The Social Model of Disability and the Disappearing Body: towards a sociology of impairment

What is the case for and how would one begin to construct a sociology of impairment? This paper argues that the realignment of the disability/impairment distinction is vital for the identity politics of the disability movement. The body is at the heart of contemporary political and theoretical debate, yet the social model of disability makes it an exile. The transformation of the body from a reactionary to an emancipatory concept implies a sociology of impairment. This paper explores the contribution that post-structuralism and phenomenology might make to this end.     

“The Past in the Present: Mills,Tocqueville and the Necessity of History”

Historical sociology has achieved a reasonable degree of respectability in the discipline, and there is much interesting work being produced. But a pronounced aspect of much of this work is an indifference to the question of the value of studying the past as a way to understanding the present. This article argues that, rather than trying to outdo the historians by producing “better,” more theoretically sophisticated history, sociologists would better advance the case for historical sociology by showing how any particular historical study helps illuminate contemporary concerns. The article draws upon the writings of C. Wright Mills and Alexis de Tocqueville to show not just the need for historical sociology but also as indications of how this might best be done.     

Research on physical disability in sociological social psychology: The state of the field and future directions

We discuss the state of the research literature on physical disability in sociology, focusing particularly on social psychology. We first trace the history of treatments of disability in the field, noting a movement from a medical model that located disability in the individual to a social model that recognizes physical disability as an important social characteristic that is both produced by and has important consequences for social interactions. We then summarize contemporary research, identifying areas in which sociological research tends to be located, particularly in critical approaches, health‐related outcomes, and stigma. Finally, we discuss areas in which more research on physical disability would be fruitful. We believe that research on group processes, intersectionality, and identity would each especially benefit from greater attention to physical disability.     

Toward professional civility: An analysis of rejection letters front sociology departments

I received 124 rejection letters from 124 sociology departments across the United Slates during my job search in 1996 and 1997. In this article, I analyze those rejection letters with regard lo the messages they send to individuals and organizations. I argue: (a) that rejection letters constitute a unique form of mass media in contemporary life as they are sent and read massively by individuals and organizations; and (b) that they may socialize entering practitioners into a specific discourse of attitudes and behaviors, sustaining a particular tradition of collegiality, morality, and interpersonal relationships for an organization, discipline, and profession. On the basis of this analysis, I offer suggestions lor positive change that will promote professional civility. Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Hawaii-Manoa. He is now assistant professor in sociology at California State University-Northridge. Dr. Shaw is interested in the study of deviance, crime, social problems, social control, and organizational behavior. He has published widely in those areas.     

The nostalgia for permanence at work? The end of work and its commentators

This article examines a contemporary trend in the sociology of work that is labelled here the ‘end of work’ debate after Jeremy Rifkin's book of the same name. It explores this trend, suggesting that marked similarities exist between a range of authors in Europe and North America who propose that work regimes and the meaning derived from them are changing fundamentally. This literature is then placed in the context of an older canon on decline in work and employment. Using the insights of newer qualitative studies that have emerged over the last decade it is suggested that much of the ‘end of work’ type of writing over‐generalises a complex situation, suggesting that sociology needs to incorporate macro theorisation with detailed empirical research if it is to properly understand changes in the contemporary world of work.     

SOCIOLOGY IN AN ERA OF FRAGMENTATION:From the Sociology of Knowledge to the Philosophy of Science, and Back Again

In this article we revisit Alvin Gouldner's The Coming Crisis of Western Sociology (1970). In part, this article is an attempt to apply Gouldner's own lessons about the sociology of knowledge to his own work, situating it with respect to the dominant epistemological unconscious of late 1960s American sociology as well as the broader historical context of a still-vibrant Fordist mode of societalization. Gouldner's critique of positivism was limited because he was still partially caught up within the dominant epistemological framework in American sociology at that time, a formation we call methodological positivism. With thirty years of hindsight, it is not surprising that contemporary readers interested in following up Gouldner's call for a reflexive sociology of knowledge will find certain aspects of his own program unsatisfactory. We propose an alternative sociology of knowledge based on a more explicit philosophy of scientific understanding, namely, contemporary critical realism. We also trace the vicissitudes of the trope of a "crisis in sociology" which Gouldner unleashed into the world and unpack the tensions between the "western" sociology referred to in the book's title and Gouldner's actual focus on the United States.     

Educating for Organizing in U.S. Sociology: A Missing Component in Scholar-Activist Pedagogy1

In this essay, I argue that sociology programs should offer curricular opportunities for undergraduate students to study the actual mechanics of social change in the form of explicit training in the philosophies and practices of community organizing and direct action. That training, I assert, is separate from a content-driven approach to the study of social movements, or the inclusion of community-based research courses. Grounded in an analysis of the roots of the discipline of U.S. sociology as situated in the practice of empirically informed democratic engagement, I shift the focus away from a debate over whether or not critical pedagogy is, or should include, activism. Instead, I focus on the extent to which our students are, in practice, learning concrete organizing skills to change power relations, regardless of the content area or pedagogical style. In doing so, I bring back into the conversation a tradition that the profession seems to have forgotten, and think of ways in which contemporary sociology programs in the United States can better contribute to the advancement of a grassroots, or a humanistic public sociology.     

Economic sociology as disequilibrium economics: a contribution to the critique of the new economic sociology

This paper analyses the problem of the asocial view of the market at the theoretical core of contemporary economic sociology. Despite much emphasis on the apparent interpenetration of society and the economy, contemporary economic sociology is rooted in an analytical distinction between the two spheres. The implicit reliance on the neoclassical economic conception of the market helps to explain why the ‘new economic sociology’ often collapses into disequilibrium economics, where disequilibrium becomes the central but unstated prediction of a good deal of the work in the paradigm. Using a sample of contributions from the field, I demonstrate that a strong tendency running through much of the new economic sociology tends to understand society as a fundamentally distortionary force. To resolve this problem, I argue that an independent field of economic sociology necessitates a distinction between social relationships and social relations.     

The relevance of Kuhn's model of science to discipline development in sociology «1»

Thomas Kuhn's model of scientific development during the last two decades is reviewed critically in light of its increasing popularity in the sociology of sociology literature. This model, along with recent criticisms and rebuttals by Kuhn, is described, and the circularity of this position as a basis for paradigm development is noted. Several problems are identified for contemporary sociology. We conclude that Kuhn's model can not be used as a strategy for generating a scientific paradigm for the discipline of sociology and, at best, Kuhn's work serves only as a heuristic device for discipline analysis.     

The politics of figurational sociology

Figurational sociology is so often said to distance itself from the political issues of the day. Whilst this is certainly true with regards to the present day, it in no way follows that figurational sociology seeks to distance itself from politics as such. On the contrary, as will be shown within this paper, politics is and always has been a central concern for figurational sociologists. This political concern, however, is an exclusively long term concern; figurational sociology purposively postpones present political engagement for the sake of developing a sufficiently detached sociology that would eventually facilitate in the delivery of effective practical and political measures. This paper discusses the stakes involved in, as well as the reasoning behind, the assignment of such a place to politics. It gestures towards two distinct and separate concepts of social control that exist within figurational sociology and then proceeds to offer a critical consideration of the consequences that can be derived from any temporal demarcation of the political done on their basis. The paper ultimately suggests that figurational sociology's position on politics raises a series of as yet unanswered questions, questions which can no longer remain unanswered by the contemporary figurational sociologist.     

Sociology as an Art Form: One Facet of the Conservative Sociology of Robert Nisbet

Robert Nisbet’s ideas on sociology as an art form are examined in the light of Nisbet’s intellectual biography as we as in the tradition of other writers who have approached sociology and history as an art. Nisbet conceived sociology as an art of landscape and portraiture, in which neither theory nor methods should be allowed to become ‘idols of the profession.’ His thought on sociology as an art is best understood as part of a long-term effort to re-center sociology in a conservative intellectual tradition.     

More than just a product: Strengthening literature in sociological analysis

Contemporary sociology of literature is predominantly shaped by the research of literary production, which approaches literary works as black boxes and subordinates them to social interactions and institutions. Even sociologists who recognize usefulness of literature for its inner quality often look at literary texts as mere passive objects to be translated into sociological discourse. In proposing a new sociology of literature, I first briefly outline the history of sociological studies of literature; second, I introduce “the state of the art” in the sociology of literature; third, I explore the relationship between sociology and literature in more general terms; and lastly, I discuss approaches and ideas with the potential to become components of a new research program, which would be a powerful alternative to the mainstream paradigms in sociological studies of literature. Such a program would make it clear that sociology can greatly benefit from cooperation with literature when sociologists are sensitive to the subtleties and (especially aesthetic) specificities of literary works.     

Relevance,Vision, and Career Development: Thinking About the Next Generation of Professionals in Sociology

The commentary seeks to differentiate sociology as a discipline and as a profession. The concepts of relevance, vision, and professional development are suggested as necessary building blocks to more intentionally develop the profession of sociology. Finally, a program of local professional development is offered as a step in positively influencing the next generation of practicing sociologists.     

Specialization and the development of sociology: Differentiation of fragmentation?

Specialization has long been a dominant trend in American sociology despite persistent concern that it may constitute a threat to the intergrity of the discipline. The author proposes that specializations have proliferated because they have been functional for the growth and legitimation of the profession. Specifically, they have provided opportunities for more sociologists to make recognized contributions to knowledge during a prolonged period of increasing competition for research recognition and support. The emphasis on research also has advanced the status of faculty within the university. Because the source of new specialties has been changes in society, the domain of sociology has continued to expand, promoting student enrollments. However, the growth of the profession has been purchased at the price of the coherence of the discipline. Moreover, the fiscal crisis of the university may make the eclectic image of sociology departments a liability to their efforts to protect faculty. In the future, unionization may become an alternative to departmentalization and professionalization. Meanwhile, a new concentration on the development of the discipline may be the most effective way to ensure support of the profession. Our principal goal should be to develop a general, critical theory of society. As a first step, all studies should be addressed to and classified in terms of the core concepts that define the distinctive concerns of the discipline.     

Reconceptualizing resistance: sociology and the affective dimension of resistance

This paper re‐examines the sociological study of resistance in light of growing interest in the concept of affect. Recent claims that we are witness to an ‘affective turn’ and calls for a ‘new sociological empiricism’ sensitive to affect indicate an emerging paradigm shift in sociology. Yet, mainstream sociological study of resistance tends to have been largely unaffected by this shift. To this end, this paper presents a case for the significance of affect as a lens by which to approach the study of resistance. My claim is not simply that the forms of actions we would normally recognize as resistance have an affective dimension. Rather, it is that the theory of affect broadens ‘resistance’ beyond the purview of the two dominant modes of analysis in sociology; namely, the study of macropolitical forms, on the one hand, and the micropolitics of everyday resistance on the other. This broadened perspective challenges the persistent assumption that ideological forms of power and resistance are the most pertinent to the contemporary world, suggesting that much power and resistance today is of a more affective nature. In making this argument, it is a Deleuzian reading of affect that is pursued, which opens up to a level of analysis beyond the common understanding of affect as emotion. I argue that an affective approach to resistance would pay attention to those barely perceptible transitions in power and mobilizations of bodily potential that operate below the conscious perceptions and subjective emotions of social actors. These affective transitions constitute a new site at which both power and resistance operate.     

ALVIN GOULDNER AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF IDEAS: Lessons from Enter Plato

Alvin Gouldner's 1965 book Enter Plato is one of the most important contributions ever made to the sociology of ideas. Overshadowed soon after its publication, however, by Gouldner's more controversial work, The Coming Crisis of Western Sociology , the earlier book has suffered neglect. In an effort to correct this situation, we situate Enter Plato against the backdrop of other mid-twentieth-century works in the sociology of knowledge and related areas, arguing that Gouldner's study was one of the first sustained responses to Robert K. Merton's call for a sociology of knowledge that would steer a middle course between the abstract, speculative tendencies of the field's European founders and the relatively atheoretical contributions of their American counterparts. We build on this interpretation to offer a contemporary sociological appraisal of Enter Plato , considering its positive and negative lessons for sociologists of knowledge and ideas at the present time.     

Must‐See TV: South Asian Characterizations in American Popular Media

In the 21st century, representations of South Asians in American popular television have increased significantly. However, there has been very little critical analysis on the ways in which these characters are created and produced. In this review, I use literature from the sociology of race/ethnicity, immigration, and critical media studies to identify the concept of “(ethnic) characterization.” While it may be assumed that these representations are created unconsciously, I suggest that media producers intentionally use particular ethnic characteristics that are identified and discussed in contemporary sociological literature. As a result, I argue that these types of media characterizations are relevant to the discipline of sociology.     

Reflections on Public Sociology: Public Relations, Disciplinary Identity, and the Strong Program in Professional Sociology

Public sociology is an attempt to redress the issues of public engagement and disciplinary identity that have beset the discipline over the past several decades. While public sociology seeks to rectify the public invisibility of sociology, this paper investigates the limitations of it program. Several points of critique are offered. First, public sociology's affiliations with Marxism serve to potentially entrench existing divisions within the discipline. Second, public sociology's advancement of an agenda geared toward a "sociology for publics" instead of a "sociology of publics" imposes limitations on the development of a public interface. Third, the lack of a methodological agenda for public sociology raises concerns of how sociology can compete within a contested climate of public opinion. Fourth, issues of disciplinary coherence are not necessarily resolved by public sociology, and are potentially exacerbated by the invocation of public sociology as a new disciplinary identity. Fifth, the incoherence of professional sociology is obviated, and a misleading affiliation is made between scientific knowledge and the hegemonic structure of the profession. Finally, the idealism of public sociology's putative defense of civil society is explored as a utopian gesture akin to that of Habermas' attempt to revive the public sphere. The development of a strong program in professional sociology is briefly offered as a means to repair the disciplinary problems that are illustrated by emergence of the project of public sociology.