Search

The article presents a paper focused on the need for theoretical unification in social theory that was presented during an international symposium in Paris, France in June 2003. It offers the author's views on questions concerning the future of sociology and of society. These questions focus on concerns regarding the specificity of the social with respect to reality and on the relation between contemporary sociological theory and classical sociological theory. The concept of society and the notion of sociology as a critical discipline are discussed.

The article presents a paper focused on the need for theoretical unification in social theory that was presented during an international symposium in Paris, France in June 2003. It focuses on the concept of sociology as anti-utilitarianism and the need to determine sociological ambition with respect to political economy and philosophy. The contemporary legacy of the sociological tradition, the relative unity of fragmented sociologies, and the relationship between sociological discipline and globalization are discussed.

The article presents a paper focused on the need for theoretical unification in social theory that was presented during an international symposium in Paris, France in June 2003. It questions whether sociology can hold its own against better disciplines, such as economics, history, and political philosophy, when the sociological ground in developed is transformed or disintegrates. The development of sociological theory by responding to new questions or providing news answers to old questions and the relation of classical sociology with the decline of the idea of society are discussed.

The article underlines the creation of a unified sociological theory. The author emphasized that sociology never was unified from the very beginning, neither in its primary axioms and assumptions, nor in its political and moral consideration. She identified a facet of sociology wherein it is centered on the interpretation of current events and trends, either at the local or global level. The presence of fragmentation and skepticism in this field did not dissuade sociologists to produce quality literature in this discipline. Moreover, she said that adopting a non-unitary approach to sociological theory involves making room for the assumption that no one same theory may apply to all aspects of social life.

Pragmatic sociology is often read as a reaction to and an alternative to Bourdieu's 'critical sociology'. This article, in contrast, offers an assessment of pragmatic sociology in terms of its contribution to the theory of culture in general and its affinities with repertoire theory in particular. Whereas the tendency has been to conceive of repertoires as largely unstructured entities, pragmatic sociology has demonstrated a systematic interest in their internal contents and structure, which it has even expanded through its more recent turn to historical and macro comparative analysis. In the process, however, pragmatic sociology has also been leaning towards a form of cultural sociology that actually challenges some major aspects of repertoire theory -- thus also bringing into relief the dilemmas facing any attempt at further elaboration of what is now a growing strand of cultural theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the impact of 'postcolonial' critique, it is increasingly assumed in radical social theory that traditional disciplines like sociology remain palpably Eurocentric. However, this important challenge is typically advanced at a very general level, often lacking adequate instantiation. In this article some general formulations of the problem of Eurocentrism are connected to the work of three pairs of theorists in historical sociology. Foregrounding recent approaches to the classic 'rise of the West' question, these authors are probed for either substantive or 'meta-theoretical' expressions of Eurocentrism. Overall I argue that charging sociology with Eurocentrism is problematical, partly due to continuing uncertainty about the status of the concept of ideology in social science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]