What’s the relevance of sociology, or more generally, of
social science? The Canadian Review of Sociology has just
published a symposium on this question, having kindly invited me to be a
contributor. I called my essay “In
Praise of Sociology”, and you will find the text, open access, here:
The citation is:
Connell,
Raewyn. 2017. In praise of sociology.
Canadian Review of Sociology,
vol. 54 no. 3, 280-296.
You will find the printed version here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cars.12150/abstract but be warned, this version has a paywall.
Basically, I argue that sociology has only a marginal
position in a world of tabloid politics and market logic – though it could
survive as surveillance of the losers, or a source of entertainment. But there are other possible
futures. Knowledge of the social
world is tremendously important for democratic projects. And all the tools of current sociology are
relevant. But the way sociological
knowledge is organized, including the way it is embedded in a global economy of
knowledge, is deeply problematic.
Now read on...
