Section News Newsletter Features •ASA Meeting Theory Sessions •Theory & the Failed 1848 Revolutions •Theory Training in Sociology •Theory and the Internet

r THE ASA July 2001 THEORY SECTION NEWSLETTER Perspectives VOLUME 23, NUMBER 3r

ASA Meeting in Anaheim: Presider: Daniel M. Harrison, Western State College Section Officers August 18-21 CHAIR The ASA Meeting Toward a Collaborative Conception of Douglas Heckathorn Sociological Theory as Process: Beyond Theory Papers Talcott Parsons and the Disunity of Soci- CHAIR-ELECT ology? Harry F. Dahms, Florida State Uni- Gary Alan Fine he 2001 Annual Meeting of the versity. American Sociological Associa- PAST CHAIR Ttion will take place on August 18- Friends or Foes? Luhmann and Habermas Morris Zelditch, Jr. 21 in Anaheim, California. The theory on the Theory of Law. Mazen Hashem, section mini-conference will start on Sat- UC-Riverside. SECRETARY-TREASURER urday, August 18 at 8:30 a.m. and conclude Murray Webster on Sunday, August 19; the Theory Section Race, Class, Gender, and Disasters: Ex- Business Meeting will be held Saturday, amining the Social Structure of Vulner- COUNCIL August 18 at 3:30 p.m. followed by the ability. Lori Peek-Gottschlich, University of Robert J. Antonio Theory Section Reception at 6:30 p.m. Colorado. Jorge Arditi The following lists the formal theory ses- Mustafa Emirbayer sion and roundtables and several other A New Look at “National Identity.” Cecilia L. Ridgeway sessions of possible interest to social Bernard Peters, Universitat Bremen. Margaret Somers theorists. Discussion: Daniel M. Harrison, Western Robin Wagner-Pacifici Organizer: Douglas D. Heckathorn, Cornell State College. SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY University See ASA MEETING on page 2 EDITOR Jonathan Turner Interpreting the 1848 Revolutions:

PERSPECTIVES EDITORS Bringing Politics Back In

J. David Knottnerus & Edwin Hoffman Rhyne, College of William and Mary Jean Van Delinder Using the 1848 Revolutions as a case study, Professor Rhyne discusses the relevance of agency in theorizing about revolutions.

Submit news and commentary to: he French Revolution of 1789 was the most salient cause of the European- wide Revolutions of 1848. As voices for freedoms long denied, liberals and J. David Knottnerus and Tdemocrats everywhere drew on ideas and imagery from the Revolution of Jean Van Delinder 1789 which engulfed France. In country after country—from Sicily to Scandinavia, Department of Sociology from France to Transylvania—challenges arose to existing regimes in the name of CLB 006 Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK 74078-4062 Vital memories of the Revolution were not only inspirations to revolt, but also un- (see inside for phone, fax, & e-mail) dermined the will of the status quo to resist: high government officials, personified by See REVOLUTIONS on page 2 Page 2 Perspectives

ASA MEETING from page 1 Notre Dame. REVOLUTIONS from page 1 Theory Section Roundtables Prince Metternich, lived in dread of revo- World Systems: The “Social World Tensor” Organizer & Presider: Douglas D. Heckathorn, lution. Under the leadership of the Aus- as a Metatheoretic Lens. James F. Holander, Cornell University trian Minister, European governments Texas Instruments. crafted their policies to stave off the pos- TABLE 1 TABLE 6 sibility of revolt. Like the revolutionaries The Weak Power Solution: An Algorithm For Freud, Elias and the De-Civilising Process. themselves, many conservatives became Predicting Exchange Ratios In Weak Power Katie Cangemi and Lauren Langman, Loyola Uni- convinced that, sooner or later, revolution Networks. Casey Borch and Blane R. Dobey, Uni- versity of Chicago. would stalk the land. Since they believed versity of South Carolina. that resistance might be useless, everything Knowledge and Politics in the Transition to Normative Equilibria: The Perspective of should be done to avert the catastrophe. State Capitalism: The Views of Max Weber. Generalized Game Theory. Tom R. Burns, Uni- If the “terrible thing” did occur, then they Charles Gattone, Oberlin College. versity of Uppsala, and Anna Gomolinska, Uni- must be prepared to adjust, or, in Twen- versity of Bialystok. tieth Century parlance, to “roll with the TABLE 7 punch.” Through Thick and Thin: A Rationalization TABLE 2 of Clifford Geertz’s Interpretive Theory. Jeff- Competition, Social Comparison, and Social rey Beemer, University of Massachusetts, Am- It is not my claim that the fear of revolu- Ambivalence: A Proposed Solution to the herst. tion was the only cause of the 1848 revo- Hobbesian Problem of Order. Ben Dalton, lutions nor to claim historiography has not Duke University. Framing Failure: Toward an Ethnomethodol- recognized the essential role of ideas in ogy of Governance. Michael Bergob, Statistics that fateful year. My central thesis is that Bourdeau and Giddens: On the Problem of Canada. by looking at the revolutions of 1848 we Dualism in Sociology. Debbie Van Schyndel, Pennsylvania State University. can and must call into question the singu- TABLE 8 lar emphasis on the structural causes of An Integral Sociology for the 21st Century: TABLE 3 revolution by many sociologists of Sorokin and Thomas Aquinas. Vincent Jeffries, Hegel and Social Theory in the Critical revolution. In several of the most influen- California State University, Northridge. Theory Tradition and in Marxist-Humanism. tial recent works on revolution—cf., Paige Russell Rockwell, CUNY, Graduate Center. (1975), Skocpol (1979), and Goldstone Simmel on Rembrandt: A Life-Philosophical Reformulation of Formal Sociology. Helmut (1991)—the fundamental explanations are Bauman’s Modernity. Peter Beilharz, La Trobe Staubmann, University of Innsbruck. rooted in structural causes such as, state University. structures, class struggles, economic changes, long-term demographic process- TABLE 4 es, or some combination of these. A Proposal for Exploring the Sentiments and Sessions of Interest Life Course of the Lone Violent Offender. Consumers & Consumption: Suzanne Goodney, Indiana University. Spaces and Places What I wish to emphasize is well express- Organizer & Presider: George Ritzer, Univer- ed by an historian of the 1848 revolutions, The Increasing Presence of Telecopresence sity of Maryland Jonathan Sperber: in the Internet Era. Shanyang Zhao, Temple University. Citadels of Centrality: Retailing and the De- If we ask why 1848 was not 1789, the mands of the Experience Game. John Joe answer must be that 1848 was not 1789 TABLE 5 Schlichtman, New York University. precisely because it was sixty years later; Why Define? Russell Faeges, University of politically conscious Europeans had had six See ASA MEETING on page 7 Perspectives is the newsletter of the Theory Section of the American Sociological decades to mull over the French Revolution, consider its consequences, recoil from it, Association. It is published quarterly in January, April, July, and October. The attempt to imitate it or try to improve on deadline for all submissions is the fifth day of the month before publication. it…[A]ll political elements had learned the We welcome news and commentary as well as announcements about confer- lessons of 1789. Conservatives were acutely ences, journal information, calls for papers, position openings, and any other aware of the danger of being too passive, information of interest to section members. of allowing revolutionaries to dominate Send submissions to: J. David Knottnerus and Jean Van Delinder, Department of events, above all of losing control of the Sociology, CLB 006, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-4062; fax armed forces (1994: 247). (405) 744-5780; phone (405) 744-6106 (Knottnerus) or (405) 744-4613 (Van Delinder); e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] See REVOLUTIONS on page 3 Perspectives Page 3

What is being taught in the name of theory to graduate students in sociology? REVOLUTIONS from page 2 How do instructors really feel about training in classical theory? Contemporary As noted by Sperber, partisans of the left, theory? Theory construction? Science? What messages about theory are they pass- right, and middle were all well aware of ing down to the next generation of scholars in our discipline? We spoke with 71 the revolutionary upheavals six decades instructors of required graduate theory courses in the nation’s top 50 departments earlier, and that awareness colored their of sociology, asking these and other questions. This is the third of four planned thoughts of what could or should hap- installments that present some of the basic results. The project was supported by a pen. The great French Revolution, and small grant from the American Sociological Association, and assistance was pro- its Napoleonic sequel, was anything but a vided by Christopher Barnum, Cynthia Estep, Will Kalkhoff, John Knapp and C. thing of the past. Taking a page from Wesley Younts. Readers are encouraged to send comments to the editor and/or to William Faulkner, we can say that the the author at [email protected] Great Revolution was not even past; it was very much part of the present. The spec- ters of Communism and Nazism may be- Theory Training in Sociology stride political thinking today, but the French Revolution was even more com- Barry Markovsky, University of Iowa pelling to political actors of 1848. It was their paragon or their worst nightmare. Part 3: Most important messages about theory that we impart to our students. Why this situation is so important to the he first installment in this series presented data on sample characteristics and sociology of revolutions is that political on instructors’ perceptions of their own graduate training in theory. Part 2 choice is too often conceived as so con- Tdealt with instructors’ attitudes toward different categories of theoretical strained by structural parameters that the work—classical theory, contemporary theory and formal theory. Here we focus on ideas, ideologies, and political persuasions the question “What is the most important message about theory that you pass along of the political actors are pictured as to students?” Responses were paraphrased and coded into the categories shown be- secondary or derivative at most. While the low. The most frequent category, containing about one-third of all responses, cited classic formulation is that of Marx, a more theory as providing explanations and predictions for empirical phenomena. Other contemporary version is found in Skoc- key messages about theory included emphases on: general orientations (20%); clas- pol’s conception of revolution. In a cru- sics or the history of ideas (18%); theory as culturally bound or as constructing phe- cial footnote to a discussion of what con- nomena (9%); theory-building skills (9%); theory as central to science (2%); and other stitutes a social revolution as compared miscellaneous roles (7%). to a rebellion or political revolution she argues that major social revolutions are Most Important Message to Students About Theory… not PROPORTION FREQUENCY EMPHASIS simply political revolutions or mass rebel- 34.2% EXPLANATION/PREDICTION OF EMPIRICAL PHENOM- lions that possess some additional, short- ENA term ingredient such as military success or 11 provide tool kits; explain; predict; provide understanding the determination of ideological leaders to 9 basis of observation and research implement changes after grabbing power. 7 provide connections to research and to reality The entire argument of this book is based 4 solve real-world problems upon the opposite assumption—that social 3 provide reciprocal connection to the empirical world revolutions do have long-term causes, and 3 generate research questions that they grow out of structural contra- 2 provide an orientation to research dictions and potentials inherent in old 20.2% ORIENTATIONS regimes (1979: 295). 7 students should know different perspectives & competing theories 5 there are many ways of knowing; diversity In this view, structural causes are viewed 4 provide an orientation as determinative and necessary while ideo- 2 important independent of research logical outlooks, political choices, the uses 2 justify doing sociology or non-uses of terror become non-deter- 1 provide modes of discourse minative. They become derivatives. 1 make counter-intuitive claims Whether intended or not, this makes the

See TRAINING on page 7 See REVOLUTIONS on page 4 Page 4 Perspectives

REVOLUTIONS from page 3 One of the great ironies of insistently ary actions; it is, however, to stress that partisan choices, with all of their daring, structural theories is how much they con- politically contingent factors are always anguish, elation, and dejection, into revo- trast with the historiography of the present, a matter that is at the heart of lutionary non-events, at least non-causative French Revolution. Many of the most the debate in the recent book by Keddie events. As non-causative events, they can, noted historians of the French Revolu- (1995). Students of revolutions—the big of course, be relegated, if not to the dust- tion, from Aulard, Mathiez, Soboul and revolutions, the small ones, the world- bin of history, at least to the bin of dusty Furet, have based whole books on the historical, the failed, and the farcical— historians and antiquarians. argument that some choices by Mirabeau, must ever try to get into the minds and Brissot, Danton, Robespierre, or the feelings of all participants as a means of The argument here is not that structural Thermidorians might or could have been understanding why they chose one action phenomena may not be necessary causes different, thus leading to much different rather than another. Messy as such studies for what Skocpol calls “social revolu- outcomes. However much some of these can be, and in though fraught with diffi- tions.” However, they should not be historians, such as Soboul, may favor culty in imputing ideas and motives to deemed sufficient causes of revolutions in structural theories, the very passion with actors, the alternative is to keep politics the absence of other matters. Since revo- which they argue that some choices or ac- out. But to keep politics out is to deny lutions are always conflicts over whose tions might have been otherwise strongly human agency. choices and whose values will prevail, they are always political affairs. Such things as To conclude, understanding the 1848 re- ideas and ideals, choices and constrictions My central thesis is volutions requires an actor-oriented ap- are always involved in struggles for su- that by looking at the proach to historical and sociological is- premacy. They may not always be the most revolutions of 1848 we sues. Under the sway of the Marxist para- determinative of causes, but they are can and must call into digm the study of revolution came to be never absent. If they were, where would the study of large-scale structural move- be the conflict of revolution, which is, question the singular ments with class conflict as the central by definition, the signal indicator of revo- emphasis on structural engine of change. Ironically, the most fa- lution? causes of revolution by mous of Marx’s followers, Lenin, was sec- ond to none in emphasizing explicitly po- A counter argument to the present inter- many sociologists of litical factors in revolution, as exemplified pretation of the 1848 Revolutions that revolution. by his call for a self-conscious vanguard might be made is that they were “failed” party to use bayonets to turn away the or “incomplete” revolutions precisely be- suggests their implicit acceptance of the elected members of the Constitutional cause they were merely political revolutions. importance of contingent actions. No one Convention. The Lenin of political po- Lacking underlying causes of major social waxes long and eloquent about the possi- lemic and action was never one who saw revolutions, such as those in France, bility that the sun could have chosen to revolution only or even primarily in struc- Russia, and China, the 1848 Revolutions come up in the west, but we do argue over tural terms. To him it was struggle, voli- were not full-scale revolutions, and their political choices precisely because they are tion, organization, ideas, and leadership. interpretations might necessarily be dif- choices. History might have been other- This is one lesson sociologists nearly a ferent from theories about full-throated wise if the road not chosen had been century later should heed. explosions. taken. In the historiography of the 1848 revolutions probably no theme is more References While there may be some merit to this frequent than recounting alternatives that Goldstone, Jack. 1991. Revolution and Re- argument, it is misleading in its implica- revolutionists might have chosen but did bellion In The Early Modern World. Berke- tion that some criteria (specifically politi- not, hence the frequency of calling them ley: University of California Press. cal in this case) are irrelevant in “big” re- the “failed’ revolutions. Keddie, Nikki R. (Ed.). 1995. Debating Re- volutions and not in penny-ante affairs. volutions. New York. New York Univer- There need be no argument that some In this light, even the great revolutions sity Press. phenomena may be different in different- so often studied—English, American, Paige, Jeffrey. 1975. Agrarian Revolution. ly-scaled revolutions, but, no matter the French, Russian (of 1917), and Chinese— New York: The Free Press. scale, political factors (e.g., ideologies, re- should be conceived as potential ‘failures’ Skocpol, Theda. 1979. States and Social Re- gime strength, strategies, and tactics) are because ‘wrong’ revolutionary strategy volutions. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- always present. These things can no more might have been chosen or conservative versity Press. be neglected in the study of 1917 Russia counter-measures could have been under- Sperber, Jonathan. 1994. The European than in 1848 Austria. taken but were not. This is not to deny Revolutions, 1848-51. Cambridge: Cam- structural roots and limits of revolution- bridge University Press. Perspectives Page 5

cybertheory.htm: Sociological Theory on the Internet

Mathieu Deflem, Purdue University

he arrival of the internet has already been evaluated and re-evaluated from good to bad and worthwhile to trivial as fast and furious as the speed with which the worldwide web has been developed and cyber information can be accessed and Tdownloaded. But whatever the internet has become over the past years, it clearly provides a new opportunity for sociologists to do their thing in matters related to their research and teaching. This essay provides a sketch of the current presence of sociological theory on the internet. It is particularly intended to be helpful to those readers to whom the internet is still something relatively new or unexplored.

Accessing the Internet [Emile Durkheim] will yield pages •The Dead Sociologists Index: The easiest and most general way to walk mentioning Emile or Durkheim, whereas raven.jmu.edu/~ridenelr/dss/ into cyberspace is via so-called search en- the search [“Emile Durkheim”] will only index.html gines. Among the more important search retrieve pages that mention the full name •Sociologists, Dead and Very Much Alive: engines are the following (note that I have of our discipline’s founder. Online www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite/topics/ omitted the prefix http:// in the URL searches and URL addresses are not case sociologists.html addresses provided in this paper and that sensitive (e.g., [“herbert spencer”]). •WWW Virtual Library, Sociology, online searches are indicated between Sociological Theory and Theorists: square brackets): Sociology and Sociological Theory on www.mcmaster.ca/socscidocs/ the Internet w3virtsoclib/theories.htm www.yahoo.com There are already several webpages de- www.google.com voted to the gathering of and linking to Special mention should also be made of www.altavista.com online information on sociology and/or the increasing availability on the internet www.hotbot.com sociological theory. Among the more of syllabi in sociological theory. The easi- www.excite.com helpful websites for sociology in general est way to retrieve online syllabi is through www.lycos.com are the following, most of which provide a keyword search. For example, go to a www.northernlight.com information in different categories, such search engine and type in [“contemporary as journals, areas of specialization, and sociological theory”] or [“classical socio- More search engines can be found departments: logical theory”] or [“sociological theory through any one search engine, simply by syllabus”]. Syllabi not only provide ideas typing in [“search engines”]. So-called •The SocioSite: on how to teach theory, they often also meta-search engines group together www.pscw.uva.nl/sociosite include online readings. For example, the searches from various individual search •The Sociological Tour Through Cyberspace: syllabus of the graduate theory course I engines. Examples include www. www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/index.html teach at Purdue provides links from many metacrawler.com, www.dogpile.com, and •The SocioWeb: different sources: www.mamma.com. Note that some recent www.socioweb.com/~markbl/ e-businesses pose as search engines but socioweb •Contemporary Sociological Theory, actually pre-assemble information and do •Sociology Web Links: Syllabus (Deflem): not establish exclusive links to webpages www.usi.edu/libarts/socio/ www.sla.purdue.edu/people/soc/ located on other servers. Examples of sd_wblnk.htm mdeflem/theosylx.html these sites are www.studyweb.com and •Social Sciences Virtual Library: www.about.com. www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/ Classical and Contemporary Theory socsci/index.htm and Theorists From personal experience, I have found Next to the sociology and sociological simple search engines most convenient, Many sociological websites are concerned theory sites, search engines are the most both those that only list individual pages with sociological theory and, more partic- convenient way to find both very precise (e.g., Google) and those that additionally ularly, sociological theorists. The follow- and more general information. Including classify pages in categories (e.g., Yahoo). ing sites are a sample of these theoretical more keywords in a phrase will lead to On most search engines, multiple word sites, typically providing summaries of pages on more delineated topics, whereas (or phrase) searches have to be conducted theoretical ideas, biographies of leading more general pages will be retrieved when by putting the entire phrase between quo- theorists, and online versions of primary the number of keywords is kept to a mini- tation marks. For instance, the search and secondary writings: See CYBERTHEORY on page 6 Page 6 Perspectives

CYBERTHEORY from page 5 A particular search will oftentimes also •Lexis-Nexis (full text law reviews, yield helpful information not originally newspapers, and more): mum. Not all information found through looked for. For example, via Google we web.lexis-nexis.com/universe a search will be relevant, but search en- retrieve some 1,790 pages on [“Randall gines provide a brief description of the Collins”]. The top pages mentioned in the Also, more and more academic journals linked pages. search results are all relevant, including are available online. The American Journal links to Collins’ homepage, a page with of Sociology, for instance, is now presented An example may clarify the procedure. online papers, and an announcement of in electronic format (the journal’s articles Suppose we are interested in materials on a lecture by Collins in Denmark. One of up until the year 2000 are accessible via or by Craig Calhoun. A search for [“Craig the Collins pages provides a picture of JSTOR). A subscription is needed for the Calhoun”] on Excite is less than useful, the sociologist, not all too relevant for online version, but email alerts with the because it yields, amongst other pages, most of us were it not that the picture table of contents of each issue are free. links to two no longer functioning pages was posted on the occasion of a collo- See the AJS website for more informa- on Calhoun’s work, a reference to a book quium at UW-Madison. The colloquium tion: www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJS. co-edited by Calhoun, and a link to the turns out to be part of a theory initiative, website of the police chief of Hayward, organized by Mustafa Emirbayer and Phil Many cyber-minded scholars have also California. However, the same search on Gorski, which has its own website with developed specialized websites on socio- Google is much more successful, as the much more information, including inter- logical theories and/or theorists. Al- first page retrieved is already a link to our views and online articles (www.ssc.wisc. though the usefulness of these sites is un- colleague’s homepage at NYU (www.nyu. edu/theory@madison). It would be use- even, I highly recommend the reader to edu/pubs/soc.theory/cc). ful to save such accidentally found sites consult these pages because some of them through the ‘add to favorites’ or ‘book- provide excellent information. Here is an You can also narrow down a search by mark’ option on your computer or to cut arbitrary sample: typing in additional information relevant and paste the URL together with a short- to your topic. For instance, a search for hand description for future reference. It • Auguste Comte and Positivism: [“Emile Durkheim”] in Yahoo yields was through such an accidental find that www.multimania.com/clotilde more than 3,000 webpages, while in I recently discovered that most all of • Marx and Engels’ Writings: Google we find no less than 11,000 pages. Durkheim’s books are freely available as eserver.org/marx Examples to narrow the search could be online pdf files (perso.club-internet.fr/ • The Durkheim Pages: [“Durkheim’s sociology of religion”] or khoua/freetext.htm). www.relst.uiuc.edu/durkheim [“aboriginal religion according to Durk- • Max Weber, Ausgewählte Schriften: heim”] or [“religion in Durkheim”] or Cyber Theory: The Search for Online www.uni-potsdam.de/u/paed/ [“Durkheim’s elementary forms”] and so Texts pia/index.htm on. Do not stop after just one search. It The availability of online texts in sociol- • Georg Simmel Homepage: is exceedingly worthwhile to search re- ogy and sociological theory is an exciting socio.ch/sim/index_sim.htm peatedly with different keyword combina- feature of the internet. Helpful in this re- • George’s Pages, The Mead Project tions. The typical search takes a search en- spect are, first of all, the computerized Website: gine anywhere between .06 and .89 sec- indices that provide bibliographies with paradigm.soci.brocku.ca/~lward onds, so you really won’t waste a lot of abstracts and/or online articles. To access • Thorstein Veblen: time! some of these indices, you will need to socserv.socsci.mcmaster.ca/ work from a computer at an institution ~econ/ugcm/3ll3/veblen Make sure that the words in a search are that subscribes to the service. You should • Erich Fromm Website: meaningful (in the case of a computer that consult your local librarian for more www.erichfromm.de means consisting of three characters or information, but here are a few examples: • Herbert Marcuse’s Home Page: more) and enter them in the precise order web.missouri.edu/~tapscifk/ in which you expect them to appear in a •JSTOR (full text, includes ASR and dolcevita1.html written document. Note that phrases with AJS): • Michel Foucault, French Philosopher : brackets, hyphens and other signs can be www.jstor.org www.qut.edu.au/edu/cpol/ retrieved with or without inclusion of •Academic Search Elite (partly full foucault those signs. For instance, all of the fol- text, includes Social Forces): • Habermas Online: lowing will lead to good results: [“Max search.epnet.com www.HabermasOnline.org Weber’s Theories of Bureaucracy”] or •Web of Science (abstracts and cita- • Berliner Luhmann-Kreis: [“Bureaucracy: Weber”] or [weber’s bu- tions): www.asa.de/blk/home.htm reaucracy]”. www.webofscience.com See CYBERTHEORY on page 8 Perspectives Page 7

ASA MEETING from page 2 TRAINING from page 3 PROPORTION Market Places and Spaces of Childhood, 1920-1960. Daniel Thomas Cook, University of FREQUENCY EMPHASIS Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. 1 needed to do anything 17.5% CLASSICS, HISTORY OF IDEAS Consumption: The All-Consuming Pastime. 16 classics are important; historical development of the discipline Carol S. Lindquist and Diane Barthel, State Uni- 1 classics were well-written versity of New York, Stony Brook. 1 classical theorists had moral passion 1 a dialog between authors across time On Mass Distribution: A Case Study of Chain 1 must recognize theoretical underpinnings of all work Stores in the Restaurant Industry. Joel I. Nel- 8.8% SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM, RELATIVISM son, University of Minnesota. 8 depend on their historical and cultural contexts; relativism 2 must deal with and construct objects, not just take them as found Discussion: Don Slater, London School of 8.8% DEVELOPING METHODOLOGICAL SKILLS Economics 3 sharpen conceptual skills 3 importance of theory construction issues: language, logic Consumers & Consumption: 2 sharpen analytic skills Theory & Comparative Analy- 1 as generalizing strategy sis 1 as something they can do 7.0% MISCELLANEOUS Organizer and Presider: George Ritzer, Univer- sity of Maryland 2 understand modernity 1 connects to other disciplines Media Seduction or Family Dynamics?: Gen- 1 used to control society der, Class and Consumption in Contempo- 1 field in disarray, little development & application of theory rary Chile. Joel Stillerman, University of Ari- 1 find relevant units of analysis zona. 1 applicable to any interest 1 macro theory essential The Habitus of Consumption: A Critique of 1.8% SCIENCE Everyday Life. Lauren Langman, Loyola Uni- 2 central to science versity of Chicago. The fourth and final installment will present respondents’ views regarding sociology Consumption in Comparative Perspective. as a science. Tally Katz-Gerro, Ben-Gurion University.

The Distaste of Taste: Bourdieu, Cultural Capital and Generational Lifestyle in the Aus- Shane Thye, University of South Carolina, and Presider: Denise Anthony, Dartmouth College tralian Postwar Elite. Bryan Turner and June Jeongkoo Yoon, Ajou University, Korea. Edmunds, Cambridge University. Giving, Volunteering, and Community In- Evidence for Parental Altruism: Predictors of tegration. Keely Jones, Notre Dame. Discussion: Don Slater, London School of Parent to Child Money Transfers. Brent Berry, Economics University of Michigan. Challenging the Self-Interest Characteriza- tion: Analysis of Recent Evidence about On- Altruism: Origins & Funda- Altruism and Rescue During the Holocaust: A line Sharing. Sheen S. Levine, University of mental Processes Social Psychological Perspective. Veronica Man- Pennsylvania. low, City University of New York, Graduate Organizer & Presider: Douglas D. Heckathorn, Center. My Hero: The Social Construction of Hero- Cornell University ism. Jennifer Lois, Western Washington Uni- Discussion: Arthur L. Stinchcombe, Northwest- versity. The Cultural Evolution of Indiscriminant Al- ern University truism in Networks of Unilateral Opportuni- Challenging Citizenship and Belonging: The ties to Give: Toward a More Robust Explana- Altruism in Communities & Dilemmas of Anti-Racist and Pro-Migrant tion of Generalized Exchange. Noah P. Mark, Social Movements Collective Mobilization in Britain. Paul Stanford University. Statham, University of Leeds. Organizer: Douglas D. Heckathorn, Cornell Voluntarism and Commitment in Exchange University Discussion: David Norman Smith, University Networks. Edward J. Lawler, Cornell University, of Kansas. Page 8 Perspectives

of the Puritans who “cross’d the roade,” a traditional “chief,” with or without or- Q: Why did the in the subjective belief that this was a ganized regulation by an administrative Weberian Cross “calling” from God. In the latter case “staff ” (as in the case of the injunction crossing the road constituted a “legiti- to “look both ways before crossing”), the Road? mateorder,” that is, a pattern that is exem- whether operating continuously or spo- plary or obligatory on the heroic pedes- radically. (Naturally, the material and ideal Russell S. Faeges, University of Notre Dame trian, by virtue of subjective belief by the interests of a staff in pedestrian crossings actor in the binding, obligatory, heroic, is, historically, one of the main determin- legitimate, etc., validity of the order ants of “traffic,” though much depends A: In any given concrete instance revealed by a charismatic leader, who, by on whether there is anything on the other behavior will be oriented only approxi- virtue of an extra-ordinary gift, and only side of the road worth crossing over for, mately in a single direction; thus, it is only insofar as, ordained crossing the road as according to the subjective orientations in exceptional cases that crossing a road a normative pattern. Such legitimate do- of pedestrians. A full analysis, such as we will conform to a theoretically conceived mination is in the majority of cases the do not attempt here, would also have to “pure” meaning, for instance, “affectual- least common reason for the orientation take account of the width of the road, ly,” as in the case of being a result of up- of action. Further, charismatic legitimacy, the number of cars moving in both direc- bringing within a “family,” for instance, in particular, that is, the subjective belief tions, and the presence or absence of a crossing the road because one’s parents that crossing the road is legitimate due to cross-walk.) On the other hand, crossing did; “instrumentally,” for reasons of ex- the validity of obedience owed personally the road may be legitimate by virtue of a pediency, including self-interest, as in the to an individual who is, like, “awesome,” legally valid order, enacted either by con- case of crossing the road to reach a market is inherently unstable, and will tend to sensus or imposed by legal authorities, located on the other side, in the type case “routinize,” in one of two possible direc- whereby loitering by the side of the road (“ideal type”), being fully and rationally tions, either “traditionalization,” that is, is punishable by fines of up to $25. In aware that one is crossing the road, and in a traditional direction, or “rationaliza- this, as in the case of all social action, taking account of all possible alternative tion,” that is, in a rational direction. Cross- crossing the road consists of the prob- behaviors, and of the consequences of ing the road shall be called “traditionally ability that someone did, is in the process actually crossing the road; and finally, legitimate” insofar as crossing the road is of, or will actually cross the road. It is value-rationally, for reasons of orientation obligatory or exemplary because of the necessary to be constantly aware of this to a self-conscious and fully rationalized sacredness of an immemorial tradition of in order to avoid the danger of “reifica- system of absolute values, as in the case crossing the road under the leadership of tion.”

CYBERTHEORY from page 6 Readings all information on the internet, so it is Barker, Joe. 2000. “Finding Information • Feminist Theory Website: always useful to also consult the spe- on the Internet: A Tutorial.” Online www.cddc.vt.edu/feminism cialized sociology sites. Guide from the Teaching Library at • HyperBourdieu: the University of California, Berkeley. www.iwp.uni-linz.ac.at/lxe/ On a final note, readers may be aware of http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ sektktf/bb/HyperBourdieu.html my efforts to preserve the integrity of aca- TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/ demic work on the internet (Deflem 2000, FindInfo.html Another handy way to find a particular 2001). In my view, the internet is nothing Deflem, Mathieu. 2001. “Different Views paper or chapter is to type in between but easily accessible space on computers on About.com.” Letter with com- quotation marks a very distinct phrase that and it is up to all of us to use that space ment. Footnotes, ASA Newsletter, 29 appears in the text you are interested in. and use it well. With many people, espe- (4):10. http://www.asanet.org/ For example, in Yahoo the search [“open cially younger folks and (prospective) stu- footnotes/apr01/fn21.html opportunities to various elites”], a passage dents, now using the internet as their pri- ____. 2000. “University4Sale.com: The from The Power Elite, will yield a link to a mary source of information, I appeal to Educational Cost of Posted Lecture collection of quotes from the work of C. my colleagues to make sure that online Notes on the Internet.” AFT On Cam- Wright Mills. On Google, the search sociology is and will remain a part of soci- pus, April 2000, p. 4. http://www.aft. [“ohne Gott ist eitel”] leads to several ology, not a commodity of e-commerce. org/publications/on_campus/ pages on Max Horkheimer. Also on apr00/technology.html Google, a search for [“sociological form This essay is available online: Kling, Robert. 1997. “The Internet for of the stranger”] brings up a complete www.sla.purdue.edu/people/soc/ Sociologists.” Contemporary Sociology online version of Simmel’s famous essay. mdeflem/cybertheory.htm. 26(4):434-444. http://www.slis. Note that search engines never capture indiana.edu/CSI/wp97-02.html