Sociologist Erik Olin Wright, who died last week at age 71, spent his career trying to imagine practical alternatives to capitalism.
Is scholarship that doesn’t appear in the Social Science Citation Index — a commercial index of ‘internationally leading’ journals in the social sciences, compiled by Clarivate Analytics — worthless? Before you say ‘Of course not,’ know that some universities essentially are saying yes.
At the 100th anniversary of the end of World War, Robert Dingwall asks how has English sociology asked questions about the experiences and the legacy of the war — or if it even has broached those issues.
Emile Durkheim, one of the pioneers of the discipline of sociology, died 101 years ago this month. Although few outside of social science departments know his name, his intellectual legacy may provide us with some assistance in diagnosing the perennial problems associated with modernity.
“Our goal is to pique students’ curiosity about the social world—and then to give them the academic tools to understand that world, […]
One thing has become clear to sociologist Diane Reay across her research – “It’s primarily working-class children who turn out to be losers in the educational system.” Whether it’s through the worst-funded schools, least-qualified teachers, most-temporary teaching arrangements or narrowest curricula, students from working class backgrounds in the United Kingdom (and the United States) draw the shortest educational straws.
Herbert Spencer’s examination of ‘militant’ societies, argues our Robert Dingwall, proves to be a cautionary tale for the present Chinese government and its attempts to micro-manage society through the ‘social credit’ scheme.
When Robert Dingwall was younger, sociology departments routinely taught a course on ‘industry,’, ‘work’ or ‘economic life.’ “Most of this turf has now been abandoned to business schools in the form of organization studies, where it increasingly struggles to resist the expansion of finance and accounting studies,” he says, and to our detriment.
In recent years there has been an increased focus on how research papers and supplemental data can be preserved openly. Andy Tattersall, Liz Such, Joe Langley and Fiona Marshall argue equal attention should also be paid to curating communication outputs aimed at engaging non-academic audiences. Michael Burawoy, whose embrace of public sociology and the public at work lead him to describe his influential academic niche as “industrial […] To address research credibility issues, we must reform the role of metrics, rankings, and incentives in universities. Are you a researcher with an idea that could help solve one of today’s most pressing problems? A conference in Dubai this […] In recent years there has been an increased focus on how research papers and supplemental data can be preserved openly. Andy Tattersall, Liz Such, Joe Langley and Fiona Marshall argue equal attention should also be paid to curating communication outputs aimed at engaging non-academic audiences. A new people has emerged in the digital age, that of ‘internet famous’ celebrities. And that new people has a class of […]
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Impact
Long-Term Impact Requires Archiving Research Communication
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Michael Burawoy, 1947-2025: Patron Saint of Public Sociology
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How Research Credibility Suffers in a Quantified Society
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Innovation
Ready to Tackle Global Challenges? Apply to Attend Dubai Showcase
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Long-Term Impact Requires Archiving Research Communication
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