[About the book] "The Uses of Sociology" discusses whether sociological knowledge is important. It introduces students to the main ways in which sociology is practised in the world and explores the major debates concerning its social purposes. Comparing and contrasting different traditions of sociological thought, the authors examine the different modes in which they engage with the social. Questions considered include the relevance of sociological knowledge to government, the public sphere, the media, economic life, social movements, 'race' and ethnicity. The text also discusses related issues, such as whether sociology is a science or a cultural endeavour, and whether sociological research and analysis can be detached and unbiased.
Notas acerca de la evolución del folclore, en líneas generales, a partir del siglo XVII hasta la actualidad. Diversas razones, económicas y políticas, inciden hoy en un nuevo auge otorgado a la tradición folclórica. Ésta constituye, según el autor, el último instrumento de resistencia frente a la pérdida de la identidad cultural local, comarcal o regional. ; We present some notes about the evolution of folklore, along general lines, from the XVII century until the present. Diverse economic and political reasons have given new interest to folk tradition. Folklore, according to the author, is the last intrument of resistance against the loss of local and regional cultural identity. ; Grupo de Investigación Antropología y Filosofía (SEJ-126). Universidad de Granada
Članak predstavlja prvi deo rada koji se bavi odnosom jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu u periodu između 1945. i 1990. godine. Stav jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu prvenstveno je bio uslovljen promenama koje su se zbivale u vladajućoj kolektivno-vlasničkoj klasi i njenoj političkoj organizaciji - SKJ. U ovom delu se razmatra odnos istorijskog materijalizma prema socijalizmu, zatim, Đilasova kritika socijalističkog društva i shvatanje prvih poratnih jugoslovenskih sociologa o društvenoj strukturi socijalizma. ; This article represents the first part of a work dealing whit the relationship between Yugoslav sociology and socialism in the period 1945. to 1990. Tle relationship between Yugoslav socilogy and socialism was on the first place determined by the changes happening too the ruling colective-owner class and its political organization - Communist Party. This article deals whit the relationship between historical materialism and socialism, and, Djilas's critics of socialist society and the ideas of first Yugoslav.
Sociology is the latecomer in Spanish social sciences. Th first chair of sociology was created in 1898. It was filled by Manuel Sales i Ferré. Sociology in Spain has had, since that date, an eventful and uneven history. After a period of steady development it suffered a serious trauma under Franco's dictatorship, which decimated a brilliant generation of Spanish intellectuals through political persecution, imprisonment, exile and death. Political life only returned to normal after 1975. This was a prerequisite for the institutionalisation of Spanish intellectual life. Today, the discipline of sociology has fully established itself in the intellectual spgere of Spain, as well as in its economic life, its politics and its culture. It also exercises an impoprtant influence upon public opinion in the country. ; Peer reviewed
Članak predstavlja drugi deo rada koji se bavi odnosom sociologije prema socijalizmu u periodu između 1945. i 1990. godine. Osnovna teza rada je da je stav jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu bio uslovljen promenama koje su se zbivale u vladajućoj kolektivno- vlasničkoj klasi i njenoj političkoj organizaciji - SKJ. U ovom delu se razmatra odnos jugoslovenske sociologije prema socijalizmu u periodu od 1967. do raspada zemlje 1990. godine. ; This article is second part of work dealing with relationship between sociology and socialism (between 1945 - 1990). Basic thesis is that . Yugoslav sociology to socialism had depended change in collective-ownership class and her political organization - CKY. In this part is observed relationship Yugoslav sociology to socialism in time from 1967 to 1990.
Over-rationalizing a general movement in the sociology of art, which is undoubtedly more "Brownian" and less clearly oriented in reality, we will organize the display of recent evolutions in the social studies of arts around the notion of mediation. If the concept remains ambiguous, it clearly points out a strong new trend shared by very diverse approaches: a focus on objects and devices, on local situations, on reflexive and politically critical analyses of the social and artistic values, all this requiring to pay more attention to the materiality of intermediaries, to acknowledge their opacity regarding social determinations or aesthetic effects, to analyse the active role they play in the definition of art works and tastes.
Over-rationalizing a general movement in the sociology of art, which is undoubtedly more "Brownian" and less clearly oriented in reality, we will organize the display of recent evolutions in the social studies of arts around the notion of mediation. If the concept remains ambiguous, it clearly points out a strong new trend shared by very diverse approaches: a focus on objects and devices, on local situations, on reflexive and politically critical analyses of the social and artistic values, all this requiring to pay more attention to the materiality of intermediaries, to acknowledge their opacity regarding social determinations or aesthetic effects, to analyse the active role they play in the definition of art works and tastes.
With the publication of the Southam Report in Canada (1987) showing the widespread functional illiteracy of vast sectors of the Canadian population, and the renewed discussion on the shortcomings of literacy training programmes in the U.S. (Kozol, 1985; Gee, 1986), adult education has become again a priority for policy makers in industrial advanced societies. This article challenges some of the bask assumptions of conventional mainstream adult education, taking advantage of the experience and theories mainly developed in dependent-development societies of Latin America. A political sociology of adult education takes as a starting point the relationships between the capitalist state and adult education. Therefore, the notion of the State should be considered central to any attempt to understand the "new" rationale for policy formation in this field. Some questions and queries on adult education policy formation are advanced here, and a new agenda for research is advocated. ; peer-reviewed
The present article represents an attempt at analyzing the social construction of production activities under a market economy. For that purpose, attempts are made to identify some social forces underlying and determining these activities. Such forces are exemplified in the exogenous, especially institutional, political and cultural, conditioning of capitalist production. The article also reviews relevant evidence to empirically evaluate the premise of the social construction of production. The article's purpose is to contribute toward the growing literature in the social construction of economic, including managerial, behavior.
The reflection we propose on the relationship between humanities and architectural projects is an opportunity to recall the ability of the sociologist to criticise, guide or induce spatial choices in the production of architectural projects. As a first step, we identify in the architectural project aspects that compare sociological knowledge of the uses and specificity of the project. Secondly, we highlight the value of this sociology in criticising the architectural project, drawing a distinction between: a general, social and cultural criticism, another more political one leading to normative proposals on living spaces. ; International audience ; The reflection we propose on the relationship between humanities and architectural projects is an opportunity to recall the ability of the sociologist to criticise, guide or induce spatial choices in the production of architectural projects. As a first step, we identify in the architectural project aspects that compare sociological knowledge of the uses and specificity of the project. Secondly, we highlight the value of this sociology in criticising the architectural project, drawing a distinction between: a general, social and cultural criticism, another more political one leading to normative proposals on living spaces. ; La réflexion que nous proposons sur les relations entre sciences humaines et projet architectural est l'occasion de rappeler la capacité du sociologue à critiquer, orienter ou induire des choix spatiaux dans la production de projets architecturaux. Dans un premier temps nous identifions dans le projet architectural des aspects qui confrontent connaissance sociologique des usages et spécificité du projet. Dans un deuxième temps nous précisons l'intérêt de cette sociologie pour une critique du projet architectural en distinguant : une critique générale, sociale et culturelle, une autre plus politique pour aboutir à des propositions normatives sur les espaces habités.
In this article we introduce the notion of entrenchment to conceptualize the processes in which new technological options, through the interactions between a variety of actors, become viable and established practices in society, both satisfying and modifying needs and interests. The notion of entrenchment we use as a framework for an analysis of developments and debates in the field of cystic fibrosis testing and screening in Denmark. On the one hand, it appears that the development and introduction of cystic fibrosis (CF) screening to some extent is predetermined both by existing networks of human genome researchers, clinical geneticist, patients (organizations),funding organizations, and regulatory agencies, and by existing practices like that of prenatal diagnosis. On the other hand, in Denmark, the content and future of CF screening is shaped in ongoing processes or articulation of demand for screening and of its cultural and political acceptability, processes which also involve political decision-making and which (may) result in new networks and regimes. Yet, what appears to be an inherent and undecided part of the process of entrenchment of CF screening in Denmark, is how to allocate responsibilities and authority to decide what is acceptable and what not.
This paper argues that the medical record is an important focus for sociological research. In medical work, the modern patient's body Foucault has so aptly described is produced through embodied, materially heterogeneous work - and the medical record plays a crucial role in this production. It does not simply represent this body's history and geography: it is a central element in the material re-writing of these. Simultaneously, the record fulfills a core role in the production of a body politic. As the record is involved in the performance of the patient's body, it is also involved in the performance of the clinic in which that body comes to life. Finally, we argue that different records, different practices of reading and writing are intertwined with the production of different patient's bodies, bodies politic, and bodies of knowledge. As organizational infrastructure, the medical record affords the interplay and coordination of divergent worlds. Seen in this light, as a site where multiple stories about patients and about organizations are at stake (including the interoperability between these stories), the medical record becomes highly relevant both analytically and politically.
While we were writing our book, Postsocialist Pathways, during the mid- 1990s, a friend in Budapest told us about a board game he had played as a child during the socialist period. Prior to the Second World War, Hungarians had played Monopoly, which they knew as Kapitaly. But the competitive game of capitalism was banned by communist authorities, who substituted another board game, Gazda´lkodj Okosan! or "Economize Wisely." In this goulash communist version of political correctness the goal was to get a job, open a savings account, and acquire and furnish an apartment. Our friend was too young to have had a Kapitaly board, but his older cousins from another part of the country knew the banned game and taught him the basic rules. You did not need to be a nine-yearold dissident to see that Monopoly was the more exciting game. And so they turned over the socialist board game, drew out the Kapitaly playing field from Start to Boardwalk on the reverse side, and began to play Monopoly—using the cards and pieces from Economize Wisely. But with the rules only intermittently regulated by the older cousins, the bricolaged game developed its own dynamics, stimulated by the cards and pieces from the "other side." Why, for example, be satisfied with simple houses and hotels when you could have furniture as well? And under what configurations of play would a Prize of Socialist Labor be grounds for releasing you from or sending you to jail? The notion of playing capitalism with noncapitalist pieces strikes us as an apt metaphor for the postsocialist condition. The political upheavals of 1989 in Eastern Europe and 1991 in Russia turned the world upside down. Assuming that they were "starting from scratch,"Western advisors from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and university-based institutes issued instructions for new "rules of the game." But the ruins of communism were not a tabula rasa, and so the new hybrid game was played with institutions cobbled together partly from remnants of the past that, by limiting some moves and facilitating other strategies, gave rise to a bricolage of multiple social logics. If from these coexisting and overlapping principles they are building a distinctively postsocialist capitalism, they share with all modern societies a common feature that the social fabric is woven with multiple, discrepant systems of value.
This paper presents the first results of a wider methodological evaluation. The main subject of the text is an analysis of some crucial concepts in Yugoslav political sociology. The methodological approach is supported by the perspective of the sociology of knowledge. In the first section the notions such as democracy, totalitarianism, the left/right distinction, and populism are discussed. The author points to some characteristics in their current usage: fashion manner, formalism, normativism and the absence of a historical perspective. The origins of these weaknesses are identified in superficial anti- communism of Yugoslav scientists and in their unfamiliarity with the history of the Balkans.
The aim of the article is to analyze the historical development of sociology in Lithuania in the beginning of the twentieth century. The author notes that despite the interest in sociological analysis the institutional grounds were lacking. The author argues that the development of sociology as a discipline in Lithuania is closely connected with the work of Petras Leonas. While Mykolas Riomeris might be considered as the first to apply sociological methods for the analysis of social phenomena, it was Petras Leonas who started to lecture sociology at the end of his life. ; Tyrinėjant mokslo istoriją, svarbu atskleisti kiekvienos mokslinės disciplinos vietą krašto intelektualiniame gyvenime. Sociologijos istorija Lietuvoje ganėtinai mažai tyrinėta sritis. Tuo tarpu sociologinės problemos pradėtos gvildenti mūsų publicistikoje dar XX a. pirmame dešimtmetyje, t.y. tuo laiku, kai šis mokslas buvo embrioninėje stadijoje. Tada lietuvius labiausiai viliojo pozityvistinė sociologijos samprata, nors iki valstybingumo atstatymo mūsų krašte nebuvo sociologų profesionalų (sociologija buvo publicistikos žanras). Bene pirmasis Lietuvoje sociologinius metodus pradėjo taikyti M.Riomeris, susiedamas juos su konkrečių socialinių reiškinių analize. Tuo tarpu profesionaliai ir visapusiškai sociologija susidomėjo Petras Leonas, kuris šią discipliną ir pradėjo dėstyti savo gyvenimo saulėlydyje. Šiam veiksmui jį paskatino aktyvus dalyvavimas šalies politikoje, suvokimas, jog būtina apibendrinti vykstančius procesus.
