Social and family patterns on the colonial Louisiana frontier

As the pendulum of historical scholarship swings toward the close of another century, momentum has propelled it toward the re‐establishment of a traditional relationship severed by professional historians at the turn of the last century. History and genealogy were inseparable until early 20th‐century humanists elevated the serious pursuit of history from the armchair to the university chair. In the generations since, a chasm of disdain has separated “real” history from so‐called family history in which untrained amateurs dabble with abandon.

Yet the family is the heart of society. To study a people's history without understanding the family structure from which it evolved is to confront a robot and pretend that one feels a pulse. Tardily, professional history is shifting from the “subjects' of broad national interest” to a study of society in microcosm, that is, the family, at the same time that academically oriented genealogists are upgrading their standards to prove that family history can be a legitimate field of scholarly inquiry.

This reunion of history and genealogy has produced outstanding re‐evaluations of society; but in the United States the emphasis to date has been on Anglo‐American culture. This article provides pioneer exploration of the nation's Latin heritage and finds significant differences in patterns of migration and settlement, marriage and morality. Such a study of French and Spanish borderlands in America upsets traditional, stereotyped conceptions of mobility, fertility, and family structure in colonial America.     

The History of Social Thought and the History of Sociology

Abstract

Just as sociologists in the past have been insistent upon making a distinction between the history of social thought and sociological theory, so is it argued here than an equally important distinction be made between the history of social thought and the history of sociology. It is suggested that the history of social thought is no more useful to the advance of sociological theory than any other contiguously related field of study. Since the history of social thought is not directly concerned with the discipline of sociology, it is suggested that it be eliminated from the curricula of sociology. Not only is this area of study unlikely to contribute to the development of sociological theory but also such a study can have unanticipated consequences that hinder such a contribution. The genetic fallacy is less likely to be committed when the distinction between the history of social thought and the history of sociology is kept clearly in mind.     

Objective and Reputational Rankings of Ph.D.-Granting Departments of Sociology, 1965–1982

Abstract

From its inception in 1965 until 1975 when it stopped publishing such studies, The American Sociologist (TAS) published numerous quality rankings of Ph.D.-granting sociology departments and several articles that compared different rankings. During these years TAS published far more rankings of sociology departments than did any other journal This article reviews these studies as well as the rankings of sociology departments found in three major multi-disciplinary rankings (Cartter, 1966; Roose and Andersen, 1970; Jones, Lindzey, and Coggeshall, 1982). It discusses the major methodological approaches used in these studies and reviews the debate among scholars regarding the most appropriate ways to rank departments. An analysis of the various objective and subjective rankings reveals that there is an elite group of seven departments that consistently rank at the top regardless of the ranking method employed.     

Moments in the Methodology of Meso History

Meso history is that branch of the history of sociology that focuses on social relations, that is, patterns of connection among groups, group members, and group meanings, as explanatory factors in the shaping of sociology. The methodology of meso history consists of strategies for discovering, documenting and patterning connections. This paper explores those strategies in terms of three moments generic to the research process in social science– moments of movement from intellectual curiosity to conceptualization, from research question to data collection and from data to presentation of findings–focusing on the distinctive permutations on this research process that occur in the practice of meso history.     

Disciplinary knowledge revisited: The social construction of sociology

In Making Science (1992) I make the distinction between two types of knowledge: research frontier knowledge and core knowledge. Core knowledge is the small body of knowledge for which the entire scientific community treats as indisputable facts. The research frontier is all new knowledge which makes claim to being facts but in practice there is no consensus on this knowledge. The two types of knowledge are linked together by the evaluation process. Most frontier knowledge turns out to be insignificant and is ignored. A small part of frontier knowledge is taken as candidates for the core and evaluated. Most of this knowledge turns out to be “wrong.” Thus the important data of Jacobs ( 1989) loses a good deal of its impact because he forces it into a theory which he calls “social control”: a theory for which there is no evidence. Stephen Cole is professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is the author of Making Science: Between Nature and Society and, with Jonathan R. Cole, Social Stratification in Science. Stephen Cole is professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is the author of Making Science: Between Nature and Society and, with Jonathan R. Cole, Social Stratification in Science.     

Reflexivity over and above convention: the new orthodoxy in the sociology of personal life, formerly sociology of the family

There is a new orthodoxy in the field that was once understood as the sociology of the family, and is increasingly understood as the sociology of 'personal life', 'intimacy', 'relationships' and 'families'. The orthodoxy highlights the open-endedness of intimate relations at the expense of the family as an institution; that is, reflexivity over and above convention. This article argues that the new orthodoxy not only overstates reflexivity at the expense of convention, but abdicates understanding to frameworks grounded in biologistic and economistic understandings of human behaviour. The article makes its point through attention to three areas of research at odds with the new orthodoxy: paternity uncertainty, inheritance and family business. It then proposes that conceptualization of the family as an institutional regime gives due weight to the reflexive reconfiguration of family relationships and practices on the one hand, and their institutional embeddedness on the other.     

Japanese urban sociology: Development and current trends

This article focuses on current trends in Japanese urban sociology as they developed historically. They can be understood in the distinctive context of Japanese sociology, as the products of an interaction between Western sociological theories and their adaptation to Japan’s own materials. The article begins with the historical context of urban development and provides an overview of the development of urban studies in Japan, including issues in the theory of urbanization, the distinctive character of the neighborhood association, Cbonaikai, and the formation of new local communities in suburban areas. The current trends since the 1980s involve the macro approach to urban restructuring, studies on urban ethnicity, and social network analysis. Overall, it is suggested that the influence of American sociology makes Japanese urban analysis comparative. I thank Claude S. Fischer and Tazuko Hanzawa for their help with editing this paper. Remain-ing deficiencies are mine.     

Risk in childhood family environments and loneliness in college students: Implications for health

Abstract

Objective: To investigate associations between risk in family environments and health-relevant outcomes in college and the role of loneliness. Participants: College students at a state university (N?=?360). Methods: We utilized linear regression to examine relationships between risk in family environments and loneliness, perceived stress, affect, and self-rated health. We tested for indirect effects of risk in family environments on outcomes through loneliness Results: Analyses showed that risk in family environments associated with loneliness (β?=?0.12 t[358]?=?2.22, p = .03, R² change = .02), perceived social stress (β?=?0.20, t[357]?=?3.88, p?<?0.001, R² change = .04), negative and positive affect (β?=?2.44, t[357]?=?3.95, p < .001, R² change = .04), and (β = –0.18 t[357]= –3.44, p = .001, R² change = .03 respectively), and self-rated health (β?=?0.19, t[359]?=?4.57, p < .001, R² change = .10). Significant indirect effects were observed for risk in early family on all outcomes through loneliness. Conclusion: These findings provide initial evidence that risk in childhood family environments may negatively affect health by increasing loneliness in college students.     

Abandoned not: media sociology as a networked transfield

ABSTRACT

The relationship between the disciplines of communication and sociology has been primarily described as being abandoned by sociologists. This article historicizes the alleged sociological abandonment of communication and media research and centers on media sociology as the key manifestation of an ongoing vibrant relationship between the two disciplines. It has two goals. First, I examine the contours of the abandonment notion since Berelson vs. Schramm, Riesman, and Bauer in Public Opinion Quarterly in 1959. I demonstrate the diversity and the depth of media sociology and argue that an US-centric positivist understanding of media sociology has led to the exaggerated and misleading notion of abandonment, which homogenizes theoretical discourse and discounts scholarly contributions from outside of the US. Personal and collective memories have also documented institutional and organizational growth of media sociology. Second, I propose to conceptualize media sociology as a networked transfield driven by questions transcending disciplinary little boxes. Rather than returning to the Lazarsfeldian media effect paradigm, media sociology as a networked transfield driven by questions will allows scholars take advantage of structural holes for synthesis and innovation.     

Sociologization,Pedagogization, and Resociologization: Has the Post-war Japanese Sociology of Education Suffered from the Galapagos Syndrome?

When considering the trends in the Japanese sociology of education over the 70 years since the end of World War II, there have been several significant changes in the nature and social position of the sociology of education within the academic history of expansion and development. These changes can be further understood by focusing on: (i) the relationship between the sociology of education in Japan and research trends in Western sociology; (ii) the relationship between the sociology of education and pedagogy in Japan; and (iii) the relationship between the sociology of education and changes in Japanese society itself. This paper focuses on these three relationships to provide an overview of the characteristics and the future direction of post-war Japanese sociology of education. The keywords of this paper will be sociologization, pedagogization, resociologization, and the Galapagos syndrome. The post-war Japanese sociology of education has not suffered from the Galapagos syndrome. However, it is evident that it lacks transmission of research results to other countries. So, the future task for Japanese researchers in the sociology of education is to demonstrate the significance of their research on Japanese education to international sociology of education markets. To achieve a more generalized perspective and regain a sense of equilibrium within the Japanese sociology of education, a “resociologization” will be required for the sociology of education in Japan, though the Japanese sociology of education especially seems to be experiencing a pedagogization.     

All in the family: The role of family networks,collective action frames,and identity in Latino movement participation

The family is often described as the foundation of Latino immigrant communities. Scholars interested in the political activism of Latino immigrants in the United States have consequently sought to examine the relationship between the family and recruitment to social movement participation. Overall, this research focuses on how the family can promote Latinos' political activism. However, less is known about the conditions under which the family may hinder activism. Family dynamics may be particularly demobilizing for certain segments of the Latino population with liminal or undocumented status. This article reviews two groups of the recent literature on Latino political mobilization: (a) social networks; and (b) collective action frames. By drawing on insights from social movement theory, the article concludes by arguing for more research that theorizes on the family as a group identity, powerfully enabling, and constraining Latino movement participation.     

Possibilities for Using the Internet in Japanese Education in the Information Age Society

As the globalization of the economy has accelerated in recent years, the Internet has become an essential part of the infrastructure, primarily as a communications medium. In the Information Age society, the ADC principle (autonomy, distribution, and collaboration) has become an underlying assumption, which also applies to the institution of education. The fading power of Japan may come from its educational system, which emphasizes standardization and uniformity, while discouraging creativity and individuality. Now is the time for Japan to reevaluate its educational system at every level so that it better supports the societal and business needs of the Information Age economy. Therefore, this paper proposes five kinds of changes to the Japanese educational system. They are community networks, digital kids and participatory education, growing up digital and youth education, online higher education, and media literacy education for the elderly. First, community networks provide citizens with better and more convenient access to local services, activities, and information. Second, the notion of the digital kid suggests that it should be participatory, including all members of the community. Third, as digital kids grow up digital using the Internet would enhance both intergenerational and intra‐generational communication in the twenty‐first century. Fourth, online higher education should become widely available in Japanese society in the twenty‐first century. Fifth, although media literacy education for the elderly in Japan is yet to come to its maturity, senior network groups are beginning to receive wider attention as they will provide Japanese elderly with a new avenue for communication. When and only when these educational reforms are pursued, will Japanese people be able to participate effectively in the global society.     

Social Survey Research1 in Japanese Sociology

Abstract: In this paper, we look at the history of social survey development in Japanese sociology. First, the history of social research in Japan before World War II is explored. Second, the introduction of survey research to Japan during the American occupation after World War II is examined, and third, the present state and roles of social survey research in Japanese sociology is discussed. Social research was introduced as an administrative tool for the government. Sociology and social research were developed under British empiricism and American pragmatism, but Japanese academia has been based on a metaphysical approach. Social research introduced as a practical tool long had difficulty in being accepted by Japanese academia. For this reason, most sociologists in universities did not use social survey research for practical purposes, but pursued qualitative methodologies for analyzing data to gain academic prestige even after Social Stratification and Mobility (SSM) and Sabro Yasuda's research projects spread social survey methods in the field of Japanese sociology. Such academics did not think that findings acquired through qualitative case studies had to be confirmed through quantitative data to serve a practical purpose, nor did they believe that quantitative data could be better understood when examined along side qualitative data. Social survey methods have been opposed by those who have favored case‐study analysis methods in Japanese sociology. Needless to say, this opposition is fruitless. I propose that professional sociologists in Japanese universities should use social survey research for practical problems more frequently. This is the best way to establish sociology and social research as a science in Japanese society.     

Japanese invasion,war preparation,relief, rehabilitation,compensation and ‘state-making’ in an imperial frontier (1939–1955)

ABSTRACT

This paper looks at the history of state-making in an entangled imperial frontier. The northeastern frontier of British India was a mosaic of princely states, administered and un-administered territories. The presence of the colonial state in the region was contentious, marked by violence on one hand and philanthropy on the other. The Japanese invasion of the region during World War Two had several unintended ramifications. Wartime and post-war developments produced institutions and social experiences which facilitated the process of state-making in the region. Relief and Rehabilitation project of the colonial state, and later distribution of monetary compensation was not merely governed by moral or legal obligations but was part of a larger project of imperialist reconquest in Asia after the surrender of the Japanese with Manipur and Naga Hills as the base. This project also provided the postcolonial Indian state with institutions to continue the process of state-making of its own.     

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.     

Mathematical Sociology in Japan: Its Powerful Development and a Problem

Mathematical sociology in Japan was born in the mid-1970s and has actively developed since then. Mathematical sociologists in Japan have studied various topics of mathematical sociology as well as of quantitative sociology. The Japanese Association for Mathematical Sociology (JAMS) was established in 1986. It holds semi-annual conferences and publishes Sociological Theory and Methods, its official journal. Thus, the JAMS is a platform for mathematical sociologists in Japan to present and publish papers, contributing to the institutionalization of mathematical sociology in Japan. It has also co-sponsored five joint conferences with the Section on Mathematical Sociology of the American Sociological Association. Based on these activities, mathematical sociology in Japan could be judged to be vibrant domestically and internationally; it has a bright future. I argue, however, that mathematical sociologists in Japan have tended to confine themselves to areas where mathematical modeling is relatively easy. These areas are not necessarily attractive to sociologists in other fields. I propose that mathematical sociologists in Japan should tackle social phenomena that other sociologists think are critical to sociology so that they further contribute to advances in the discipline.     

Facing Each Other: Japanese and Russian Sociologies

The history of sociology as a subfield has long aimed to describe the historical developments of the discipline, within which national traditions offer unique voices while also contributing to a global sociology. How do various sociological paradigms and national traditions approach social reality in similar and different ways? This paper examines Russian and Japanese contributions to the history of sociology by reviewing some of their major concepts and perspectives. On this basis, this paper seeks to probe into the past and present self-understandings of the two sociological traditions, as well as their potentials for a more active role in global sociological discourse. Both countries have a history of protracted isolation, which has made them more or less invisible in the international sociological community. However, Russian and Japanese sociological traditions exist and are ready to be tapped, even as their production and mobilization of intellectual resources remain strongly embedded in their politics, cultures, and societies. A broader aim of this paper is to enhance mutual understandings and future collaborations between sociologists in Russia and Japan.     

… the (unbearable) ‘in-betweenness’ of being …

ABSTRACT

It seems that there are no clear and mutually exclusive categories of modernity and traditionalism in modern Africa. Modernity still includes forms of traditionalism and at the same time modernity creates its own traditions in what Kaphagawani terms as C4-Contemporary Confluence of Cultures on the Continent of Africa.

We need to position ourselves somewhere between the over-romanticized idea of a golden era in the past and an overly pessimistic view of the family as a disappearing primary care institution; between the “warm, loving, caring, socially-oriented …” African generations and the “cold technology-oriented” Western generations. This search for a relative social realitywill be dealt with by a narrative/discursive approach. This framework should, for a start, aim towards intergenerational programmes with at least one of three outcomes: transmission of positive values, relevant imageries and a developmental approach.     

Japanese Sociology in a Global Network. Internationalization,Disciplinary Development,and Minority Integration in the Road Ahead

The dual trajectories of Japanese sociology and Japan itself are poised at a watershed moment in their shared history. In recent years, Japanese sociology has enlarged its international presence in unprecedented fashion and the Tokyo Olympics have positioned the global spotlight on the entire nation of Japan, making it an opportune moment to reflect on the future of Japanese sociology in connection to Japanese society by way of internationalization. This article draws on the author's reflections on the latest 92nd Japan Sociological Society Annual Conference in the context of recent socio‐structural and intellectual transformations in counterpart sociological cultures in Anglo‐America. Drawing on three theorizations of disciplinary development by Abbott, Connell, and Burawoy, this article articulates two dimensions (socio‐structural and intellectual) with which to examine (i) what Japanese sociology can contribute to improve the internationalization decolonization, and pluralization of global sociology; and (ii) what global sociology can do to advance Japanese sociology's public contribution to improving and preserving LGBTQ minorities' societal well‐being.