Suchergebnisse

Europe's treatment of refugees provides growing evidence that the continent is losing its moral compass, and that Europe is increasingly callous – so-called Fortress Europe. Brute force, deterrence, including pushbacks and barbed wire fences have become the instruments with which European governments have responded to irregular migration and refugees. This article seeks to bring to the fore the contradiction between the EU's self-proclaimed values — human dignity and human rights — and the callous policies of nation states and the EU's migration regime. My main focus lies on the calamitous conditions of refugees and the thousands of deaths that have occurred in the Mediterranean Sea since 2015, the year that refugees fleeing Syria's civil war started making their way to Europe. Importantly, the Mediterranean is the deadliest border in the world; it is the veritable global epicenter of lethal border crossings. Drawing on contemporary critical theory, I undertake a humanist critique of the European status quo. The EU, as a force for a better, more livable world, is on its way to becoming irrelevant, something that was evident well before the Covid-19 pandemic. This is what is principally at stake today.

Michael Burawoy´s ´public sociology´ presents a vision of engaged and political sociology as one of its legitimate branches. The article will consider public sociology in light of Zygmunt Bauman's social thought; one of the most acclaimed sociologists whose writings transcend academic readership. It will identify similarities and differences concerning their understanding of contemporary society and sociology's tasks, and its shortcomings, which will sediment public sociology´s cause. The article will discuss the identity of a public sociologist through Bauman's concept of a postmodern ´interpreter´, which will be seen as illuminating for both political and sociological reasons. The main aim of the essay is to interpret public sociology from the point of view of Bauman's writings on post/liquid modernity social formation, and thereby increase its awareness of the ways in which contemporary societies call for sociological engagement. It will be argued that greater concern with ethics will make public sociology more coherent.

Michael Burawoy's public sociology presents a vision of engaged and political sociology that stands for critical debate and social justice. The article will consider public sociology in light of Zygmunt Bauman's social thought, one of the most acclaimed sociologists whose writings transcend academic readership. It will identify the similarities and diff erences concerning their understanding of contemporary society and sociology's tasks, as well as its shortcomings, which will sediment public sociology's cause. The article will discuss Burawoy's conception of public sociology through Bauman's views on the tasks of sociology, which will be seen as illuminating for both political and ethical reasons. The aim of the paper is to interpret public sociology from the point of view of Bauman's writings on liquid modernity, and thereby increase its awareness of the ways in which contemporary societies call for sociological engagement. It will be argued that ethics and dialogue are equally important to politics for public sociology.