Handbook of Public Sociology

by Jeffries, Vincent; Adam, Barbara; Bell, Wendell; Burawoy, Michael; Cornell, Stephen; DeCesare, Michael; Elias, Sean; McPhail, Lee; Furedi, Frank; Gans, Herbert J.; Glenn, Norval D.; Hagan, John; Horowitz, Ruth; Howard-Hassmann, Rhoda E.; Hu, Lina; Kleidma

• ISBN13: 9780742566460
• ISBN10: 0742566463
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-06-16
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

With a considerable fanfare and funding, Michael Burawoy defined his 2004 American Sociological Association presidential year as a time to rethink both what it means to engage in public sociology and how such endeavors are related to the larger disciplinary enterprise. In the ensuing half decade, veritable cottage industry arose exploring the virtues, problems, and challenges of such pursuits. However, there is nothing new about the sociological community's preoccupation with translating knowledge into practices designed to result in the betterment of society. This handbook explores the issues Burawoy put on the table. Its 23 entries divided into five broad topics. The first two are concerned with the explicating and then refining Burawoy's holistic model, while the remaining three sections are devoted to teaching, case studies of applied public sociology, and connecting public sociology to special fields. Despite a certain repetitiveness and the expected unevenness of such collections, this is a useful volume.

Author Biography

Vincent Jeffries is professor of sociology at California State University, Northridge.

Table of Contents

Redefining the Nature and Future of Sociology: Toward a Holistic Sociology	p. 1
Exploring and Elaborating the Holistic Model
Burawoy's Holistic Sociology and Sorokin's "Integralism": A Conversation of Ideas	p. 27
Rethinking Burawoy's Public Sociology: A Post-Empiricist Reconstruction	p. 47
Social Justice and Critical Public Sociology	p. 71
Public Sociology and the Future: The Possible, the Probable, and the Preferable	p. 89
The Scientific System of Public Sociology: The Exemplar of Pitirim A. Sorokin's Social Thought	p. 107
Establishing and Perfecting the Model
A Sociology for Public Sociology: Some Needed Disciplinary Changes for Creating Public Sociology	p. 123
Some Suggested Standards for Distinguishing between Good and Bad Public Sociology	p. 135
On Writing Public Sociology: Accountability through Accessibility, Dialogue, and Relevance	p. 151
Recapturing the Sociological Imagination: The Challenge for Public Sociology	p. 171
Teaching and Public Sociology
Presenting Sociology's Four "Faces": Problems and Prospects for the High School Course	p. 187
Teaching and Public Sociology	p. 205
The Practice of Organic Public Sociology: Case Studies
From Data to Drama: Returning Research to Convicted Survivors	p. 225
Integrating the Four Sociologies: The "Baigou Project" in China	p. 245
Becoming Public Sociology: Indigenous Nations, Dialogue, and Change	p. 263
Talking about Racial Disparities in Imprisonment: A Reflection on Experiences in Wisconsin	p. 281
Public Membership on Medical Licensing Boards: An Integrated Public and Professional Project	p. 299
Counting the Deaths in Darfur: Pitfalls on the Pathway to a Public Sociology	p. 319
Special Fields and Public Sociology
Engaged Social Movement Scholarship	p. 341
Public Sociology and Universal Human Rights	p. 357
Altruism, Apology, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation as Public Sociology	p. 375
A Public Sociology for a Global Age: Recovering the Political	p. 391
Global Altruism: Some Considerations	p. 409
Futures in the Making: Sociological Practice and Challenge	p. 429
Future Directions
The Public Sociology Wars	p. 449
Index	p. 475
About the Contributors	p. 491
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