(Social) Science

Everyone engages in social science on a daily basis. It might not seem obvious, but it’s true. We are engaged in theory-creation all the time in our personal lives, and outdated or non-functional theories are often replaced with newer, better ones. Of course, a lot of the time, these dysfunctional theories stick with us for whatever reason. The point is that since sociology takes an explicit analytical look at things that most people deal with everyday, we theorists can get branded “overanalytical,” accused of overinterpreting every little thing. This kind of conflict was very obvious in a recent post at Sociological Images, where the original poster’s analysis of a fashion ad as portraying rape drew a lot of fire — some of the former variety and others of a more measured bent. As an aside, this post got more replies than I can ever remember SI getting in the few months that I’ve been following it.

Here’s the question, then: how can social scientists interact with the public? In a way, we are not like physical scientists, since most of the time it would seem the public doesn’t have any claim on debating scientific issues. Aside from questions of costs of research vs. end results and predictably controversial issues of cloning, stem cell work, and so forth, science is a pretty one-sided debate, and in a lot of ways it has to be. Specialization means that we can’t expect everyone to understand the workings of a particle accelerator or the complexities of genetics. Bring up social science theories, however, and many people would probably feel able to discuss the issue, even if they had no knowledge of the research and theory on the subject.

How should we deal with this? Should we expect people to understand ideas like hegemonic masculinity (which seems to get misinterpreted by some) or else try to adapt our language to express it to a wider audience? Social science is always going to be different from physical science, and I don’t think that making it inaccessible through the use of obscuring language is going to solve things. Still, despite trying, I can’t help but sometimes feel a pang of superiority when I come up against detractors like the example just linked. “Oh, we’re all social scientists,” I think, “but some of us have degrees.”

Times Have Changed

Well, since my post on Turner quite some time ago, I’ve heard more about him and find myself on the other side of the fence. Increasingly, the flaws and foibles and even the actual existence of “establishment sociology” are becoming more and more apparent to me. Ironically, I have just concluded graduate applications to what I’ve dubbed the “evil” schools — those that have been a major part of this so-called establishment in the past.

Have things changed since Turner’s days? Is the establishment no longer focused on positivist methods and Mertonian “theories of the middle range”? Looking through American Sociological Review has become more and more depressing as I realize just how much of the journal is made up of regression models and other methodological discussions. As such, I don’t believe I will be renewing my ASA membership when it expires in the new year. I’m not sure I really want to be part of a professional organization. For now, I will continue to stumble towards some kind of social science that makes sense to me. Methods are important but the subjects and aims moreso.

Hopefully, my derision of all the statistics, all the models, all the positivist models, all of the functionalism, all of this that makes up so much of sociology, hasn’t put off the admissions boards. In the best case scenario, they will see my statement of interest — which does go off on a rather lengthy tirade that could share a title with a Weird Al Yankovic song — not as a direct attack on their beliefs, or as a simple undergraduate student who thinks he knows about how the discipline really works based on a few class readings, or…well, you get the point. Anyway, hopefully I wasn’t too bold in my attacks on the establishment. Perhaps not the best tactics when you’re knocking on the door asking to be let in. Hrm…

Barry Wellman (test)

Barry Wellman…just checking to see if the tracker is working.

Updates coming soon.