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Het centrale uitgangspunt is de vaststelling dat enerzijds vanuit een intern-rationeel wetenschappelijk uitgangspunt, het technologisch determinisme als een "gedegenereerd onderzoeksprogramma" (Lakatos) dient beschouwd te worden, en dat anderzijds diezelfde deterministische optie vervat blijkt in een hele reeks van beleidsgerichte researchnota's. Uitgaande van die paradox, wordt aandacht besteed aan de ideologische manifestaties van het technologisch determinisme, alsook aan een mogelijke verklaringsgrond voor haar recente opflakkering in het beleidsgericht onderzoek. Vervolgens wordt deze trend in het technologie-onderzoek beschouwd als een indicator voor de teloorgang van de idee van "cognitief-rationale beheersing" in de sociologie. Onder visie verstaan, waarbij de nadruk wordt gelegd op de wetenschappelijk gefundeerde controle van toekomstige maatschappelijke processen, en dit in functie van het bereiken en verwezenlijken van een collectief doel. Deze waarde (en toekomstvisie) betekende een belangrijke negentiende eeuwse culturele innovatie, waarvan de eerste generatie sociologen een duidelijke exponent vormen.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- 1. The Schmitt-Podemos connection -- The Schmitt-Podemos paradox -- Introducing Podemos -- Podemos' approach to politics -- The rise of Podemos -- References -- 2. Podemos' encounter with Schmitt -- Carl Schmitt's vision of politics -- The Shadow of Schmitt in Podemos' political thought -- First encounters -- Beyond intellectual culture -- Notes -- References -- 3. Divergent presents -- Schmitt and the Weimar Republic -- Schmitt's development -- A Spanish Weimar? -- References -- 4. Imagining the political past -- Iglesias and Errejón's background -- The history of memory in Spain -- Memories of the left -- History for Podemos -- A distortion of history? -- Schmitt as political realist -- Nostalgia -- Note -- References -- 5. Imagining the political future -- Iglesias' Thesis -- Errejón's thesis -- The significance of Errejón's retelling -- Latin America: a model for Spain's future? -- References -- 6. Tensions within -- Enmity within? -- Assessing the significance of Podemos' Schmittian rhetoric -- References -- Index

This volume offers an unprecedented account of recent and future developments in the sociology of intellectuals. It presents a critical exchange between two leading contemporary social theorists, Patrick Baert and Simon Susen, advancing debates at the cutting edge of scholarship on the changing role of intellectuals in the increasingly interconnected societies of the twenty-first century. The discussion centres on Baert's most recent contribution to this field of inquiry, The Existentialist Moment: The Rise of Sartre as a Public Intellectual (2015), demonstrating that it has opened up hitherto barely explored avenues for the sociological study of intellectuals. In addition, the authors provide an overview of various alternative approaches that are available for understanding the sociology of intellectuals – such as those of Pierre Bourdieu, Randall Collins, and Neil Gross. In doing so, they grapple with the question of the extent to which intellectuals can play a constructive role in influencing social and political developments in the modern era. This insightful volume will appeal to students and scholars of the humanities and social sciences, particularly to those interested in social theory and the history of intellectual thought. --

This book offers an unprecedented account of recent and future developments in the sociology of intellectuals. It presents a critical exchange between two leading contemporary social theorists, Patrick Baert and Simon Susen, advancing debates at the cutting edge of scholarship on the changing role of intellectuals in the increasingly interconnected societies of the twenty-first century. The discussion centres on Baert's most recent contribution to this field of inquiry, The Existentialist Moment: The Rise of Sartre as a Public Intellectual (2015), demonstrating that it has opened up hitherto barely explored avenues for the sociological study of intellectuals. The authors also provide an overview of various alternative approaches that are available for understanding the sociology of intellectuals, such as those of Pierre Bourdieu, Randall Collins and Neil Gross. In doing so, they grapple with the question of the extent to which intellectuals can play a positive and empowering role in shaping the current and future development of society. This insightful book will appeal to students and scholars of the humanities and social sciences, particularly to those interested in social theory and the history of intellectual thought.

This paper introduces the concept of 'performative citizenship' to account for the manner in which the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), and in particular its charismatic leader Steve Biko, transformed a collection of relatively abstract philosophical ideas into concrete political praxis. We outline how the BCM challenged the psychological internalisation of white supremacy and asserted citizenship claims through a variety of performative techniques, many of which explicitly and implicitly reiterated earlier rights-based claims both in South Africa and abroad. We show how this took place within a remarkably restrictive context, which on the one hand constrained performances, but on the other augmented their dramatic efficacy. The paper makes an argument about the performance of counter-power, showing how whilst the apartheid complex retained its command over economic, military, and political power, it struggled to control the social drama that was unfolding on the cultural plane, therefore losing its grip on one key element of ideological power. Finally, the paper also makes a methodological contribution to reception studies by showing how researching the reception of ideas exclusively through the spoken or written word neglects other modes through which ideas might find expression, especially in contexts of pervasive censorship and political repression.

This article introduces a new, performative framework for analysing intellectuals and intellectual interventions. It elaborates on the strengths of this theoretical perspective vis-à-vis rival approaches and develops this frame of reference by exploring key constituent concepts, including positioning, script and staging. The article then exemplifies the framework and demonstrates its applicability by exploring a public intellectual performance by Jean-Paul Sartre. To conclude, the article reflects on recent shifts in public intellectual performances, especially changes that are relatively durable and connected to the rise of new media.