On Desmond: the limits of spontaneous sociology

Matthew Desmond’s “Relational ethnography,” is a manifesto for a relational turn in ethnography, liberating it from the “substantialism” of bounded places, processed people and group culture. Substantialism, however, proves to be a largely mythical category that obscures two types of relational ethnography: Desmond’s empiricist transactional ethnography and an alternative, theoretically driven structural ethnography. Drawing on Desmond’s own ethnographies, On the Fireline and Evicted, I explore the limitations of his transactional ethnography—a “spontaneous sociology” that rejects the theoretical engagement and comparative logic. I elaborate and illustrate structural ethnography, drawing out the implications for public and policy sociology.     

On limitations of rational choice theory for sociology

I have criticized rational choice theory, not for confining its analysis to rational behavior in which individuals adapt means to the attainment of their ends, for which it is often criticized, but from a different perspective. The reason is that much individual behavior, though not all, entails rational pursuit of self-interests and that it is legitimate for a theory to confine itself to explaining some aspect of empirical reality and exclude others. The focus of my criticism has rather been that the central task of sociology is not explaining individual behavior but explaining how the structural context of the social environment influences people's life chances.     

On the sociology of women's unemployment,its neglect and significance

Although there is an extensive and varied literature on the nature and consequences of unemployment very little has been written about the experiences of jobless women. This is unfortunate since there are good sociological reasons why the reactions to job loss among women may be different from those of men. Empirical data tend to support this expectation although more research is needed and called for. Sociological studies of unemployed women could contribute to the development of theories about wage-work, family life and domestic labour. Women's unemployment also has a broader significance in that it bears directly upon theories of social stratification and social order that are central to sociological study as a whole.     

On the state of the economic in sociology: A content analysis

This article explores contemporary economic sociology by means of a content analysis of the anthologies published in the field between 1993 and 2005, with attention given to four dimensions: the economic topics covered; the relative focus on economic conflict vs. cooperation; the methodologies employed; and the relationship to the field of economics. The content analysis reveals that economic sociology (1) most commonly studies markets and national institutions (2) tends to ignore issues of class conflict (3) relies primarily on interview-based and historical methodologies, and (4) only superficially incorporates a small number of concepts from economic theory. Of particular importance is the absence of sociological investions of important macroeconomic outcomes like unemployment and economic growth. It is suggested that the field can be strengthened by following Weber's (and Schumpeter's) formulation ofSozialökonomie a multidisciplinary approach that would conjoin economic theory and history to economic sociology.     

The sociology of compassion: A study in the sociology of morals

Abstract

This essay analyzes the theoretical foundations of collective interest in the sufferings of strangers. Concern with the suffering of others, accompanied by the urge to help, is compassion. This study develops the social and historical conditions under which public compassion emerges. Two broad interpretations of these developments are suggested. The democratization perspective suggests that with the lessening of profoundly categorical and corporate social distinctions, compassion becomes more extensive. A second perspective is linked to the emergence of market society. By defining a universal field of others with whom contracts and exchanges can be made, market perspectives extend the sphere of moral concern as well: however unintentionally. Public compassion is part of the language of modernity. This gives compassion the possibility to be also part of a newly emerging ‘Second Modernity’.     

Engendering the sociology of expertise

This paper delineates areas of research for the emergent sociology of expertise. We review how expertise has been studied in the sociology of professions, sociology of work, and sociology of science and technology, and we show the contribution that intersectionality can make in understanding processes of gendering expertise.     

Syringe sociology

In this article I consider the impact of social epistemologies for understanding the object of the syringe. My aim is to examine the process through which the syringe transforms from an injecting device to a tool of social and political inquiry. Paying particular attention to the uses of Foucault, Becker, Bourdieu, Freud and Latour in empirical studies of injecting heroin use, I examine the sociology of the syringe through the lens of habit and habitus, discourse and deviance, mourning and melancholia, attachment and agencement. In pursuing the theory behind the object my goal is to address a sociological object in the making. In so doing I show how the syringe has been significant for social research, social theory, and sociology. It is the difference the object makes that this article seeks to describe. In tracing the epistemology of the syringe I show how the object is important not just for knowledge of addiction but sociology itself.     

Autobiographical sociology

In autobiographical sociology a sociologist probes one or more past personal experiences as a way of identifying and analyzing something sociologically relevant. The general nature and importance of autobiographical sociology, as well as illustrations of and guidelines for it, are explored.     

Realms,subfields, and perspectives: On the differentiation and fragmentation of sociology

This article proposes a heuristic classification of intradisciplinary structure and applies that scheme to the current debate over the relationship between the proliferation of subfields and disciplinary fragmentation in sociology. It is argued here that the fragmentation of sociology is caused by the multiplication of competing perspectives rather than by the differentiation of fields of specialization. While competition among perspectives reflects disagreements among sociologists on what their subject matter should be and how to approach it, the proliferation of subfields is generally a result of disciplinary progress.