Suchergebnisse

Der Autor setzt sich in seinem Beitrag mit dem Bedeutungsverlust der Industrie-, Betriebs- und Arbeitssoziologie auseinander, die sich auf das Bild des Industriearbeiters konzentreirt habe; die neuen Entwicklungen der gesellschaftlichen Gesamtarbeit in Richtung auf eine Dienstleistungsgesellschaft haben erhebliche begriffliche Unsicherheiten und Probleme der politischen Orientierung nach sich gezogen. Er fordert, daß man - um die gesamte Arbeitssituation angemessen beschreiben zu können - stärker als bisher in den industriesoziologischen Untersuchungen die gesamte zeitwirtschaftliche Einbindung des Arbeitseinsatzes, den Grad der technischen und organisatorischen Vorherbestimmtheit von Arbeitsvollzügen, den Zusammenhang von Leistungsanforderungen und Lohnformen sowie die längerfristige zeitliche Struktur des Arbeitsverhältnisses berücksichtigen müsse. (psz)

Programme sind keine kanonischen Schriften. Programme sind dazu da, nicht eingelöst, sondern ständig modifiziert oder widerlegt zu werden. Programme sind, ähnlich wie Idealtypen, dazu da, gegenüber der Empirie gleichsam systematisch Unrecht zu haben (vgl. Soeffner 1989: 62). Die "Empirie", das sind in diesem Falle die hier versammelten Beiträge selber: zum Teil "klassische" Texte, entstanden lange bevor es die Idee zu diesem Band, ja bevor es überhaupt die Idee einer hermeneutischen Wissenssoziologie gegeben hat; zum Teil Texte derer, die, auf bestimmten, durchaus heterogenen Theorie-, Methodologie- und Methodengrundlagen stehend, das Gemeinsame ihrer jeweiligen Befaßtheiten unter das Etikett "Hermeneutische Wissenssoziologie" gestellt haben (zum ersten Mal mit organisierender Absicht in Schröer 1994, siehe aber auch Hitzler/ Honer 1997 und Reichertz 1997), und für die wir hier lediglich stel1vertretend die Editionsarbeit übernommen haben; und schließlich Texte von Kolleginnen und Kollegen der in dieser Tradition "dritten" (oder, wenn wir uns al1e gemeinsam letztlich auf das Erbe von Alfred Schütz beziehen wollen, eben der "vierten" Generation, die, an verschiedenen Ausgangspunkten ansetzend, derzeit dabei sind, wiederum ihre eigenen Wege, Anschlüsse und Querverbindungen zu suchen.

In a footnote to Ernest Gellner's theories on relativism (eg, 1985 & 1987), an objectivist defense of the social sciences is offered on the basis of theories that are successful according to Karl Popper's standards. Contemporary relativism & skepticism about the ability of the social sciences to produce objective or true theories arise out of Thomas Kuhn's (1962) work. It is argued that a good theory offers statements describing the necessary & sufficient conditions for the explanation of a phenomenon. Further, the nonempirical elements of this theory should be acceptable. These criteria are met by any number of social scientific theories, eg, Alexis de Tocqueville's discussion of why religion flourishes in the US. The interpretive elements integral to social scientific theories are discussed in relation to the example of the theories of the origins of modernity. The growth of social scientific knowledge offers reason to be optimistic about the theoretical successes of sociology. 28 References. H. von Rautenfeld

Traces the historical relation of gender to sociology & argues that the postmodern challenge has worked to alter the fundamental terms of debate. It is shown that traditional sociology's effort to incorporate gender into theories of stratification or inequality ended in ignoring the full power of gender as a category of social life. Feminist standpoint epistemology has informed a more explicitly feminist sociology, but a discussion of the work of Sandra Harding (1987) & Nancy Hartsock (1983) indicates that this framework simply replaces the masculine with a feminine viewpoint without troubling the basic totalizing framework of traditional sociology. Postmodern sociology is favored as an approach to gender because it destabilizes monolithic categories to ask how differentiations are produced by particular strategies & movements of power within the social field. By remaining close to the constitution of gender categories, it is argued that postmodern sociology opens the possibility of examining the relation of the actual & potential in the production of politics. 76 References. D. M. Smith

The nature of poststructuralism is discussed in reference to the potential for a viable form of poststructuralist sociology (PSS). Poststructuralism is defined as a form of decentering that challenges traditional political & social mechanisms & discourses undermining social freedom. This emphasis demands that PSS recognize & actively pursue political aims, a goal mostly absent in traditional sociology. Therefore, PSS would abandon its role as a social science, discipline, & type of knowledge in favor of political self-consciousness & active opposition to all forms of social domination. At the methodological level, PSS relies on four basic assumptions: (1) theory is inherently discursive, (2) empirical reality is textual, (3) intellectual & scientific meaning is achieved through the relationship between empirical & theoretical texts, & (4) a discursive interpretation of reality facilitates better understanding of reality than traditional sociology. Drawing on a discursive analysis of the Vietnam War, it is concluded that PSS would significantly reduce the distance between sociology & real world social & political issues. 39 References. T. Sevier

Outlines a position in the sociology of science & technology that moves beyond postmodern concerns for relativism to link relativist & nonrelativist conceptions of knowledge to their respective roles. It is shown that there has been a traditional divide between realist & relativist conceptions of science that has recently been bridged by a common focus on the cultural significance of science & technology. Approaches to the sociology of science & technology that adopt this culturalist perspective are favored because they enlist scientific & technological change as vehicles for cultural criticism & as bases for agendas of cultural renewal. However, scientific advances are felt economically as much as culturally, & the Weberian realist tradition of viewing science as an extension of instrumental rationality has its place. This realist perspective is also applied to the sociology of knowledge itself, in the sense that social scientific knowledge has accumulated over time & thus, has economic & instrumental effects that are independent of any particular cultural component of its production. 46 References. D. M. Smith