Public sociology : from social facts to literary acts / Ben Agger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Agger, Ben.

Series:

New social formations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociology--Methodology.

Sociology.

Sociology--Authorship.

Physical Description:

xv, 316 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, [2007]

Summary:

Public Sociology, Second Edition, looks at sociology as a social act and argues for a sociology that can more fully embrace and address crucial public issues. Building on the philosophy of science and recent postmodernist critiques, Ben Agger shows how social science texts reproduce the existing social world. But rather than dwelling on recent critiques, this book looks ahead to a new way of doing science-one that is simultaneously more scientific and humanistic. Its prescient view of how social science can take the lead in building a more democratic public sphere will make it valuable reading for every scholar.

This second edition includes a new concluding chapter on the "public sociology" movement challenging mainstream sociology, especially as articulated by past ASA president Michael Burawoy. Agger examines whether this movement really plans to remake sociology as a genuinely public discourse and practice, or whether "public sociology" has become yet another brand without much political purchase or purpose. Agger argues that sociology can be "relevant" at a time when the United States is stuck in another quagmire of military adventurism and the gap between rich/poor and white/black-brown on the homefront continues to widen.

Contents:

Sociology as secret writing: lessons from postmodernism

Learning discipline discursively

Beginning science

Method as the main text

Concluding science

"Maybe the reviewer is just dense": review and revision as argument

Was sociology always like this?

Sociological writing in the wake of postmodernism

Has mainstream sociology gone public?

Appendix: articles in sample

Bibliography

Index

About the author.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [295]-301) and index.

ISBN:

9780742541054

0742541053

9780742541061

0742541061

OCLC:

76940021