自由:一种社会关系——阅读鲍曼的《自由论》札记

鲍曼(ZygmuntBauman)是英国著名的社会学家 ,是现代性与后现代性研究最著名的理论家之一。鉴于其对社会学与社会理论研究方面的卓越贡献 ,鲍曼先后被授予闻名于世的雅马尔费奖(AmalfiPrize,1990)和阿多尔诺奖(TheodorW.Adornoprize,1998)。鲍曼以其现代性的三部曲《解释者与立法者》(LegislatorsandInterpreters,Cambridge:PolityPress,1987)、《现代性与大屠杀》(ModernityandtheHolocaust,Cambridge:PolityPress,1989)、《现代性与二难》(ModernityandAmbivalence.Cambridge:PolityPress,1991)而闻名欧美。这里谈到的《自由论》(Freedom,MiltonKeynes:OpenUniversityPress,1988)也是这一时期的作品     

超越后现代社会学，建构后现代性社会学——鲍曼的理论构想及方法论探析

英国著名的社会学家齐格蒙特· 鲍曼在4050 年发表的《社会学对后现代性的回应》（后收入《后现代性的通告》）一文中首次对后现代社会学与后现代性社会学进行了区分。鲍曼尝试用“社会性”、“栖息地”、“自我建构”与“自我组装”等概念分析当代西方社会崭新的人类状况。本文试图在阐述鲍曼关于后现代性社会学理论构想的同时，剖析这一构想所凸显的社会学在后现代状况下的理论定位及方法论问题。     

社会学元理论的研究现状

社会学元理论(Sociological metatheory)是一门新兴的社会学分支,属于元社会学(Metasociology)的一个组成部分。“元社会学”的概念是由弗菲(PaulFurtey)教授于1953年在他的《社会学的范围和方法——元社会学专论》一书中首次提出的。弗菲教授把元社会学定义为“一门研究社会学方法论原则的分支学科”。元社会学和一般社会学的主要区别在于:一般社会学的研究对象是社会界,而元社会学则把社会学本身作为其研究对象。元社会学的研究涉及社会学理论和方法两个方面。社会学元理论即元社会学中研究社会学理论的那个分支。社会学元理论研究社会学理论的产生、途径和过程,研究社会学理论与社会,社会学家与社会文化之间的相互联系,研究社会学理论的发展和变化规律。     

帕森斯的社会学理论

美国著名社会学理论家帕森斯创立结构功能主义社会学理论大致有如下三个发展阶段。第一个阶段:社会行动理论在三十年代,帕森斯深入研究了欧洲经典社会学家的理论。他认为,各家社会学理论在分析人类社会行为方面有殊途同归的趋向、出现一种共同的基本概念格局,他称之为“社会行动理论”。1937年帕森斯发表《社会行动的结构》一书。在这本书中,帕森斯综合了维贝尔、迪尔凯姆、帕累托和马歇尔的理论,进而发展了自己的社会行动理论。他采用了维贝尔关于思想     

“人际关系”理论的批评家米尔斯

很少人知道这样一个事实:在资产阶级社会学领域,美国著名社会学家米尔斯第一个对“人际关系”理论提出原则性批评。米尔斯把美国社会学领域出现的一种对工业关系的新的实际方针解释为“对美国社会,特别是对美国社会上层企业界内部发生的某些巨大变化的学     

关于吉登斯现代性观点的讨论

“现代性”(modernity)是现代西方社会学家广泛使用的概念。它起源于古典社会学关于社会变迁的研究中的“两极理论”。古典社会学家通常将他们所分析的社会变迁过程分为对应的两极,如斯宾塞的军事型社会和工业型社会,迪尔凯姆的机械团结和有机团结,滕尼斯的公社和社会,韦伯的前近代和近代等。受这种两极理论的影响,当代西方社会学家从不同角度、在不同范围内对西方发达社会的特征作了归纳,并将这些特征称为现代性。与     

历史社会学:跨学科综合研究

与后现代时代俱来的是拒斥诸多重大理论的争辩 ,赞许社会学知识的混杂状况 ,从而使得社会科学当代理论的认同发生了一定的危机。一味拒斥“宏大的叙事”(большиенарративы) ,导致对于跨学科研究领域理论探索意义的怀疑。与此同时 ,有关后现代的争论又促进了新的认知课题的出现 ,而这些课题也只有依靠建立各人文学科之间理论方法的联系方能解决。历史社会学 ,作为史学和社会学两门学科的当然继承者 ,也面临同样的任务。现代社会学理论实质上是研究社会生活各种不同现象与过程的各种调查研究派别所作的大量理论概括的汇集。①…     

马克思与孔德——读书笔记

在当代西方社会学中,马克思越来越占有重要的地位。西方社会学家从不同的意义和级别上把马克思请进了社会学:从承认他是一个重要的社会学家,到承认他是一个重要的社会学流派的代表人物,直到尊奉他为社会学的创始人之一,把他和孔德并称为理论社会学的“两大鼻祖”。西方社会学界对马克思评价的变化过程,需要作专门而深入的研究。这里,只想指出这样一个事实:当马克思在西方社会学中的地位得到确立的时候,他在东     

现代社会的建构与反思——西方社会建设理论的来龙去脉

社会学是关于现代性的科学,“现代社会向何处去”是社会学始终面对和思考的问题。社会学自创立之日起便以重建社会为己任,以社会秩序达成为根本追求,因此,社会学理论实质是社会建设理论。如果把因现代性的发端与扩展而兴起的社会建设理论称为现代性社会建设理论,那么就可以把关于现代性的反思性或后现代性的社会建设理论称为后现代性社会建设理论。建设性与反思性是社会建设理论的双重品格,一直贯穿在社会建设理论的发展过程中。     

编者随笔

“社会学是什么 ?”这是每一位初识社会学的人经常的发问 ;因而也有了英格尔斯《Ｗｈａｔｉｓｓｏｃｉｏｌｏｇｙ？》一文 ,其实 ,社会学除了深奥、繁复的理论 ,更是在我们身边无处无在地实践着。本期推出的主题报告便有了“生活中的社会学”这一主题。从消费、儿童玩具、旅游、身处的办公室 ,到与人接触的中的“面子”都有所涉及。从理论中来 ,到实践中去 ,这就是我们所处生活中的社会学。笔者曾在２年前与《大众旅游的社会学批判》一文中提及的美国当代著名的社会学家乔治·里茨尔有所接触。在其《社会的麦当劳化》(乔治·里芡尔 ,１９９…     

Considering Improvisation: Play,Transitional Space,and Discovery

This article explores the concept of improvisation in the therapeutic setting as a complex construction when elaborated in the idiom of jazz music. A composite clinical case is offered that illustrates an impasse and how improvisational thinking offers a way forward. Improvisation has recently been conceptualized through the metaphor of theater improvisation, dance, and rhythm. The therapeutic hour is considered an improvisational dialogue with the main theme (melody) and counter melodies, and harmonic possibilities that underlie the rhythmic pulse of the hour. Improvisation requires a reflective/interpretive process that draws on patterns, structures, and experiences reformulated in the relational field of the participants. The client initiates the call and response pattern, from which improvisation emerges as a mutual process of discovery. A more relaxed, receptive, and reflective posture extends Winnicott’s 1971 notion of play to integrate classic understanding and relational interaction.     

Objective Tests versus Subjective tests

objective test has only one correct answer, while subjective test has a range of possible answers. Because of this feature, reliability will not be difficult to achieve in the marking of the objective item, while the marking of the subjective items is reliable. On the whole, a good test must contain both subjective and objective test items.     

Comments on the National College English Test

College English Test is an important national test for Chinese college students, this paper introduces the distribution of scores, time of examination, and analyses the four parts in CET ,such as listening comprehension, reading comprehension, integrated testing, and writing based on testing theories.     

Abstracts of theses: Smith College School for Social Work,July 1954

Abstract

Many clients relate in ways that elicit emotional responses in practitioners and may also feel pressure to intervene when appropriate action is not yet clear. Practitioners must develop sufficient self-awareness so their own reactions do not interfere with the work they do with clients. Educators exhort their students to be self-aware, but locating methods that foster the capacity can be difficult. Infant observation is an elegant training model that helps to develop self-awareness. The method described here makes use of regular observation, supportive small groups, and repeated detailed examination of what is seen in training both generalist and specialized practitioners. It has become a prototype for the observational study of several kinds of specific populations. Because it attends to people in their own environments and demonstrates a flexible, reflective, multi-modal manner of information-gathering, infant observation is particularly useful in the education of social work practitioners.     

India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act: Assessing the quality of access and adequacy of benefits in MGNREGS public works

The extension of social protection to all has become a central policy objective, both nationally and internationally. A considerable number of middle‐ and low‐income countries have undertaken substantial efforts to extend social protection, while the international community reaffirmed its commitment to the extension of social protection through the adoption of the ILO Recommendation concerning National Floors of Social Protection, No. 202 (2012). This article reviews the legal provisions and the implementation of the Indian Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), legislated in 2005, and does so in the light of the more recent provisions of ILO Recommendation No. 202. Since its introduction ten years ago, MGNREGA has provided a source of income to rural workers, increased wage rates, achieved high female participation rates and created durable assets. India's local governance bodies, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), have been empowered and involved in the processes of planning and monitoring. However, despite successes, there have been considerable shortcomings in implementation. This article highlights two central themes: first, the innovative policy framework of the Act, which brings together rights‐based entitlements, demand‐driven employment, and citizen‐centred monitoring. Second, it assesses the accessibility and adequacy of benefits in the implementation of MGNREGA. We conclude that MGNREGA offers potential for South‐South learning, both in terms of policy‐design and implementation.     

The gender gap in pensions in Latin America

Lower female lifetime labour market participation rates, greater interruptions during their working lives, and wage gaps contribute to create gender gaps in pensions at the time of retirement. The design of social security systems may reinforce or attenuate these gaps. This article provides new evidence on gender gaps in access to pensions and in pension income in four Southern Cone countries in Latin America and analyses their evolution between 2000 and 2013, showing significant improvements in both gaps, with differential patterns by countries. The decrease in the gender gap in pension income has been particularly significant in Argentina and Brazil. In both cases, the largest increases in pension values during the period correspond to the lowest income percentiles, where women are overrepresented. The application of redistributive policies in these countries, aimed at reducing poverty and inequality but not necessarily focused on gender equity, has had positive and probably unintended consequences in terms of reduction in gender gaps in pensions.     

From “Either‐Or” to “When and How”: A Context‐Dependent Model of Culture in Action

In this article, I outline a framework for the sociological study of culture that connects three intertwined elements of human culture (cultural motivations, resources, and meanings) and demonstrates the concrete contexts under which each most critically influences actions and their subsequent outcomes. In contrast to models that cast motivations, resources, and meanings as competing explanations of how culture affects action, I argue that these are fundamental constituent elements of culture that are inseparable, interdependent, and simultaneously operative. Which element provides the strongest link to action, and how this link operates, must be understood as a function of the actor's position within wider social contexts. I argue that on average motivations have the most discernable link to action within a social strata, cultural resources provide the strongest link across strata, and meanings have the greatest direct influence when codified and sanctioned. I then offer a reframing and synthesis that reintegrates previously “competing” theories of culture into a more holistic context‐dependent model of culture in action. Finally, I use evidence from prior empirical research, as well as new data from an ongoing ethnographic study of health behaviors among the aged, to show how various elements of culture are concretely linked to action in eight different social contexts. In doing so, I provide a roadmap for the transition out of the “either‐or” logic underlying much of cultural theory and reemphasize the importance of the classical sociological concern for “when” and “how” various aspects of culture influence action and outcomes in concrete social contexts.     

Is subsidiarity a conditio sine qua non for sustainability?

This paper argues that subsidiarity is a condicio sine qua non for sustainability. Through the complexity paradigm, the paper provides a historical reconstruction of both concepts to the end of elucidating their interdependence. The main thesis is that subsidiarity to sustainability is what self-organisation is to emergence. The paper ends with a sketch of future global governance structures based on a subsidiarity where cities take the lead on sustainability.     

Global employment and decent jobs, 2010–2030: The forces of demography and automation

Globally, an estimated 734 million jobs will be required between 2010 and 2030 to accommodate recent and ongoing demographic shifts, account for plausible changes in labour force participation rates, and achieve target unemployment rates of at or below 4 per cent for adults and at or below 8 per cent for youth. The facts that most new jobs will be required in countries where “decent” jobs are less prevalent and workers in many occupations are increasingly subject to risks of automation further compound the challenge of job creation, which is already quite sizable in historical perspective. Failure to create the jobs that are needed through 2030 would put currently operative social security systems under pressure and undermine efforts to guarantee the national social protection floors enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).