The Study of SociologyMichael Burawoy “Public sociologies: Contradictions, Dilemmas, and Possibilities”

Joel Best “Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics”

Purpose of Sociology?• Provide abstract analytical “models” of society • to aid in understanding

• Getting back to social reform…• C. Wright Mills and criticisms of

“the power elite”

Applied sociology• Between extremes… using sociology to solve problems• NAACP• 1954 Brown vs Board of Education• Environment• Social responses to natural disasters• AIDS• Education• Business

• Difference between reform (radical…desire to rebuild society…we need a new system) and applying expert knowledge to particular contexts

“Public sociologies: Contradictions, Dilemmas, and Possibilities” • Michael Burawoy

• Sociological knowledge for whom?• For what purpose?

• NOT easy questions!

“Since the middle of the 19th century,

• social scientists have been asking about the influence of their work on society (27)

• Contribute to social order and stability?

• Promote social change?

• Address problems; devise solutions?

• Objectivity? Neutral and value-free? Passion?

Opening scene of the essay…• “Public sociologies: Contradictions, Dilemmas, and

Possibilities”

• References a meeting of the ASA in 2003. Why?

Vote on a member resolution• Should sociologists have or act on opinions

regarding important “issues of the day”?• Overwhelming opposition to the war in Iraq• “Foreign interventions that do not have the

support of the world community…” (27)• Intervention could spark terrorist attacks…

• Passed by 2/3 majority (22% abstained)• In an opinion poll; 75% opposed the war• Ethos• Historical shift…1968, Vietnam war

Hypotheses of shift• 1) ASA – has moved further left

• In 1968…many sociologists held beliefs similar to the majority of the country population (54% opposed the war)• In 2003, the inverse…75% sociologists opposed the war;

75% of the public supported it

• 2) the world itself is different• 1968… world ripe for change…the 60s/70s

• Public context and sociological conscience moved in opposite directions….

The vote• Controversial

• Ethics/ code of conduct

• Scientifically and professionally derived knowledge

• Is taking a moral or political position incompatible with scientific objectivity?

• What is Burawoy’s position? Explain.

Pure science/ public engagement?

• Policy interventions?

• Education?• Housing?• Healthcare?

Public sociology• Engages the publics beyond the academy (beyond

the university) in dialogue about matters of political and moral concern (30)

• Focuses in solutions to specific problems defined by clients (volunteerism…expertise in addressing problems; services contracted for a fee)

• Businesses• State• Multilateral organizations• NGOs/ CBOs

Community of scientists• Committed to working on important puzzles

through research programs

• Inside/ outside academia• Government agencies (eg: Census Bureau,

department of corrections)• Consulting companies• International NGOs or CBOs

• In schools• Agricultural extensions

Sample projects:

Displaced workersToxic wasteHousing inequalitiesEducational reform Public health campaignsTraining community organizers

Professional sociology

• Provides legitimacy

• Expertise

• Distinctive problem definitions

• Relevant bodies of knowledge

• Techniques for analyzing data

According to Burawoy what are four political stances regarding the role of Sociology in the world?

Four Political Stances regarding the Discipline of Sociology

• 1. professional self-defense;

• 2. policy intervention;

• 3. public engagement;

• 4. a place to debate possible stances (collective deliberation).

Knowledge for whom?• Talking to each other??? (academia)

• Wade into society with expertise (29)• Talk to who? How?

• Knowledge for what?• Values and goals…

• Should academics/ sociologists be in the business of stimulating discussions about the possible meanings of a “Good Society”

• Public sociology…policy sociology

Pays tribute to

• Weber, Durkheim and Marx…founding fathers

• Professional sociologists

• Symbolic interactionism, functionalism, conflict theory….

• Feminism, post-structuralism• Structural functionalism, stratification theory, sex-

gender systems, experimental social psychology….

What according to Burawoy

IS

the distinctive object of Sociology?

• What does this mean, and what have been some ways that sociology has interacted with politics in different contexts?

Civil society

• Sociology……value and resilience of “the social”

• “Sociology is born with civil society and dies with civil society” (32)

•What IS “civil society”?

Civil society:

• Definition: society considered as a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity

• the elements such as freedom of speech, an independent judiciary, etc, that make up a democratic society

Interest of Sociology• Expansion of civil society becomes the interest of

humanity – locally, nationally and globally

• Need to recognize our distinctive relation to diverse publics within and across borders (33)

• Question:• 1) Can you think of a contemporary social problem

that would combine the development of a sociological perspective with the skills of your major in addressing that social problem or meeting a social need?

Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and Statistics• Statistics get thrown about…

• To impress

• Sell

• Convince

• Authority

Use/misuse of statistics

• 1) What is the main idea in Best’s essay? What example does he use to make his point? Is it convincing?

• 2) What did you make of Best’s opening discussion on a student’s use of statistics for a dissertation? Did this make you rethink how you may read, or use statistics in similar ways?

“Grabber” statistics…• “Every year since 1950, the number of American

children gunned down has doubled.” (53)

• ….by 1970, the number would have passed a million…

• By 1980 one billion

• 1983…8.6 billion (almost twice the earth’s population at that time)

• ………………“mutant statistics”

Attention to details

• Thinking critically and interpreting data

• Children’s Defense Fund

• What IS Best’s point about statistics? Should we NOT use them?

Statistics NOT magical

Move beyond being “awestruck”

Don’t believe (or use at face value)

Represent a “typical” case or an exceptional one?

Adopt a critical approach to numbers we encounter (and humanize them)

Of the two essays you read for today…which did you respond to MOST/LEAST…why?

Works cited: • Best, Joel. “Telling the Truth about Damned Lies and

Statistics.” Part I The Study of Sociology. In Readings for Sociology. Seventh edition. Ed. Garth Massey. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2012. 51-56. Print.

• Burawoy, Michael. “Public Sociologies: Contradictions, Dilemmas, possibilities.” Massey 57-63.

• Henslin, James M. “The Sociological Perspective.” In Essentials of Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. Seventh Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2006.