Controversies in Science – serie

Today, all industrialized states are multinational. However, as Political Sociologist Feliks Gross points out, there remains considerable debate and experimentation on how to organize a multiethnic, democratic, and humane state. Gross examines various types of multiethnic states as well as their early origins and prospects for success. In the past, minorities were usually formed as a consequence of conquest or migration; minorities tended to have an inferior status, subordinated to the ruling, dominant ethnic class.While Athens provides an early example of a state formed by alliance and association, the Romans advanced this concept when they extended to subjected peoples the status by means of citizenship. After the fall of Rome, citizenship continued in Italian and other continental cities. In England, subjectship associated with individual freedom had native roots. The American and French Revolutions revived and created the modern definition of citizenship. Along with Rome, however, only the United States provides an example of a successful multiethnic state of continental dimensions.

The extent to which modern social science continues to reflect the subjective traits of authors and the contexts in which they operate, rather than the objective facts or insights they claim to develop, remains one of the most striking features of social science research and writing. Kinloch and Mohan provide a multidisciplinary and worldwide examination of the ties between the subjective traits of social scientists, the contexts in which they affect research, and the kinds of knowledge they produce.The essays fall into five general topic areas: major theoretical issues, research as ideology, the political context of ideology, major factors in the academic setting, and the relationship between personal biography and professional ideology. This book will be of greatest concern to scholars, students, and researchers involved with the sociology of knowledge, social theory and methods, comparative social science, and social problems.

Homelessness strikes in all types of nations, from wealthy western nations to poor undeveloped countries. Each government and culture attends to this worldwide problem differently. This work collects eleven case studies of selected countries from around the world in order to offer a wide perspective on the dilemma of homelessness. Students can use this ready reference to compare and contrast homelessness populations, analyze the ways in which various countries approach this issue, and to evaluate what is precluding and encouraging this reaching issue.The problem of homelessness is clearly defined here from a global perspective. In addition, the history and resulting conflicts that have risen from homelessness are outlined. This ready reference analyzes the metamorphosis of the homelessness, what solutions have been suggested, and how effective these solutions have been. Students will learn to think critically about homelessness and what the future holds for each country as it battles with this seemingly unavoidable occurence.

American rituals are vital to the creation and renewal of cultural meanings and rules for social interaction. These rituals are rooted in tradition yet are rapidly changing: a contradiction of hyper-modern society. This phenomenon was first explored by Professor Deegan in her 1989 study American Ritual Dramas. The theory examines both participatory rituals and mass-media rituals to show how everyday people become attached to and alienated from other rituals. Elaborating on the critical dramaturgy theory, the essays in this collection show how patterns can be changed to create a more emancipatory and celebratory society.The topics covered in the collection include an analysis of Santa Claus, skinheads, hate crimes, and strip dancing, among other topics. Each contributor has participated in these rituals and many examine related cultural artifacts such as music, brochures, and so forth. As the essays show, postmodern theory has gratly underestimated the power and coherence of these events. An important study for scholars and other researchers involved with sociological theory, social psychology, and popular culture.

The chapters in this collection are based on qualitative fieldwork studies and collectively offer the reader a perspective on women, work, and gender relations that is at once multidisciplinary and feminist. Women's work in the household, agriculture, industry, and in the so-called informal sector is explored with a concern for the ways in which gender, class, and ethnicity are constructed by the larger socioeconomic structures in which women live. By taking concrete analyses of women's lives as their point of departure, the contributors to this volume strive to bridge the gap between socio-economic structure of the society and the actual circumstances in which women find themselves. In this way, readers and scholars alike are better able to untangle the complex dynamics of gender relations and to develop strategies for social change.

Activists often participate in more than one social movement and organization. Bridging organizations are formed by activists who feel that the movements in which they are participating do not adequately address the various issues they are involved in. The author provides a case study of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), an organization which was founded in 1974.Using the CLUW as a model, the author demonstrates how one organization can address the needs of diverse social movements, in this case the women's movement and the labor movement. By tracing the formation and development of the CLUW, the author illustrates and elaborates on her theories concerning social movements and bridging organizations. She uses historical documents, first hand accounts, and a case study approach to analyze the interrelatedness of oppression, opposition, social change, movement change, and personal change associated with social movements and bridging organizations. Detailing the obstacles the CLUW faces, the author makes clear how important such organizations are as well as how difficult it can be to negotiate the collective identity of its members and reconcile the needs of various social groups represented therein.

In an effort to shed light on recent developments in sociocybernetic research, this volume represents recent and advanced thinking in this rapidly developing field. The authors address the core problems in social science caused by increasing societal complexity and analyze the inadequacy of many of the methodological tools still used for grappling with nonlinear, self-organizing systems. Together, the 18 contributors propose elements of a new methodology based on sociocybernetic principles aimed at describing and explaining the growth of societal complexity, the contribution of autopoiesis of societal subunits to more societal complexity, and the new simulation-based methodology needed to observe complex social systems. This unique volume contributes to a greater understanding of sociocybernetics and its uses as a method for researching modern problems of increasing complexity and interdependence.The first part of the book deals with increasing societal complexity and contains chapters on its overall development, the complexity of brain-environment interaction loops, organizational change, the development of human values, and the increasing interpenetration of societal subsystems. The second part concentrates on a current issue in sociocybernetics: autopoiesis, or self-production. The chapters included in Part II concentrate on embodied cognition, on the applicability of autopoiesis to business firms, on its roots in Aristotelian philosophy, and on the possibility of societal control and steering in democratic societies. Part III, more focused on methodology, discusses the difficulties inherent in observing complex social systems. The chapters deal with the problems of cross-cultural comparative research, simulation of the evolution of social systems, longitudinal simulation of education systems, and the methodological difficulties associated with analyzing the unexpected complexities of mutually interacting nonlinear systems.

The Chinese triangle of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan constitutes one of the most dynamic regions in the world economy. Since the late 1970s, these three societies have experienced increasing economic integration; however, studies aimed at analyzing and explaining this integration have often overlooked the very important role social institutions have played in the shaping of this process. To fill this gap, this book adopts a systematic institutional approach designed to examine the different patterns of institutions in the three countries and to discuss how such social institutions as the economy, gender, social networks, and the Chinese diaspora have exerted a profound impact on all three societies. The chapters, taken together, argue that different patterns of institutional configuration have led to divergent paths of development, and that this divergence will have significant implications on the prospects for Chinese national reunification in the twenty-first century.The Introductory chapter provides a historical discussion on the origins and the transformation of the Chinese triangle during the second half of the twentieth century. The remainder of the volume is broken into four topics considered crucial for understanding the transformation of the Chinese triangle: economic transformation, gender, social networks, and the Chinese diaspora. As globalization impacts the Chinese triangle, studies that consider the issues from the perspective of social institutions will be increasingly important to understanding the area as it develops in the world economy.

Focusing on NGOs that work in the areas of rural development, women, and children, the authors' goal is to shed light on the contributions of the sector in the spheres of social welfare, empowerment, service, and rural development. In addition, the problems and difficulties experienced by NGOs are analyzed and explained. This important new book traces the rise of NGOs in India and their transformation over the years, revealing the importance of NGOs in India's development after Independence.Beginning with a detailed history of voluntarism in India and examination of NGOs around the world, the authors provide the framework for examining NGOs in India as a force contributing to development. They then focus on partnerships and cooperation between NGOs and the government, advocacy and policy implications of NGO activity, accountability within organizations, approaches to problems and delivery of services, NGO life cycles, and the need for a code of ethics within NGOs. Case studies on NGOs designed to assist women, children, and rural development are presented and discussed in the context of development in general and improving the quality of life for all Indian citizens. This careful and comprehensive examination is a unique addition to a growing field of literature on India.

This unique volume provides a new interpretation and synthesis of network exchange theory in an effort to contribute to a neo-Weberian economic sociology. Arguing against commonly held assumptions about network exchange theory and its interpretation of all social actions as economic exchanges, Zafirovski seeks to explain these processes by employing an interdisciplinary approach and by examining the impact of social and institutional structures on market-economic exchange. The author argues that economic structure, processes, and actions are the outcomes of social action and institutions, not the other way around.This rehabilitation of economic sociology begins with a reconsideration of the character, scope, and development of the field. The author then grounds his sociological approach to economic exchange in social action and structure before examining the role of social motivations in economic exchange. He then examines the political structuration, the cultural constitution, and the social construction of economic exchange and exchange cycles. The book concludes with a discussion of the character and variation of economic exchange in comparative social systems and the relationships of exchange, economic development, and social variables. This unique and persuasive book is an important contribution to the study of economic sociology and sociological theory.

Clothing serves as a system of signs that helps to order social interaction by identifying and locating individuals and groups within society. In the first in-depth study to analyze the communicative character of uniforms and other types of clothing, Nathan Joseph examines how clothing functions in a variety of social contexts to enforce norms, maintain institutional power, identify group membership, and express or suppress individuality.

This work examines Durkheim's concern with the sociology of morals and demonstrates the importance of this orientation of his social theory, which until now has been vastly underrated. In addition, it emphasizes the problematic relationship between sociology and philosophical ethics, which served as a motivating force in Durkheim's thought.

Far from being the bucolic paradise that is often imagined, the rural areas of this country are afflicted with chronic economic hardship, severe forms of alienation, and the lack of a foundation for community development or for the enhancement of economic, social, and educational opportunities for rural people. In this study, Kenneth P. Wilkinson examines the critical state of rural life in America, its causes and possible cure. Following a critical review of research and theories on the subject, he proposes a new theoretical perspective that focuses on community interaction as a necessary basis for social well-being.Wilkinson first looks at what rural sociologists have had to say about the meaning and consequences of community as a form of social organization. He next analyzes the profound problems of community organization that affect rural locations, especially the deficits that block the formation of the infrastructure, networks, and facilities that are necessary to community development. Focusing on community interaction, he takes issue with the popularly held theory that grassroots action holds the key to rural problems. In a concluding discussion of policy issues and research challenges, he argues instead that outside intervention will be needed to remove rural barriers to community development before progress can occur on any significant scale. This study advances our understanding of both theoretical and practical issues in rural community development and suggests an agenda for both research and policy initiatives. The Community in Rural America will be relevant to the subjects of rural sociology, resource economics, community development, and rural planning.

Perhaps no aspect of social relations has stirred more academic controversy than the subject of race and ethnicity. Theories that explain the persistence and vitality of the ethnic phenomenon--as well as commentaries on these theories--abound in sociological and anthropological literature. This study is the first, however, to critique the field as a whole. Thompson offers systematic comparisons of current theories, testing both their internal consistency and their adequacy as analytical tools. Thompson's study focuses the debate on ethnicity in a constructive and original fashion.Thompson devotes a chapter to each of the major theoretical traditions that now dominate the field of ethnicity: sociobiology, primordialism, assimilationism, world-system theory, and neo-Marxism. He describes the basic tenets of each theory and demonstrates that the facts they seek to explain are embedded within their theoretical assumptions. He attributes disagreements among the theories less to differences over facts than to the way they are interpreted within different worldviews arising from divergent philosophical and scientific presuppositions. He shows that it is not possible to critique any theory using the assumptions of another theory, arguing that theories can be internally critiqued based on the relationship between their adequacy as theories and the framework they offer for making normative choices. Thompson's study focuses the debate on ethnicity in a constructive and original fashion. The book will be of interest to scholars, teachers, and students working the areas of race and ethnic relations or theoretical criticism.

Stryjan's notable study outlines a new theoretical perspective on self-managed organizations, which is also of considerable interest to students of conventional organizations. The work describes the functioning of, and the preconditions for, successful self-management and its reproduction. Examples deal primarily with worker cooperatives and, to a lesser extent, with worker-owned enterprises and Israeli kibbutzism. All three organizational types have clear, formally defined bodies of members who take part, actually or potentially, in making and implementing their organizations' decisions. Stryjan's perception is that, in this instance, theory-making should best proceed from organizational practices as they are applied in such organizations. The theoretical perspective he outlines is derived from a literal interpretation of the democratic model and assumes that superiors in self-managed organizations reside at the bottom, and have a permanent, hands-on commitment to shaping their organization. This is the starting point for a striking theoretical synthesis of elements taken from a variety of research traditions.The comprehensive introductory chapter provides a sound basis for the study, and the theoretical groundwork is laid for outlining a model organization capable of accommodating and being directed by what its members do. Chapter 2 surveys the limitations of the concept of worker ownership, and suggests a concept of membership as a more suitable core concept for a theory of self-management. Subsequent chapters review available theoretical tools within organizational research that can be of use in dealing with links between individuals and organizations, and between organizations and their environment. A simple static model of organizational reproduction in a formally democratic organization with stable membership is presented first. Stryjan gradually expands this model to accommodate implementation failures, dissent and conflict, demographic deterioration and regeneration. The task of refining the theoretical model to approximate reality-based scenarios is completed in a thorough discussion of the self-managed organization's interaction with its environment. Impossible Organizations is a distinguished and thought-provoking contribution to sociological literature; it will prove essential for students and researchers of organizations in general and of self-managed organizations in particular.

Why should the sociologist concern himself with time? asks Franco Ferrarotti in his latest work. Temporality is, he argues, the essential fluid dimension in the study of the social. Including time as a factor in sociological analysis is the only way to reintroduce the dynamic moment of social reality as a mental construct into an analytical process otherwise reified by the limits of quantitative methods. Ultimately, Ferrarotti contends, the usual way of laying out and proceeding with sociological analysis must be decisively inverted. This book is challenging reading for the sociologist and philosopher alike.Why should the sociologist concern himself with time? asks Franco Ferrarotti in his latest work. Temporality is, he argues, the essential fluid dimension in the study of the social. Including time as a factor in sociological analysis is the only way to reintroduce the dynamic moment of social reality as a mental construct into an analytical process otherwise reified by the limits of quantitative methods. The biographical and autobiographical approaches are also rooted in time. They elicit a problematic human situation and distinguish radically between the technical problem, resolvable through the exact practical application of a given, ideally indifferent, and interchangable formula, and the human dimension. Ultimately, Ferrarotti contends, the usual way of laying out and proceeding with sociological analysis must be decisively inverted. The order of priorities in the research process now followed in the human sciences tends to encourage the loss of the sense of the problem through the crude postulation of technical and human problems as equivalent. Time, Memory, and Society will be challenging, thought provoking reading for the sociologist, social theorist, and philosopher.

One of the most original and influential thinkers of the twentieth century was Jean Gebser, whose varied writings on the philosophy of culture gave birth to postmodernist thought. In spite of his prominence internationally, much of his work has not been translated into English. This book is the first collection of essays on Gebser to appear in English. The contributors, who are experts in architecture, philosophy, modern languages, fine arts, communications studies, and other diverse fields, offer a striking examination of the pervasive and wide ranging impact of Gebser on all aspects of modern culture.The opening chapters of this multidisciplinary study provide a solid theoretical foundation by analyzing the essence of Gebser's mode of inquiry and by noting the distinguishing features of his theory of culture. The chapters that follow assess his influence on the physical sciences, popular culture, fine art, politics, and other aspects of civilization. The volume convincingly demonstrates that Gebser is among the first postmodernist theorists, and it shows that he predicted the emergence and shortcomings of postmodernism long before McLuhan, Derrida, Foucault, and others. This valuable and original text will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the phenomenology of culture and the birth of postmodernist thought.

Alway identifies and assesses new models of emancipatory politics in the Frankfurt Schools Critical Theory. She outlines the complexities of Critical Theory, and clarifies the logical connections between assumptions that inform the critical theorists' analyses of social conditions and their views on the possibilities for radical political practice.Alway examines the works of Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and Jurgen Habermas to argue the relevance of Critical Theory to contemporary efforts to reconceptualize radical politics. Indeed Alway argues that these theorists anticipate and point to new models of emancipatory politics. Unpacking the complexities of the critical theorists' writings and outlining them in a straightforward manner, Alway identifies the assumptions about human actors and history that inform their analyses of contemporary conditions. The explication of how these background assumptions inform their analyses then allows the author to clarify and assess the critical theorists' positions concerning the possibilities for radical social change, as well as their views on the issues and agents of such change.The author concludes that to the extent that the critical theorists abandon the notion of a revolutionary subject, their work leads us toward a new conceptualization of radical politics. The first generation of critical theorists, however, never fully extricate themselves from a subject-object framework that ultimately limits their efforts. Habermas's transposition of Critical Theory onto new foundations extricates it from the subject-object framework of the philosophy of consciousness, but also fundamentally alters accepted notions of radical politics. The first generation's reconceptualization of radical politics becomes with Habermas a radical reconceptualization of politics itself.

American rituals are vital to the creation and renewal of cultural meanings and rules for social interaction. These rituals are rooted in tradition yet are rapidly changing: a contradiction of hyper-modern society. This phenomenon was first explored by Professor Deegan in her 1989 study American Ritual Dramas. The theory examines both participatory rituals and mass-media rituals to show how everyday people become attached to and alienated from other rituals. Elaborating on the critical dramaturgy theory, the essays in this collection show how patterns can be changed to create a more emancipatory and celebratory society.The topics covered in the collection include an analysis of Santa Claus, skinheads, hate crimes, and strip dancing, among other topics. Each contributor has participated in these rituals and many examine related cultural artifacts such as music, brochures, and so forth. As the essays show, postmodern theory has gratly underestimated the power and coherence of these events. An important study for scholars and other researchers involved with sociological theory, social psychology, and popular culture.

Men in India are attracted to Hindi films partly because of their attraction to depictions of modern lifestyles. Dern^D'e argues that films help men handle their ambivalence about modernity by rooting their sense of Indianness in women's acceptance of traditional food habits, clothing, and gender subordination. The book is one of the first ethnographic studies of filmgoing and one of the first to focus on mainstream male audiences.Dern^D'e considers the effects of films' eroticization of domination and submission on men's sexuality. The study provides ethnographic support for Mulvey's argument that filmgoing prompts men to make women the object of a controlling look. The book shows how films invent new ideologies of male dominance by associating Indianness with limitations on women's movements, and by portraying men as rational and modern, and women as emotional and traditional. One of the first ethnographic studies of filmgoing and one of the first to focus on mainstream male audiences, the book contributes to a rethinking of some key arguments in media studies. While media studies have rightly focused on how films prompt men to gaze at women, this study shows that films simultaneously encourage men to see themselves as the object of controlling looks. Dern^D'e exposes as one-sided the scholarly emphasis on how Indians value hierarchy and group guidance, asserting that Indian films instead celebrate individualism and love.

In an effort to shed light on recent developments in sociocybernetic research, this volume represents recent and advanced thinking in this rapidly developing field. The authors address the core problems in social science caused by increasing societal complexity and analyze the inadequacy of many of the methodological tools still used for grappling with nonlinear, self-organizing systems. Together, the 18 contributors propose elements of a new methodology based on sociocybernetic principles aimed at describing and explaining the growth of societal complexity, the contribution of autopoiesis of societal subunits to more societal complexity, and the new simulation-based methodology needed to observe complex social systems. This unique volume contributes to a greater understanding of sociocybernetics and its uses as a method for researching modern problems of increasing complexity and interdependence.The first part of the book deals with increasing societal complexity and contains chapters on its overall development, the complexity of brain-environment interaction loops, organizational change, the development of human values, and the increasing interpenetration of societal subsystems. The second part concentrates on a current issue in sociocybernetics: autopoiesis, or self-production. The chapters included in Part II concentrate on embodied cognition, on the applicability of autopoiesis to business firms, on its roots in Aristotelian philosophy, and on the possibility of societal control and steering in democratic societies. Part III, more focused on methodology, discusses the difficulties inherent in observing complex social systems. The chapters deal with the problems of cross-cultural comparative research, simulation of the evolution of social systems, longitudinal simulation of education systems, and the methodological difficulties associated with analyzing the unexpected complexities of mutually interacting nonlinear systems.

Cheal argues that the sociology of poverty has entered a new postmodern phase. The new poverty is about loss of faith—in relationships that were once believed to last a lifetime, and in government programs that we used to think would last for generations.The new poverty is about the economic fall of individuals and countries who used to be affluent and who once dreamed that their affluence would go on forever. It is about the experience of free-falling, without a parachute and without much of a safety net. The new poverty is about people who lose their jobs when their company downsizes. It is about people whose hours of employment are cut in half when the work runs out. And it is about couples who separate, thereby plunging one of them—and probably their children—into a low income level that they had never anticipated.What is new about the new poverty is the sense of surprise—that poverty can hit so suddenly, that people can fall so far before they are caught and lifted up, that the poverty of children still troubles us after a century of progress. The new poverty is about our loss of faith not only in relationships that were once thought to last a lifetime, but also in government programs that we believed would last for generations. Cheal translates the experience of the new poverty into sociological theory and into social statistics. His purpose is to provoke serious, critical reflection about families today and the risks of being poor. An important study for scholars and researchers involved with family issues and social policy.

Although postmodernism has had clear impact on literary criticism, the social and political implications of this philosophy have not been systematically investigated. Murphy's study is the first to bring a broad interdisciplinary perspective to the subject and to present postmodernism as a coherent social theory. Responding with compelling arguments to critics of postmodernism, Murphy develops a model that offers a viable alternative to traditional approaches to conceptualizing and studying social life.In an introductory chapter, Murphy looks at the differences between modernism and postmodernism and discusses the metanarratives that characterize the former. He goes on to clarify key assumptions and concepts, especially the postmodern opposition to the traditional Western separation of subject and object. In subsequent chapters, he describes the research methodology used by postmodernists, their views of social ontology and the relationship between order and structure, and the creation of socially responsible institutions. The postmodernists' reconceptualization of key aspects of cultural reality, including time, space, reason, and social relations, is examined in detail. Murphy concludes by exploring the political ramifications of the postmodernist model and its potential as a vehicle for building a genuinely democractic society. This study will be of particular interest to philosophers, economists, and sociologists concerned with contemporary developments in European social philosophy. It is relevant to courses or study in social theory and philosophy, communication theory, cultural criticism, and related fields.

This volume is the only collection of essays available in English on modern Swiss economy, society, and culture. Twelve of Switzerland's most eminent social scientists express their ideas and viewpoints about their nation's past, present, and likely future in a readable and informative way. The book provides an interesting and current description and analysis of many aspects of this unique and little known country--its work and leisure, its political and economic structure, its educational system, changes affecting its women, families, and young people, how the Swiss view themselves and are viewed by others, and geographically varied life spaces and styles such as those of its cities and its more traditional mountain regions. The essays are substantive and critical, offering much more than a mere appreciation of this picture-postcard country.In the introduction, Hilowitz summarizes the main themes of the various essays and ties them together. The author of the first essay presents the principal features of Swiss urbanization and discusses recent changes which have affected the human settlement pattern. In the second essay, the broad institutional diffusion of power and decision making is explored. Three essays deal with various aspects of the Swiss workplace: trade unions, the work ethic, and women in the working world. Youth and their life prospects, as well as the educational system, are critically discussed in two essays. The authors of the essay on the structure and functioning of the family examine marriage, divorce, and styles of interaction within the family. Separate essays assess the life styles and social classes of the elderly, crime and crime control, changes affecting the rural population, and Switzerland's image abroad. Switzerland in Perspective will be an excellent resource for those interested in the broader scholarly or practical implications of Swiss economic, social, and political arrangements.

Wilke has called upon sociologists, observers as well as victims of the caste system, to describe by use of case studies and to analyze the plight of non-tenured faculty and their efforts to survive in an increasingly hostile environment. These stories reveal the human factor, too often slighted or forgotten in discussions of the precarious place of the university in today's society.