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parts are understood as ‘levels’ and its causal powers can belong to both levels in the same action (p. 74) that, in turn, impact upwards on the social world, or impact downward on the individual. Not surprisingly, considering the... more
parts are understood as ‘levels’ and its causal powers can belong to both levels in the same action (p. 74) that, in turn, impact upwards on the social world, or impact downward on the individual. Not surprisingly, considering the critical realist foundation, it is worth noting that the individual has been assigned quite some agency; though individuals’ dispositions and beliefs are influenced by structure, etc., via internalisation (p. 125) and downward causation, the individual agentically mediates these via intra-action and interaction (see, for example, pp. 170–8). The Causal Power of Social Structures responds to a social scientific lack of ‘ontological rigour’ (p. 64). The social sciences, Elder-Vass opines, ‘consistently lack plausible, welldefined and locally consistent scientific ontologies’ and, unlike the natural sciences, are not examples of a ‘well-developed science’ (pp. 69–70). He attempts to support the theoretical underpinnings of his book with examples from the natural sciences, as H20 molecules, physical particles and chimpanzees or, for example, the ‘case of photosynthesis by a plant’ that is converted into ‘carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into oxygen’ (p. 51). My understanding of photosynthesis or H20 molecules is not very sophisticated, so I presume that Elder-Vass has got these examples right. However, since the book aims at responding to the agencystructure debate with a workable solution that can be picked up by those researchers that theoretically engage with the social world, or with the theoretical foundations for a social ontology if you will, an effort to illustrate his general framework with examples from the social world that the theory says to address would have been appreciated. This is so, not only to facilitate reading or comply with questions of rigour and accountability that the framework of the natural sciences brings in, but because this framework permeates throughout the book and contributes to an understanding of the social world in terms of materiality (individuals and groups of individuals that form the basis for organisations, social structures, etc.) and bi-directional hierarchy (upward and downward causation). This, in turn, clarifies why it was not possible to engage with themes such as language, discourse, culture and knowledge (pp. 10, 203); these differentiate the natural from the social world and would have required a response to, first, the complex fuzziness that is actually out there and, second, to the extra-individual immaterial world that cannot be captured by studying structures as social groups. Theory-oriented academics engaging with the agency-structure debate, specifically those who are interested in the critical realists Archer, Mouzelis and Baskar and/or the work of Giddens and Bourdieu, as well as researchers of ontology and possibly causation theory, could find The Causal Power of Social Structures a useful read. Though at this stage I would not recommend it as such, the book does propose a method for research; I would be curious to see how this might work empirically. 2012
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... Moore, R. and Maton, K. 2001. “Founding the sociology of knowledge: Basil Bernstein, intellectualfields, and the epistemic device”. ... 25. Moore, R. and Maton, K. 2001. “Founding the sociology ofknowledge: Basil Bernstein,... more
... Moore, R. and Maton, K. 2001. “Founding the sociology of knowledge: Basil Bernstein, intellectualfields, and the epistemic device”. ... 25. Moore, R. and Maton, K. 2001. “Founding the sociology ofknowledge: Basil Bernstein, intellectual fields, and the epistemic device”. ...
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It is difficult to know what the criteria are for progress in methodological debate. One, at least, is coming to recognise the precise nature of our disagreements. In his reply to my article, Peter Woods identified three points on which... more
It is difficult to know what the criteria are for progress in methodological debate. One, at least, is coming to recognise the precise nature of our disagreements. In his reply to my article, Peter Woods identified three points on which he and I disagree (Hammersley, 1987; Woods, 1987). I accept his diagnosis, but would add one more point. Here is my list of issues in the order in which I shall deal with them:
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What counts as ethnography and what counts as good ethnographic methodology are both highly contested. Volume 6 of this expanding series of books draws together a collection of chapters presenting a diversity of views on some of the... more
What counts as ethnography and what counts as good ethnographic methodology are both highly contested. Volume 6 of this expanding series of books draws together a collection of chapters presenting a diversity of views on some of the current debates and developments in ethnographic methodology. It does not try to present a single coherent view but, through its heterogeneity, illustrates the strength and liveliness of debate within this area. The chapters cover central topics such as the challenges to conventional views about validity in ethnographic work, feminist research, comparison within ethnographic research, the public identification of research sites, and the ethics and practice of research involving children. Other chapters deal with relatively newer topics such as the conduct of electronic ethnography, the development of the imagination and emotion within ethnographic writing, and the use of hypertext in the analysis and representation of ethnographic work. Together, the chapters bring to life current developments and debates in ethnographic research.
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This edited collection reports “experiments” with creative strategies for analyzing research data to generate new insights. There are nineteen chapters, in addition to the Introduction and two Afterwords. The chapters are divided into... more
This edited collection reports “experiments” with creative strategies for analyzing research data to generate new insights. There are nineteen chapters, in addition to the Introduction and two Afterwords. The chapters are divided into sections concerned with “Bodily Practices and Relocations,” “Physical Objects,” “Infrastructural Play,” and “Incommensurabilities.” One of the editors is an anthropologist, the other works in science and technology studies (STS), and most of the contributors share one or the other of these disciplinary affiliations. The two Afterwords are authored by postgraduate students.
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It has been argued, most notably by Max Weber, that the principle of value freedom must guide social science. This requires that the conclusions of research be restricted to factual ones, excluding practical evaluations and policy... more
It has been argued, most notably by Max Weber, that the principle of value freedom must guide social science. This requires that the conclusions of research be restricted to factual ones, excluding practical evaluations and policy recommendations that go beyond the identification of effective means. Equally important it implies a responsibility on the part of social scientists to minimize any distortion of research resulting from their own or others' value commitments. Picking up on an influential philosophical theme, Weber insisted that value conclusions cannot be derived solely from factual assumptions, and concluded on this basis that there can be no scientific authority for such conclusions. The principle of value freedom (sometimes referred to as “value neutrality” or “ethical neutrality”) was widely appealed to by social scientists around the middle of the twentieth century, but since that time it has been championed less frequently, and indeed has been subjected to widespread criticism. Much of this criticism is misdirected, and, even when it is not, it relies upon alternative philosophical and political positions that are themselves open to question.
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dealing with various experiments in situated intervention (clinical compliance with standards, the development of patient-centered care pathways and the enactment of emerging health care markets, among others). This excellent book is... more
dealing with various experiments in situated intervention (clinical compliance with standards, the development of patient-centered care pathways and the enactment of emerging health care markets, among others). This excellent book is likely to be of interest to a wide variety of readers. The author has an undeniable talent for moving debates outside of stalemate dichotomies by reconfiguring problem spaces. Although the empirical projects are very diverse, the author nicely weaves together this work in order to produce a coherent and well-argued thread. The book also impresses with its empirical richness. Rather than reducing medical practice to sociological categories, the book explores medical practice in all its organizational complexity, providing thick descriptions that include materialities, organizational arrangements and knowledge of the substantive (medical) issues at stake. Although this book provides many relevant insights and the approach of situated intervention is a highly fruitful one, some aspects remain somewhat underexplored. First, the book contains relatively little information about how to conduct situated intervention in practice. There are many implicit or general remarks to be found, for sure. For instance, the author points to the necessity of partial connections, but how exactly to cultivate these is not addressed, apart from the quite general statement that one should be ‘immersing oneself in the complexity of practices’ (p. 59). Similarly, there is an implicit recognition that the role of theory and sensitizing concepts is very important, but how such theoretical sensitization helps in situated intervention is not explicitly addressed. Second, the book could have benefitted from more reflection on the risks involved in doing situated intervention, especially if this takes place in highly politicized contexts. After all, ‘twisting the lion’s tail’ can be a very dangerous activity and not something to be done without a clear awareness of the potential risks – especially if the lion is the funding agency to whom you are accountable in the end, or the organization in which you hope to conduct your study. Obviously, this is not an argument for the complete avoidance of such ‘twisting’, as that would be a return to the ‘distanced’ social science Zuiderent-Jerak so rightfully dismissed. It is rather meant as a reminder that the twisting should be done with care and has important limitations that are only occasionally explicitly addressed in the book. The third point relates to the term ‘artful contamination’, which is used at the end of the book as a way to describe how sociological insights and medical practices can learn from each other. This terminology is an unfortunate one; it insufficiently recognizes that research is a craft (hard work rather than ‘divine inspiration’) and carries a rather negative connotation (the presence of an unwanted constituent). Leaving terminological quibbles and remaining questions aside, Zuiderent-Jerak has written an excellent, often thought-provoking book, rich both empirically and theoretically, that surely will be of interest to a wide range of readers.
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This paper is a response to Jacob’s (1987) presentation on qualitative research traditions published in the Review of Educational Research, Volume 57, Number 1. There is no disagreement about the benefits for educational research that... more
This paper is a response to Jacob’s (1987) presentation on qualitative research traditions published in the Review of Educational Research, Volume 57, Number 1. There is no disagreement about the benefits for educational research that accrue from systematic use of qualitative research. This paper differs from Jacob’s in two ways. First, it argues that a framework of distinct theoretical traditions is neither an accurate historical account of social science nor helpful to researchers. Second, and more important, it addresses a major gap in Jacob’s article: the neglect of British research drawing on qualitative perspectives.
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Arriving in the UK after exile from Nazi Germany, Karl Mannheim taught sociology at the London School of Economics and then also at the London Institute of Education, where he was awarded a chair just a year before his untimely death in... more
Arriving in the UK after exile from Nazi Germany, Karl Mannheim taught sociology at the London School of Economics and then also at the London Institute of Education, where he was awarded a chair just a year before his untimely death in 1947. In his later writings and teaching, Mannheim argued that the sociology of education could make a crucial contribution to the new type of society he regarded as essential if the problems of liberal democracy were to be overcome, and the slide towards totalitarianism avoided. And the period immediately after his death was a key phase in the development and establishment of the sociology of education in Britain. Jean Floud, who took over teaching the subject at the Institute of Education after Mannheim’s death, played a central role in this, but, while she had studied with him and served as his research assistant, she adopted a very different approach. This focused, in particular, on whether the existing structure and operation of educational inst...
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Parallels have been drawn between the 1930s and today, notably the existence of unstable economic conditions as well as deepening, antagonistic ideological divisions. In the 1940s, two books appeared that presented opposing diagnoses of,... more
Parallels have been drawn between the 1930s and today, notably the existence of unstable economic conditions as well as deepening, antagonistic ideological divisions. In the 1940s, two books appeared that presented opposing diagnoses of, and remedies for, the problems that faced Western societies at that time. In Man and Society, Karl Mannheim argued that forms of political organization had not adapted to changing social, economic, and technological conditions, and that this explained the rise of communism and fascism. He insisted that, in order to avoid disorder and political extremism, liberal democracies needed to engage in greater planning of their economic and social affairs, with sociology providing the synthesis of scientific knowledge required for this. Just a few years later, Friedrich Hayek published The Road to Serfdom, in which Mannheim's work was a central target. He insisted that only the preservation of liberal freedoms and competitive markets could prevent the sp...
Research Interests: Sociology, Politics, Ideology, Communism, Medicine, and 2 moreBritish Sociology and Parallels(British Sociology and Parallels)
(British Sociology and Parallels)
ABSTRACT This paper responds to some recent discussions in the Journal about how interview data can be used. While recognising the value of detailed analysis of the discourse employed in interviews to identify its formal features, it is... more
ABSTRACT This paper responds to some recent discussions in the Journal about how interview data can be used. While recognising the value of detailed analysis of the discourse employed in interviews to identify its formal features, it is argued that such analysis is not essential for all the purposes for which interview data can be employed in social research; that informal understanding of everyday language use, built up through ordinary experience and during the course of inquiry, can often be relied upon. It is also argued that practical cautions against taking interview data at face value must not be conflated with philosophical doubts about whether interview data can serve as a source of evidence about anything beyond the interview context.
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This article examines the character of a small but detailed observational study that focused on two teams of researchers, one engaged in qualitative sociological research, the other developing statistical models. The study was presented... more
This article examines the character of a small but detailed observational study that focused on two teams of researchers, one engaged in qualitative sociological research, the other developing statistical models. The study was presented as investigating ‘the social life of methods’, an approach seen by some as displacing conventional research methodology. The study drew on ethnomethodology, and was offered as a direct parallel with ethnographic and ethnomethodological investigations of natural scientists’ work by Science and Technology Studies scholars. In the articles deriving from this study, the authors show how even the statisticians relied on background qualitative knowledge about the social phenomena to which their data related. The articles also document routine practices employed by each set of researchers, some ‘troubles’ they encountered and how they dealt with these. Another theme addressed is whether the distinction between quantitative and qualitative approaches accurat...
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This article investigates the value of ethnographic re-studies, and some of the theoretical and methodological issues that carrying out a re-study can generate. It is argued that the disputes that arose around some classic examples in... more
This article investigates the value of ethnographic re-studies, and some of the theoretical and methodological issues that carrying out a re-study can generate. It is argued that the disputes that arose around some classic examples in anthropology and community studies are particularly illuminating. For example, Mead’s work on Samoa and Redfield’s study of Tepoztlán, and the re-studies of these, generated considerable discussion, and this still offers lessons for today. Three key functions of re-studies are discussed: replication, mapping change, and producing a fuller portrait of a community or institution. Also explored is the role of the personal characteristics and the theoretical orientations of researchers. It is concluded that re-studies reveal threats to validity that are present in all social research. At the same time, there is a danger that the discrepancies in findings between study and re-study will be exaggerated, indeed that the methodological problems involved will be mistakenly treated as representing a logical impasse.
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Barbara Korth puts forward a feminist view of the relationship between values and research, and assesses my position from this perspective, agreeing in some places but disagreeing in others (see previous chapter). In response, let me... more
Barbara Korth puts forward a feminist view of the relationship between values and research, and assesses my position from this perspective, agreeing in some places but disagreeing in others (see previous chapter). In response, let me begin by sketching out four significantly different positions that map the terrain concerned, thereby providing some sense of the options available.
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ABSTRACT This article is concerned with a national dispute that took place in Britain in the second half of the 1970s, concerned with ‘Marxist bias’ in an Open University sociology of education course. The background to the dispute is... more
ABSTRACT This article is concerned with a national dispute that took place in Britain in the second half of the 1970s, concerned with ‘Marxist bias’ in an Open University sociology of education course. The background to the dispute is outlined in terms of generational changes in political perspectives and the clashes produced. The events of the dispute are described, along with the arguments on both sides. The conclusion considers the broader implications of this dispute in the light of subsequent events.
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This book sketches the history, and outlines the character, of ethnomethodology, a distinctive approach to the study of the social world that emerged in U.S. sociology in the 1950s and 1960s.It examines one of its main sources, the... more
This book sketches the history, and outlines the character, of ethnomethodology, a distinctive approach to the study of the social world that emerged in U.S. sociology in the 1950s and 1960s.It examines one of its main sources, the phenomenology of Alfred Schutz, and its similarities to and differences from the work of Goffman. In addition, there is an assessment of its relationship to sociology and other disciplines, and its central principles are interrogated in detail. Attention is also given to its influence on social research methodology.
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This chapter examines the various ways in which the concept of culture has been understood in sociology and in cultural studies. The centrality of this concept to nineteenth-century sociology, in several of its forms, is outlined, along... more
This chapter examines the various ways in which the concept of culture has been understood in sociology and in cultural studies. The centrality of this concept to nineteenth-century sociology, in several of its forms, is outlined, along with its influence on some kinds of Marxism. The subsequent use of notions like ‘subculture’, ‘counterculture’, ‘organizational culture’, and ‘occupational culture’ in twentieth-century Anglo-American sociology is also examined. There is also mention of more recent developments in the sociology of culture and of several versions of cultural sociology. In the second half of the chapter, the rather different trajectory of British cultural studies is explored, noting how it deployed, indeed blended, a range of conceptions of culture, against the background of its commitment to be a transdisciplinary form of cultural politics.
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The previous chapters have highlighted some problems with the concept of culture: conflicting conceptions have been adopted, or put together in ways that are open to serious question. In this chapter these problems are shown to derive, in... more
The previous chapters have highlighted some problems with the concept of culture: conflicting conceptions have been adopted, or put together in ways that are open to serious question. In this chapter these problems are shown to derive, in large part, from the fact that ‘culture’ is implicated in a range of quite different contrasts: with what is worthless or morally damaging; with biology; with materiality; with ‘society’; with what is universal to humans; and with variability within groups and societies. Also of significance have been contrasts with economic rationality, and with agency more generally. The problems arising from these oppositions are further illustrated by discussion of three controversial topics: cultural deprivation; multiculturalism; and the notion of ‘digital culture’. Finally, an attempt is made to reconceptualize ‘culture’ for analytic purposes, and the implications of this are briefly illustrated by exploring the explanations put forward for the 2011 riots in London.
The previous chapters have highlighted some problems with the concept of culture: conflicting conceptions have been adopted, or put together in ways that are open to serious question. In this chapter these problems are shown to derive, in... more
The previous chapters have highlighted some problems with the concept of culture: conflicting conceptions have been adopted, or put together in ways that are open to serious question. In this chapter these problems are shown to derive, in large part, from the fact that ‘culture’ is implicated in a range of quite different contrasts: with what is worthless or morally damaging; with biology; with materiality; with ‘society’; with what is universal to humans; and with variability within groups and societies. Also of significance have been contrasts with economic rationality, and with agency more generally. The problems arising from these oppositions are further illustrated by discussion of three controversial topics: cultural deprivation; multiculturalism; and the notion of ‘digital culture’. Finally, an attempt is made to reconceptualize ‘culture’ for analytic purposes, and the implications of this are briefly illustrated by exploring the explanations put forward for the 2011 riots in London.
This chapter examines two influential conceptions of culture that treat it as singular: one focused on aesthetic cultivation, the other a developmental conception characteristic of nineteenth-century anthropology. The ideas of Matthew... more
This chapter examines two influential conceptions of culture that treat it as singular: one focused on aesthetic cultivation, the other a developmental conception characteristic of nineteenth-century anthropology. The ideas of Matthew Arnold are explored in detail to illustrate the first of these, indicating that they are more subtle and complex than is often assumed. The development of this conception is traced into the twentieth century, notably in the writings of Eliot and Leavis. The anthropological idea of a single, evolving Culture is then examined, along with its subsequent rejection by twentieth-century anthropologists. There is also a brief sketch of the range of ideas about culture and society that have subsequently become characteristic of that discipline.
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A modest proposal of a sporting analogy is offered as methodological fiction about the democratization of research and the great mission such an ideal places upon qualitative inquiry. With apologies to Jonathan Swift.
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... Page 2. Ethnography Now in its third edition, this leading introduction to ethnography has been thoroughly updated and substantially rewritten. ...