Sociology. Anthony Giddens
Do your own research into both sets of events. What are the main similarities and differences between these historical revolts and their eventual outcomes? Can we say that there is always scope for changing the existing social structure? Are social structures really as malleable as structuration theory says? Does structuration theory pay too little attention to the power of existing authorities to resist radical change from below?
Read the following statement carefully.
… to speak of art and social theory as equal partners is to say that art represents a source of existential social knowledge that is of its own worth and is not inferior to the knowledge of social science. It is to say that there are certain things that art can tell us about society that social science cannot tell us … Novels, plays, films, paintings and drawings tell us different things about social life from the things a piece of social scientific research can tell us about social life, and to the extent that they tell us these different things, they tell us more things. (Harrington 2004: 3)
Consider a novel, play, film, painting or other work of art you have recently read, seen or heard. What does this work tell us about social life that is a) different from what sociology tells us and b) more than sociological knowledge? Can the knowledge provided by the work be compared to social scientific findings or are they just incommensurable?
For those who are new to sociology, Zygmunt Bauman and Tim May’s (2019) Thinking Sociologically (3rd edn, Chichester: Wiley Blackwell) is an up-to-date guide to developing and using your sociological imagination, with many everyday examples. Something closer to a personal view of sociology can be found in Richard Jenkins’s (2002) Foundations of Sociology: Towards a Better Understanding of the Human World (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan), which explores the role of sociology and sociologists in an age of globalization.
One other useful resource is a good sociology dictionary. John Scott’s (2014) Oxford Dictionary of Sociology (4th edn, Oxford: Oxford University Press) and Bryan S. Turner’s (2006) The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) are reliable and comprehensive. For a guide to some of the key concepts used in sociological work, see our own companion, Giddens and Sutton’s Essential Concepts in Sociology (3rd edn, Cambridge: Polity, 2021).
For a collection of readings covering the range of sociology, see the accompanying Sociology: Introductory Readings (4th edn, Cambridge: Polity, 2021).
Additional information and support for this book at Polity: www.politybooks.com/giddens9
The International Sociological Association – represents sociologists around the world: www.isa-sociology.org/
The European Sociological Association – aims to facilitate research into European issues: www.europeansociology.org/
The British Sociological Association – some helpful information on graduate careers from the BSA: www.britsoc.co.uk/what-is-sociology/sociologist-careers.aspx
SocioSite – the Social Science Information System, based at the University of Amsterdam: www.sociosite.net/index.php
Public Sociology – Michael Burawoy’s version of public sociology and some of his critics: http://burawoy.berkeley.edu/PS.Webpage/ps.mainpage.htm
CONTENTS
1 Human subjects, ethical issues
5 Understanding cause and effect
7 Sociological research methods
9 Surveys
10 Experiments