Sociology is a weird field in that it’s relatively well established but it’s also widely understood to be a messy discipline which doesn’t have a clearly defined subject matter. Efforts to define the field and its subject matter tend to be vague and question-begging in nature. These days I think about some of what I … [Read more…]
This post outlines an emerging direction in my thinking and which I believe needs to be further developed: a sociology of knowledge practices. This sociology would mobilise social theory and adopt a view of humans consistent with sociological understandings in seeking to better understand a particular set of human activities: ‘knowledge practices.’ Two recent theoretical … [Read more…]
During my scanning of the news over recent weeks I noticed the diverse range of articles on recent coral bleaching events, related scientific research, and the future of the Great Barrier Reef, e.g.: ‘Great Barrier Reef could be dead within 20 years, Australia scientists have warned’ (link) ‘Great Barrier Reef and Other Corals May Survive … [Read more…]
(NOTE: This was originally written in my PhD journal but I’ve decided to post it here as I’d welcome thoughts and general feedback on the idea of developing a ‘sociology of prospection’) Increasingly I use the term prospection in my research and work. Psychologists use this term to refer to “our ability to ‘pre-experience’ the … [Read more…]
Economic sociology examines the effect of the social on economic behaviour. The introduction by Frank Dobbin (Professor of Sociology at Harvard University) to book The New Economic Sociology provides an interesting overview of sociological insights into economic behaviour (see here, here). It’s a really good starting point if you’re seeking to more deeply examine economic … [Read more…]