A Canadian rejoinder: Sociology north and south of the border

McLaughlin, Neil

doi:10.1007/s12108-004-1004-7

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The relative proportions of scholars who embrace different epistemological frameworks obviously vary across institutions. Yet the critical core exists nearly everywhere across the Canadian academic landscape, just as Brym (2002) and McLaughlin (2004) asserted over a decade ago. Roughly 90% of the departments in the current study claimed at least a significant minority of critical-feminist researchers (minimum of one-third of their respondents).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Epistemological Diversity of Canadian Socology

Michalski

2016

Can. J. Soc.

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The current paper presents the results of a national survey of 190 full-time members of Canadian sociology departments to examine the state of the discipline in 2014-15. The paper focuses on the extent of epistemological diversity in an effort to answer two key questions. First, what intellectual perspectives prevail among Canadian sociologists and, along these lines, does any particular perspective hold greater prominence? Second, what might explain the variation in the epistemological stances most commonly endorsed? The evidence reveals a preponderance of critical and feminist scholars, which can be explained in large measure by considering the social locations of sociological practitioners. The results of a logistic regression model confirm that gender, generation, geography, and disciplinary genre are significant predictors of critical and critical-feminist orientations. A discussion of qualitative responses fleshes out the dominant themes that Canadian scholars expressed in their survey responses.Résumé. Le présent article présente les résultats d'une enquête nationale menée auprès de 190 membres à temps plein de départements de sociologie canadiens afin d'examiner l'état de la discipline en 2014-2015. L'article met l'accent sur l'étendue de la diversité épistémologique dans un effort pour répondre à deux questions clés. Premièrement, quelles perspectives intellectuelles prévalentelles chez les sociologues canadiens et, en ce sens, une perspective particulière occupe-t-elle une place plus proéminente? Deuxièmement, qu'est-ce qui pourrait expliquer la variation dans les positions épistémologiques les plus couramment adoptées? L'analyse révèle une prépondérance des chercheurs critiques et féministes, ce qui peut s'expliquer en grande partie en tenant en considération les positions sociales des sociologues. Les résultats d'un modèle de régression logistique confirment que le genre, la génération, la position géographique et la catégorie disciplinaire sont des prédicteurs significatifs des orientations critiques et critique-féministes. Une discussion des réponses the epiStemologiCal diverSity of Canadian SoCiology Joseph H. Michalski teaches in the Department of Sociology, King's University College at Western University. His interests include the development of sociological theory and the sociology of knowledge, as well as comparative studies of domestic violence, terrorism, conflict management, and crime-related issues. He also conducts research on the issues of poverty, precarious work, and social inequality.jmichal2@uwo.ca

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Epistemological Diversity of Canadian Socology

Michalski

2016

Can. J. Soc.

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“…Finally, a genuinely scientific sociology eliminates the logic and relevance of nationalistic disciplinary boundaries. The reality that particular countries have distinct intellectual traditions and identifiable strengths with respect to historical developments within the field cannot be disputed (Fuller 2000;Halsey 2004;Hiller 2001;Lipset 2001;McLaughlin 2004;Ogmundson 2002). But why should the important substantive issues and theoretical breakthroughs in the human sciences be linked to or defined in terms of nationalisms or particular institutional contexts?…”

Section: Shift 5: Beyond Nationalismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scientific Discovery in Deep Social Space: Sociology without Borders

Michalski¹

2008

Can. J. Soc.

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Globalization affords an excellent opportunity to develop a genuinely universal, scientific sociology. In recent decades, the politicization of the discipline has undermined the central mission of sociology: scientific discovery and explanation. The paper identifies several intellectual shifts that will facilitate expansion and communication in an emerging global village of sociological analysts: 1) breaking with classical sociology to build upon innovative theoretical ideas; 2) eliminating the ideological and normative focus that plagues much contemporary sociology; 3) moving beyond teleological approaches to scientific explanation; 4) embracing a distinctively “social” conceptualization of sociology’s subject matter; and 5) eliminating nationalistic disciplinary boundaries and the attendant parochialism that obscures the search for universal principles of social behaviour. The final section of the paper emphasizes the internationalization of sociology, reorganized along epistemological lines. Those scholars whose research focuses on observable variations in social behaviour occupy an intellectual location quite distinct from those who place their politics at the centre of their social analyses, focus on the meanings that individuals attach to their experiences, or reject science altogether as a valid form of knowledge building. Rather than continue fruitless dialogues with those who have different objectives with their work, sociological analysts are invited to join a global village of scientists who examine the full range of cases that reflect purely social behaviour, drawing upon the dimensions of social space or networks of resource flows that are most relevant to their general explanations. Conceptualized this way, sociology becomes a global science no longer handicapped by individualistic theories or nationalistic political fervour. The net result is the development of a genuine “sociology without borders” aimed at realizing the discipline’s fullest scientific potential. Résumé. La mondialisation fournit un excellent prétexte au développement d’une sociologie véritablement universelle et scientifique. Durant les dernières décennies, la politisation de la sociologie a conduit au déclin de la mission centrale propre à cette discipline, celle de découverte scientifique et de recherche d’explications. Cet article identifie plusieurs changements intellectuels qui visent à faciliter l’expansion et la communication d’une telle science dans un village planétaire d’analystes sociologiques en émergence: 1) Rompre avec la sociologie classique afin de construire des théories sociologiques innovantes; 2) Éliminer la concentration idéologique et normative qui caractérise en grande partie les recherches sociologiques actuelles; 3) Dépasser les approches téléologiques et les remplacer par des explications scientifiques; 4) Conceptualiser la matière de la sociologie en termes clairement «sociaux» 5) Enfin, éliminer les frontières disciplinaires nationalistes et l’esprit de clocher qui leur est corollaire, car ils nuisent à la recherche de principes universels gouvernant le comportement social. La dernière section de l’article met l’emphase sur l’internationalisation d’une sociologie réorganisée selon des schèmes épistémologiques. Les spécialistes dont les recherches se concentrent sur des variations observables dans le comportement social ont une position intellectuelle bien distincte de ceux qui placent leurs opinions politiques au centre de leurs analyses sociales, se concentrent sur les significations que les individus attachent à leurs expériences ou encore nient à la science toute validité à fonder un savoir. Plutôt que de continuer un dialogue stérile avec ceux qui ont des objectifs différents pour leur travail, les sociologues sont invités à se joindre au village planétaire des scientifiques qui examinent l’ensemble des cas renvoyant à un comportement purement social. Il s’agit d’établir les dimensions de l’espace social ou les mécanismes des flux de ressources les plus pertinents pour fournir des explications générales. Ainsi conceptualisée, la sociologie n’est plus entravée par des théories individuelles ou des ferveurs politiques nationalistes et elle a le potentiel de devenir une science mondiale. Le résultat en sera le développement d’une véritable «sociologie sans frontières» apte à réaliser le potentiel scientifique maximum de la discipline.

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“…Because Canadian universities are all essentially public and are embedded in a relatively 'flat' institutional environment (Davies and Hammack, 2005) that does not have elite private schools driven by massive endowments (like Harvard or Yale) or equivalent access to wealthy foundations as in the USA, there are fewer resources available to isolate the professional research core of the discipline from the needs and demands of policy makers and students. On the other hand, Canadian sociology has a relatively large critical component relative to American sociology (McLaughlin, 2004). The Canadian tradition of political economy is proportionately much larger in Canada than the Marxist sociology equivalent in American sociology (Clement, 2001).…”

Section: Contextualizing and Comparing Academics And Their Publicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Trouble with Burawoy: An Analytic, Synthetic Alternative

McLaughlin

Turcotte

2007

Sociology

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As American Sociological Association (ASA) president in 2004, Michael Burawoy argued 'for public sociology', sparking impassioned debate focused almost exclusively on the normative issues raised by his prescription for a more public sociology. Nearly absent from the literature is an analytical critique of his underlying model of the structure of sociological practice.The model is flawed in three ways: (1) the core concepts are ambiguous; (2) the model provides little leverage for understanding the institutional context of sociology as a discipline; and (3) comparative understanding of sociologies in different countries or between public engagement in distinct academic disciplines is not facilitated. In this article, we propose a synthetic means of relating academics, disciplines, audiences and institutional environments that forms the basis for movement toward an empirical agenda on public academics more generally. KEY WORDSacademic disciplines / Burawoy / comparative sociology / public intellectuals / public sociology / sociology of knowledge

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A Canadian rejoinder: Sociology north and south of the border

Cited by 12 publications

References 51 publications

The Epistemological Diversity of Canadian Socology

The Epistemological Diversity of Canadian Socology

Scientific Discovery in Deep Social Space: Sociology without Borders

The Trouble with Burawoy: An Analytic, Synthetic Alternative

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