and Shelley White. SAGE, Thousand Oaks: CA (2011)

An Old Tool with New Promise

by Andrew Lindner

(Un)Spinning Social Inequality: An Interview with David Miller

by Jeffery Klaehn

‘(Un)Spinning Social Inequality: An Interview with David Miller’ in Jeffery Klaehn (ed.), Bound by Power: Intended Consequences (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 2006), pp. 52-63.

For Pragmatic Public Sociology: Theory and Practice After the Pragmatic Turn

by Eric Royal Lybeck

Published in Current Perspectives in Social Theory, vol. 29, pp. 169 - 185 - http://www.emeraldinsight.com/books.htm?issn=0278-1204&volume=29

A reinvigorated social theory based on the social philosophy of John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, William James, and... more A reinvigorated social theory based on the social philosophy of John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, William James, and others has begun to make significant contributions to the study of human societies. The so-called “Pragmatic Turn” in philosophy and social theory, associated especially with Richard Rorty and Hans Joas, has drawn our attention to the role of habit and creativity in social action. This chapter reviews some of these trends, but argues that the modern revival of neopragmatism sidesteps many of the core insights of the classical pragmatists. Relating the issue to Michael Burawoy's call for “public sociology,” and drawing on the pragmatism of C. Wright Mills, a critical public pragmatism would seek to provide the preconditions for democracy via the cultivation of a public that valued what Dewey called “creative intelligence,” and what Mills called “the sociological imagination.”

(Que) faire de la sociologie publique?

by Etienne Ollion

Sociological engagements: institutional racism and beyond

by Karim Murji

The concept of institutional racism emerged in 1967, the same year that this journal began. This first part of the... more The concept of institutional racism emerged in 1967, the same year that this journal began. This first part of the article traces the origins and context of the term in the black power movement of the 1960s. Its subsequent adoption by sociology shows its engagement with issues of race and racism, though sociology itself became the object of critique for its understanding and explanation of racial inequalities. Links and differences between the USA and Britain are used to reflect on the different public roles of their national sociological associations. The second section draws on the example of the Macpherson inquiry and its difficulty in conceptualizing institutional racism. This shows that sociology's public role is contested and that trying to develop a public voice through the media is challenging. Overall, while focusing on some of the problems for developing public sociology, the article argues that confronting such problems is essential for the vitality of the discipline.

Applied Social Science? Academic Contributions to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and Their Consequences

by Karim Murji

A decade on from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, this article examines the contributions of social scientists to the... more A decade on from the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, this article examines the contributions of social scientists to the Inquiry on two key issues: the meaning of institutional racism and the police response to racial violence. These academic inputs are characterised as instrumental and reflexive forms of knowledge. While social science applied to social policy is most effective in instrumental mode, rather than reflexively, there are various factors – such as the interpretation of evidence, media debate and the role of prominent individuals – that are more significant in assessing its consequences. The impact of these factors mean that, although academic work on these issues has been influential, the outcome appears to be that institutional racism has run its course and been disowned or downgraded, while racial violence has become subsumed within the broader category of hate crime. It is argued that the relationship between academic knowledge and policy requires a better grasp of the complexities of applying social science, and that is what this article aims to make a contribution to.

Public Space as emancipation: meditations on anarchism, radical democracy, neoliberalism and violence

by Simon Springer

Springer, S. 2011. Public Space as emancipation: meditations on anarchism, radical democracy, neoliberalism and violence. Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography. 43 (2), 525-562.

In establishing an anarchic framework for understanding public space as a vision for radical democracy, this article... more In establishing an anarchic framework for understanding public space as a vision for radical democracy, this article proceeds as a theoretical inquiry into how an agonistic public space might become the basis of emancipation. Public space is presented as an opportunity to move beyond the technocratic elitism that often characterizes both civil societies and the neoliberal approach to development, and is further recognized as the battlefield on which the conflicting interests of the world's rich and poor are set. Contributing to the growing recognition that geographies of resistance are relational, where the “global” and the “local” are understood as co-constitutive, a radical democratic ideal grounded in material public space is presented as paramount to repealing archic power in general, and neoliberalism’s exclusionary logic in particular.

Sociology As Documenting Dystopia: Imagining a Sociology Without Borders a Critical Dialogue

by David Brunsma

Reflections on public sociology: Public relations, disciplinary identity, and the strong program in professional sociology

by Jesse Fletcher

"Correlation between Public Policy and Poverty"

by Julio Warner Loiseau

Despite repeated calls to eradicate poverty, it remains a persistent issue and in order to evaluate what has been done... more Despite repeated calls to eradicate poverty, it remains a persistent issue and in order to evaluate what has been done so far one needs to know where to look for the info.

Atkinson, R. and Beer, D. (2010) The Ivorine Tower in the City: Engaging urban studies after The Wire, CITY, 14, 5, pp. 529-544.

by Rowland Atkinson

The Wire has been viewed as a panoptic and institutional dissection of the dysfunctions of late capitalist urbanism.... more The Wire has been viewed as a panoptic and institutional dissection of the dysfunctions of late capitalist urbanism. The accomplishment and totality of this vision has perhaps provoked introspection by academics pondering their internal efficacy (engaging students through teaching) and external relevance (through the communication of research around urban problems). On both of these fronts, academic work arguably faces a crisis as new media forms of this kind compete to 'teach' audiences about the city. We argue that this raises two key implications. First, that The Wire and its ilk represent a more public accessing of many of the social problems that urban studies has traditionally monitored. This suggests a need for more andragogic modes of teaching that lead mature audiences, both inside and outside the academy, toward greater understandings of urban problems. Second, the series can be related to sociological perspectives that have challenged university-based research to be critical, relevant and of utility to deprived communities (and of a distinct hue from others stemming from government and business). We argue for elongated research and short-term engagement practices to produce a synthetic, or ivorine, tower that, while appearing distant from public debates, works effectively in both domains.

Trans youth, science and art: creating (trans) gendered space

by Alison Rooke

This article is based on empirical research which was undertaken as part of the Sci:dentity project funded by the... more This article is based on empirical research which was undertaken as part of the Sci:dentity project funded by the Wellcome Trust. Sci:dentity was a year-long participatory arts project which ran between March 2006 and March 2007. The project offered 18 young transgendered and transsexual people, aged between 14 and 22, an opportunity to come together to explore the science of sex and gender through art. This article focuses on four creative workshops which ran over two months, being the 'creative engagement' phase of the project. It offers an analysis of the transgendered space created which was constituted through the logics of recognition, creativity and pedagogy. Following this, the article explores the ways in which these transgendered and transsexual young people navigate gendered practices, and the gendered spaces these practices constitute, in their everyday lives shaped by gendered and sexual normativities. It goes on to consider the significance of trans virtual and physical cultural spaces for the development of trans young peoples' ontological security and their navigations and negotiations of a gendered social world.