Lecture 1 (Public Sociology & Social Construction of Social Problems)

Question 1

Professional sociology (Burawoy): Audience, Goal, Downside

Answer 1

Audience: peers (other sociologists and academics)
Goal: to enrich the professionalism of sociology
Downside: can make sociology overly general and detached from laypeople

Question 2

New public management

Answer 2

A neoliberal governance model prioritising efficiency, economy, and effectiveness in the delivery of public services (little government intervention)

Question 3

The retrenchment imperative

Answer 3

A cost-cutting tool used in new public management strategies to reduce public spending

Question 4

Public spending

Answer 4

Governments providing goods, services, and other things to meet societal needs

Question 5

Critique Burawoy on new public management and the retrenchment imperative

Answer 5

Result in prioritisation of market logic over collective welfare. Science suffers from it due to less government funding resulting in less or forced publishing, many topics not being studied, loss of connection with social problems and engagement with the own society due to publications having to be in English.

Question 6

Critical sociology (Burawoy): Two questions

Answer 6

1. For whom? (sociology for academic sociologists vs. for a broader audience)
2. For what? (solving academic puzzles vs. reflecting on research programmes)

Question 7

Public sociology (Burawoy): Audience, goal

Answer 7

Audience: citizens/society
Goal: to create dialogue between sociologists and the public (often through journalists)

Question 8

Policy sociology: Audience, Goal

Answer 8

Audience: policy makers/sociologists
Goal: to provide solutions to problems or to legitimate policies already enacted (raison d’être)

Question 9

Burawoy’s Durkheimian question

Answer 9

How do we avoid an anomic division of labour within the discipline of sociology?

Question 10

Anomic

Answer 10

Separate, non-solidarity

Question 11

Answer to Burawoy’s Durkheimian question

Answer 11

An anomic division of labour within the discipline of sociology can be avoided by establishing an organic division of labour, creating inter-dependence of the 4 typologies.

Question 12

Organic solidarity

Answer 12

Being able to complete and strengthen each other despite being different

Question 13

Mechanic solidarity

Answer 13

Solidarity based on similarity due to shared community

Question 14

Burawoy’s 4 sociological typologies (knowledge type x audience)

Answer 14

1. Professional sociology (instrumental x academic)
2. Policy sociology (instrumental x extra-academic)
3. Critical sociology (reflexive x academic)
4. Public sociology (reflexive x extra-academic)

Question 15

Instrumental knowledge

Answer 15

For academic problem-solving

Question 16

Reflexive knowledge

Answer 16

For reflecting on the foundations of research and the direction of society

Question 17

Two perspectives on how a harmful condition within society may turn into a social problem (Hilgartner & Bosk)

Answer 17

1. Realistic/objective perspective
2. Constructivist perspective

Question 18

The realistic/objective perspective to the development of a social problem (4)

Answer 18

• Social problems result logically from the objective structure and development of society
• No matter what your perspective is, the social problem is ‘out there’
• Social problems affect many people (only then are policies made)
• Social problems are often discovered by the media or politicians

Question 19

The constructivist perspective to the development of social problems (3)

Answer 19

• Social problems are the result of conflicting social constructions and perspectives
• Social problems come with controversy
• Social problems are invented by media and politicians

Question 20

Public arena model (Hilgartner and Bosk)

Answer 20

Attention for social problems can be considered a scarce resource, this causes competition between social problems within the public arena model. Based on the idea of the public arena having a carrying capacity.

Question 21

Carrying capacity

Answer 21

The public can only pay so much attention to a limited number of social problems at the time

Question 22

How issues become public problems acc. the public arena model

Answer 22

1. Survival of the fittest (fittest = problem that receives the most attention)
2. Novelty and dramatisation by issue entrepreneurs

Question 23

Issue entrepreneur (public arena model)

Answer 23

Fight for attention for a certain social problem, or to make an issue into a social problem.

Question 24

Critique on the public arena model by Gilbert and Henry

Answer 24

Public arena focuses only on visible aspects of construction of social problems

Question 25

Why policy-making more often happens in discreet and confined spaces instead of in the public (Gilbert and Henry)

Answer 25

1. No explanation or justification is necessary 2. Avoiding not taking action due to incommensurable values

Question 26

Incommensurable values

Answer 26

Everybody want something else, making consensus on a policy impossible (especially from constructivist POV)

Question 27

Logic of discretion (Henry and Gilbert)

Answer 27

Resolving a social problem in private to avoid incommensurable values.

Question 28

Logic of publicity (Henry and Gilbert)

Answer 28

Seeking broad support and mobilising specific groups (issue entrepreneurs often apply the logic of publicity)

Question 29

Two directions to take in order to resolve a social problem (Henry and Gilbert)

Answer 29

1. Logic of discretion 2. Logic of publicity