HandbookPublicPODLITH.qxd 4/28/09 12:18 PM Page 1 Sociology | Theory “The publication of The Handbook of Public Sociology is timely and important.While JEFFRIES it reveals the tensions and disputes about public sociology within the discipline of Handbook of sociology, it also makes clear its potential to educate the public on many crucial social problems and issues confronting our society.This volume is a must-read for those who believe that sociology’s findings, theories, and ideas should be more widely disseminated.” —William Julius Wilson, Lewis P.and Linda L. Geyser Public Sociology University Professor, Harvard University Public sociology—an approach to sociology that aims to communicate with and actively engage wider audiences—has been one of the most widely discussed top- ics in the discipline in recent years.The Handbook of Public Sociology presents a com- Barbara Adam prehensive look at every facet of public sociology in theory and practice. It pays Wendell Bell particular attention to how public sociology can complement more traditional types of sociological practice to advance both the analytical power of the discipline Michael Burawoy and its ability to benefit society.The volume features contributions from a stellar Stephen Cornell list of authors, including several past presidents of the American Sociological Sociology Public Michael DeCesare Association such as Michael Burawoy, a leading proponent of public sociology. Handbook of Sean Elias Joe Feagin The first two sections of the Handbook of Public Sociology look at public sociology in relation to the other three types of practice—professional, policy, and critical— Frank Furedi with an emphasis on integrating the four types into a holistic model of theory and Herbert J. Gans practice. Subsequent sections focus on issues such as teaching public sociology at Norval D. Glenn various levels, case studies in the application of public sociology, and the role of John Hagan public sociology in special fields in the discipline, while continuing to emphasize Ruth Horowitz interdependence of the four types of sociology.The concluding chapter by Michael Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann Burawoy addresses current debates surrounding public sociology and presents a constructive vision for the future that embraces and improves upon all four types Lina Hu of sociology. Vincent Jeffries Robert Kleidman The Handbook of Public Sociology transcends differences in the field and will appeal Elizabeth Dermody Leonard to a wide range of academics, students, and practitioners. Damon Mayrl Vincent Jeffries is professor of sociology at California State University, Bill McCarthy Northridge. edited by Raymond A. Morrow Jennifer Mueller Vincent Jeffries Lawrence T. Nichols Samuel P. Oliner For orders and information please contact the publisher Pamela E. Oliver Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. LITTLFIELD ROWMAN & A wholly owned subsidiary of Caroline Hodges Persell The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. Saskia Sassen 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 Edward A. Tiryakian 1-800-462-6420 www.rowmanlittlefield.com Laurel Westbrook Handbook of Public Sociology Handbook of Public Sociology Edited by Vincent Jeffries ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowmanlittlefield.com Estover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2009 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Handbook of public sociology / edited by Vincent Jeffries. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7425-6646-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7425-6648-4 (electronic) 1. Sociology—Philosophy. 2. Applied sociology. I. Jeffries, Vincent. HM511.H36 2009 301—dc22 2009004561 Printed in the United States of America ϱ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Contents 1 Redefining the Nature and Future of Sociology: Toward a Holistic Sociology 1 Vincent Jeffries Part I: Exploring and Elaborating the Holistic Model 2 Burawoy’s Holistic Sociology and Sorokin’s “Integralism”: A Conversation of Ideas 27 Lawrence T. Nichols 3 Rethinking Burawoy’s Public Sociology: A Post-Empiricist Reconstruction 47 Raymond A. Morrow 4 Social Justice and Critical Public Sociology 71 Joe Feagin, Sean Elias, and Jennifer Mueller 5 Public Sociology and the Future: The Possible, the Probable, and the Preferable 89 Wendell Bell 6 The Scientific System of Public Sociology: The Exemplar of Pitirim A. Sorokin’s Social Thought 107 Vincent Jeffries v vi Contents Part II: Establishing and Perfecting the Model 7 A Sociology for Public Sociology: Some Needed Disciplinary Changes for Creating Public Sociology 123 Herbert J. Gans 8 Some Suggested Standards for Distinguishing between Good and Bad Public Sociology 135 Norval D. Glenn 9 On Writing Public Sociology: Accountability through Accessibility, Dialogue, and Relevance 151 Damon Mayrl and Laurel Westbrook 10 Recapturing the Sociological Imagination: The Challenge for Public Sociology 171 Frank Furedi Part III: Teaching and Public Sociology 11 Presenting Sociology’s Four “Faces”: Problems and Prospects for the High School Course 187 Michael DeCesare 12 Teaching and Public Sociology 205 Caroline Hodges Persell Part IV: The Practice of Organic Public Sociology: Case Studies 13 From Data to Drama: Returning Research to Convicted Survivors 225 Elizabeth Dermody Leonard 14 Integrating the Four Sociologies: The “Baigou Project” in China 245 Lina Hu 15 Becoming Public Sociology: Indigenous Nations, Dialogue, and Change 263 Stephen Cornell 16 Talking about Racial Disparities in Imprisonment: A Reflection on Experiences in Wisconsin 281 Pamela E. Oliver 17 Public Membership on Medical Licensing Boards: An Integrated Public and Professional Project 299 Ruth Horowitz Contents vii 18 Counting the Deaths in Darfur: Pitfalls on the Pathway to a Public Sociology 319 Bill McCarthy and John Hagan Part V: Special Fields and Public Sociology 19 Engaged Social Movement Scholarship 341 Robert Kleidman 20 Public Sociology and Universal Human Rights 357 Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann 21 Altruism, Apology, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation as Public Sociology 375 Samuel P. Oliner 22 A Public Sociology for a Global Age: Recovering the Political 391 Saskia Sassen 23 Global Altruism: Some Considerations 409 Edward A. Tiryakian 24 Futures in the Making: Sociological Practice and Challenge 429 Barbara Adam Part VI: Future Directions 25 The Public Sociology Wars 449 Michael Burawoy Index 475 About the Contributors 491 1 Redefining the Nature and Future of Sociology: Toward a Holistic Sociology Vincent Jeffries In his 2004 presidential address to the American Sociological Association, Michael Burawoy (2005a) issued a call to sociologists for commitment to a common ethos, reciprocity among forms of practice, and greater societal engagement. Unique to this message is a model of the discipline that has the potential to change sociology in a manner that will greatly increase both its fund of knowledge and understanding and its contribution to society. In this call for greater accomplishment Burawoy “has actually proposed a new vision for our discipline” and thus “has made an attempt to imagine the future” (Abbott 2007:208). The major theme of this Handbook of Public Sociology is the nature and im- portance of Burawoy’s holistic model of sociological practice: professional, the theoretical traditions and research programs; critical, the interrogation of the good and of disciplinary moral visions; policy, the evaluation of means to reach a designated end; and public, a dialogue between soci- ologists and publics regarding sociological knowledge and understandings (Burawoy 2005a). The foundation of the model’s potential is the assumption of the in- terdependence of these forms of sociology. This is a fundamental focus of this handbook and is concisely and powerfully expressed by Burawoy (2005a:15) in his presidential address: “Indeed, my normative vision of the discipline of sociology is of reciprocal interdependence among our four types—an organic solidarity in which each type of sociology derives energy, meaning, and imagination from its connection to the others.” Emphasis can be placed on the four sociologies model, rather than just on the idea of public sociology. The most fundamental contribution to the discipline is the model. The idea of an interdependence of the forms of 1 2 Chapter 1 practice in which each one can add to the excellence of the others is foun- dational in transforming the discipline. Focus is thereby placed on the idea that each form of practice is enhanced by giving attention to the essential concerns and agenda of the others. Likewise, if the forms become detached from each other, they move toward diminished performance and possibly pathology. If public sociology