innsbruck, tyrol, austria september 11 - 13, 2008 · 2010-05-01 · Innsbruck Tourist Board t European Sociological Association 2 ESA Social Theory Conference, Innsbruck, September

Innsbruck School of Political Science and Sociology, Innsbruck University, Department of Sociology,

Frank Welz, Universitätsstr. 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria, E-Mail: [email protected], phone: +43-512/ 507-7305

SOCIAL THEORY and the Sociological Discipline(s)

Social Theory Conference (RN29)

European Sociological Association

SessionsCan there be a unified meta-paradigm?

Classical and contemporary concepts Cri-

tical challenges in a globalized world

Critical social theory & Transdisciplinary research Contexts of social theory buil-

ding Its role and status in the subdisci-plines etc.

SpeakersGesa Lindemann (Oldenburg) Roland

Robertson (Aberdeen) Philip Selznick

(Berkeley) Bryan S. Turner (Singapore)Paula-Irene Villa (Munich) ... and many

more

innsbruck, tyrol, austriaseptember 11 - 13, 2008

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more » www.social-theory.eu

Social Theory and the Sociological Discipline(s)ESA Social Theory ConferenceInnsbruck, Tyrol, AustriaSept. 11-13, 2008

program* All papers (as listed here) were hold.

Thursday, Sept. 11 (location: room HS1, Sowi, Universitätsstraße 15)

17:00 registration author / chair

18:00 Welcome address: Karlheinz Töchterle, Vice-chancellor/Rektor Frank Welz RN coordinatorr.HS1 1 Keynote: Glocality and the transdisciplinarity of sociology Roland Robertson Aberdeen

Welcome reception

Friday, Sept. 12

r.HS1 Social Theory and the Sociological Disciplines Mary Vogel Oxford/London, UK

09:30 2 Social Movements: The strange disappearance of capitalismfrom the sociology of social movements

Jeff Goodwin New York, USA

09:50 3 Gender: The subject(s) of gender: Social theory within gendersociology

Paula-Irene Villa Munich, Germany

10:10 4 Social Movements: Frame, ideology, and the anti-globalizationmovement

Ian Parenteau Montréal, Canada

10:30 5 Globalization: Society in the age of globalization Hirofumi Utsumi Osaka, Japan

coffee break (10:50-11:20)r.HS1 Kevin McSorley Portsmouth, UK11:20 6 Law: The Adam Slodowy Effect: Reception of Niklas Luhmann's

sociology in sociology of law and legal theoryJan Winczorek Warsaw, Poland

11:40 7 Economic Soc.: A behavioural approach of tax compliance L. Donath/Slavin Timişoara,Romania

12:00 8 Law: Democracy and the shifting balance of public and privategovernance

Mary Vogel Oxford/London, UK

12:20 9 Economic Soc.: Bringing society back in market: Why marketsociology is no segment of economic sociology

Steffen Roth Bern, Switzerland

The conference is kindly supported by the

Rector, University of Innsbruck t Dean, Innsbruck School of Political Science and SociologyMayoress of Innsbruck t Governor of the Tyrol, (Office of the) Tyrolean GovernmentInnsbruck Tourist Board t European Sociological Association

2 ESA Social Theory Conference, Innsbruck, September 11-13, 2008

r.HS2 Social Theory and the Sociological Disciplines Csaba Szaló Brno, Czech Rep.09:30 10 Antisemitism: Social theory against antisemitism: Reflections on

current trendsRobert Fine Warwick, UK

09:50 11 Urban/Regional: The difference that space makes … Jens S. Dangschat Vienna, Austria10:10 12 Citizenship: Citizenship in the societies of control Willem Schinkel Rotterdam, Neth.10:30 13 Urban: Urban Environment as a Machine of Modern –

Postmodern Transition in the Light of Georg Simmel’sSociology

Nikita A. Kharlamov Moscow, Russia

coffee break (10:50-11:20)

r.HS2 Can There Be a Unified Theory for the Social Sciences? Helmut Staubmann Innsbruck, Austria11:20 14 The unity of sociological theory: A Peircian semiotic meta-

paradigm as the overarching perspectiveJ. I. (Hans) Bakker Guelph, Canada

11:40 15 Figurations of the Third: Consideration of an innovation in socialtheory

Joachim Fischer Dresden,Germany

12:00 16 Emergence, reduction and the causal impact of institutions Jens Greve Bielefeld,Germany

12:20 17 Analysis of social events as a theoretical perspective Alexander F. Filippov Moscow, Russia

lunch break (12:40-14:20)

- 3rd floor! (r.3/FS = 3rd floor, room FS) -

r.3/FS Can Social Theory Be National? Christian Fuchs Salzburg, Austria14:20 18 Russia: Institutional matrices theory as methodology for

theoretical and empirical research of Russian sociologistsSvetlana Kirdina Moscow, Russia

14:40 19 Turkey: Embedded limits of national sociologies: The case ofTurkey

Anil Muhurdaroglu Ankara, Turkey

15:00 20 Finland: Finland: An outpost for critical realism andneopragmatism to settle their score

Seppo Poutanen Turku, Finland

15:20 21 Turkey: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's dilemma and the Turkishsolution

Haldun Gulalp Istanbul, Turkey

15:40 22 Turkey: The possibility of sociology in Turkish context Alaattin Oguz Ankara, Turkey

r.3/11 Can Social Theory Still Guide Empirical Research?Childhood, the Elderly, and Social & Health Services

Werner Reichmann Konstanz,Germany

14:20 23 Inserting childhood, pedagogy, and educational research intomodernity and postmodernity: Theoretical reflections

Mariam Meynert Lund, Sweden

14:40 24 Child abuse in theoretical debates: Towards an integratedmodelled theory

Paulin Mbecke Johannesburg,South Africa

15:00 25 Local social networks and the elderly: Theoretical perspectives Tine Buffel Brussels, Belgium15:20 26 In Law’s circle: A 'KOL' study in a group of Sicilian social worker P. Paolo Guzzo Palermo/Calabria,

Italy15:40 27 Sociological training as strategy for the empowerment of

healthcare’s professionalsEmiliana Mangone Fisciano/SA, Italy


r.3/12 Can There Be a Sociology of Social Theory? Nilgun Celebi Ankara, Turkey14:20 28 Hazards and challenges for sociology: New configurations in

social sciences claim new domains within the academicdivision of work

Dieter Bögenhold Bolzano, Italy

14:40 29 Why successful “theory groups” do not emerge at the peripheryof the academic world-system? The evidence from theRussian case

Mikhail Sokolov St. Petersburg,Russia

15:00 30 Theoretical research in sociology: Its conditions of possibility Jan Balon Prague, Czech R.15:20 31 Sociology as if nature doesn’t matter': External, disciplinary and

intra sub-disciplinary factorsFrédéric Vandermoere Gent, Belgium

15:40 32 Sociology towards transdisciplinarity Frank Welz Innsbruck, Austria

coffee break (16:00-16:30)r.HS116:30 33 plenary session:

The implicit theoretical convergence of action and systemstheories

Craig BrowneGesa Lindemann

Sydney, AustraliaOldenburg,

Germany

18:00-22:00 Social Theory Summit: "1905m Seegrube Dinner" (www.seegrube.at)

Saturday, Sept. 13

r.3/11 Social Theory at Work: Theory Building Joachim Fischer Dresden, Germ.09:30 34 Intersection theory Nina Toren Jerusalem, Israel09:50 35 Time and cumulative inequality theory: Demographic and

developmental processesKenneth F. Ferraro West Lafayette,

USA10:10 36 System properties and the explanatory power of social

mechanisms: A communication-oriented approachRasco Hartig-PerschkeHamburg, Germ.

10:30 37 Sociological theory and social innovation Tamas Meleghy /Heinz-Jürg. Niedenzu

Innsbruck, Austria

coffee break (10:50-11:20)r.3/11 Daniel Chernilo Santiago, Chile11:20 38 The autology/ontology-paradox: On latent structures of the social

theory discourseMichael Beetz Jena, Germany

11:40 39 From the sociological imagination to social imaginaries: Multiplemodernities and the paradoxes of transformation

Craig Browne Sydney, Australia

12:00 40 Cosmopolitan memories: Mapping the conceptual boundaries ofcosmopolitanism

Csaba Szaló Brno, Czech Rep.

r.3/FS Can There Still Be Such a Thing as Critical Theory? Max Preglau Innsbruck, Austria09:30 41 Some pitfalls of critical sociology: An overview of trends during

the last 20 yearsHenning Bech Copenhagen, Den

09:50 42 Critical social theory in the age of the internet Christian Fuchs Salzburg, Austria10:10 43 Politics for the sake of Rationality: problematics deriving from

critical theoryAnastasiaMarinopoulou

Athens, Greece

10:30 44 The concept of critique among the contemporaneoussociological debate

Stefan Fornos Klein Sao Paolo, Brazil


coffee break (10:50-11:20)r.3/12 Henning Bech Copenhagen, Den11:20 45 Habermas legacy in sociology: Pragmatic insights and

theoretical frameworkGilles Verpraet Paris, France

11:40 46 Pragmatism as critical social theory Kornelia Hauser Innsbruck, Austria12:00 47 Citizenship as instrument of bio-power: Identifying changes in

the functioning of citizenship in the Netherlands in times ofglocalization and culturistic discourse

Friso van Houdt Rotterdam, Neth.

r.3/12 Contemporary Social Theory Svetlana Kirdina Moscow, Russia09:30 48 Social theory implied: Articulating the post-Holocaust Jewish

second generationEleonóra Hamar Brno, Czech Rep.

09:50 49 On the non-tenability of evil as action Keith Doubt Wittenberg, USA10:10 50 Painting as a sociological phenomenon Nail Farkhatdinov Moscow, Russia10:30 51 Working and middle class perceptions of the European Union:

Case of TurkeyZeynep Alemdar Istanbul, Turkey

coffee break (10:50-11:20)

lunch break (12:20-14:00)

r.HS1 Can Classical Concepts Still Guide the Discipline? Gilles Verpraet Paris, France14:00 53 Public Sphere: On the imbalance of the present private and

public sphereGabriel A. Barhaim Israel

14:20 54 Between social theory and natural law: The case of Karl Löwith Daniel Chernilo Santiago, Chile

14:40 55 The traces of philosophy of life in German sociology: Towards aneglected affinity

Daniel Šuber Konstanz,Germany

15:00 56 Crisis: Is there still a sociology of crisis? Rethinking the notion ofcrisis in sociological theory

Rodrigo Cordero Warwick, UK

r.HS2 Challenges: New Developments in Social Theory Frank Welz Innsbruck, Austria14:00 57 Is 'socius' better than 'society'? Nilgun Celebi Ankara, Turkey14:20 58 Social theory, mobility and immobility Kevin McSorley Portsmouth, UK14:40 60 Psychoanalysis and a theory of social action Kanakis Leledakis Athens, Greece

15:00 61 Difference, not identity! A genuine sociological perspective to anold, but nonetheless ongoing problem: the case ofSecularisation

Gerda Bohmann Vienna, Austria

coffee break (15:40-16:10)r.HS116:10 62 Plenary session:

Sociology as a ‘moral science’Keith DoubtPhilip Selznick

Wittenberg, USABerkeley, USA

Farewell

17:30 Social Theory RN Members' Meeting (short; résumé, feedback & prospects - all invited)


innsbruck

L Innsbruck Tourist Information Office: Burggraben3, phone +43 (0)512 5456330- 200 m from Golden roof (where you come from thehotels)

L Taxi in Innsbruck: phone 0512-5311

L Department of Sociology: phone 0512-507 7301

Some options for Sunday, September 14th:

1) Meet theorists!

2) Rent a bike: Sport Neuner, Maxilianstraße 23,+43(0)512-561501; Inntour Sport & Touristic Services,Leopoldstr. 4, +43(0)699-10128730

3) Café at 11:00 am?

360° CAFÉ opposite of the Lichtblick restaurant. TheLichtblick restaurant on the top floor of the stylishRathausgalerien (on the way between “GoldeneKrone” and Golden Roof (on the left) would simply forits view automatically qualify to be listed as one ofInnsbruck’s most spectacular culinary temples. As thetown lies at your feet you will agree that chef AndreasZeindlinger matches the location with a creative cuisinefull of surprising highlights. The menu features unusualsoups and salads, fish, delicate ‘Topfenknödel’ (curdcheese dumplings) and other dishes listed under poeticnames.The adjacent “360° café” and wine bar under the samemanagement is a great place to sample fine wines andenjoy panoramic views of Innsbruck and thesurrounding mountain scenery.

4) Meet at the Hofgarten restaurant (or atLöwenhaus, at the river Inn, for dinner; 200 m northfrom Hofgarten/river Inn)

5) New sounds from the Middle East, 6 until 21 Sep.2008:Innsbruck hosts Klangspuren Festival. TheKlangspuren festival of contemporary music wasinitiated in 1994 in Schwaz, a former silver miningboomtown, located about 30 km to the east ofInnsbruck. Due to the lack of venues it has been part ofthe festival’s concept to extend its sphere of influenceand explore unusual new event locations. Thus in 2008Innsbruck will be hosting a considerable part of theKlangspuren concerts.The programme’s focus will beon contemporary Tyrolean and Austrian composers, aswell as on presenting the musical achievement of aregion. With compositions from Israel and Palestine the2008 Klangspuren festival features the Middle East. On13 September, works by Hossam Mahmoud, SamirOdeh-Tamimi and Chaya Czernowin will be performed

at the ORF Kulturhaus Tirol (200m from Sowiconference venue, north, at the river Inn). Matinee talksand films related to the topic will round off the event.A special highlight includes portraits of Englishcomposer Rebecca Saunders and Tyrol-born BernhardGander, both of them presenting world premieres oftheir new works: on 12 Sep. at SOWI Innsbruck and on20 Sep. at Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum. US-American composer Steve Reich, one of the centralfigures of minimal music, has been appointed composerin residence.Numerous ensembles and solo artistsspecializing in new music have been invited toadequately perform the many works. The KlangforumWien (12 Sep.), the Ensemble Contrechamps (20Sep.), Teodoro Anzellotti (20 Sep.) and the StuttgarterVokalsolisten (21 Sep.) will play at the Innsbruckevents. The latter ensemble will perform in the framework of apilgrim hike, leading via the villages of Steinach (nearthe Brenner Pass), Patsch and Igls down to Innsbruck’scathedral, Dom zu St. Jakob. Having become verymuch part of Klangspuren, this hike along the Way ofSt. James indicates too the many side events, including


a ‘regional music festival with a difference’, a children’sevent ‘Klangspuren on bare feet’ – and many morethings in the context of experiencing music and sounds.Information: Klangspuren Schwaz, tel.+43-5242-73582,info(at)klangspuren.at, www.klangspuren.at & TouristInformation!

At a Glance

Facts on Innsbruck: Innsbruck is the capital of theAustrian Tyrol province – approx.135,000 inhabitants – located at575 m above sea level – rivers:Inn and Sill – situated at the footof Patscherkofel (2,247 m) andNordkette (2,334 m)

University town: campus spreads all over town.During term 23,700 students livein Innsbruck

Olympic town: in 1964 and 1976 venue ofOlympic winter games

Focus on tourism: the ‘Innsbruck Tourismus’ touristassociation represents Innsbruckas well as 25 holiday villages inthe town’s vicinity – approx. 2.2million annual overnight stays – inInnsbruck alone approx. 5 millionguests, incl. day visitors – summerand winter tourism, with a slightadvantage on summer tourism

Eating and Drinking: great gastronomical variety, rang-ing from gourmet restaurants (3award-winning restaurants) to the‘Tiroler Wirtshaus’ inns – offeringwholesome popular local fare(dumplings, noodles, fi l led‘Krapfen’, lamb, beef, sweetdishes), - cafes and pastry shopswith gateaus, cakes and coffeespecialties – clubs and bars to goout in the evening, meet locals,sample wines, ..

Sports & leisure: multitude of summer sports (hiking,climbing, Nordic walking, running,cycling, mountain biking, golf,swimming lakes) and winter sports(downhill and Nordic skiing, glacierskiing on the Stubai glacier,snowboarding, snowshoeing, tobog-ganing, ice sports etc.) – guided hikeswith ASI (Alpinschule Innsbruck) – 9skiing and hiking areas serviced bychairlifts and cable-cars – freetransport for skiers and hikers alike –free summer and winter activityprogramme for ALL guests ofInnsbruck and its 25 holiday villages

Cultural highlights: annual events such as theFestival of Early Music, SummerDance Festival, Easter Festival –sights: the Golden Roof,mediaeval historic quarter,Ambras castle with its Renais-sance ‘Chamber of Art andCuriosities’, Imperial Palace andChurch with the Renaissancecenotaph tomb of EmperorMaximilian I., Bergisel ski jump& Hungerburgbahn designed byBritish-Iraqi star architect ZahaHadid, etc.

Traditions: Advent and Christmas customssuch as Christmas Market,Nativity exhibitions, St. Nicholasand Christmas processions –carnival folklore and Eastertombs; in autumn: cattle proces-sions and thanksgiving festivities.

Modern architecture:A dialogue between urban design andnatural landscape.

Around the turn of the millennium, Innsbruckexperienced a veritable boom in high-quality archi-tectural design, finding its expression in administrativebuildings, sports venues, shopping


centres, exhibition halls, cafés and numerous otherprojects. As this trend continues, inhabitants andvisitors alike enjoy the attractive changes in thecityscape, a harmonious blend of modern and historicalarchitecture.

Nestled in a gentle basin and ringed by toweringmountains, Innsbruck’s unique location certainlyrequires some unique architecture. This has becomemost evident in sports venues and projects dedicated toother leisure activities, representing the close linkbetween urbanity and nature. Probably the most strikingexamples of such interaction are the Bergisel ski jump(2002) and the newly opened Hungerburgbahnfunicular railway (2007), both of them designed byZaha Hadid. Besides being an exceptional sports venuefor professional athletes; its viewing deck andpanoramic restaurant have turned the Bergisel skijump into a popular tourist attraction.

The sports district to the south of town comprises theski jump, a football stadium (extended for EURO 2008)and ‘Olympiaworld’, the recently expanded Olympic icerink complex. Olympiaworld includes also the Iglsbobsleigh, luge and skeleton track, built in 1976 forthe Winter Olympics and completely refurbished from2005 to 2007. The technical features of this spectacularstructure are now once again state-of-the art, and itsouter shell is fitted with steel and aluminium. Thebuildings at the start and finish of the track as well as allpublic areas were rebuilt or extended. At the cupola-shaped Bobcafé spectators can relax from theexcitement of the races. Anyone wanting to make atruly nerve-tingling experience can book a seat on aguest or racing bobsleigh and tear down the run’sbends and gyroscope just like a pro, safelyaccompanied by an experienced pilot.

Dance Temple and Roaring Sixties.- Jazz, hip-hop, reggae and grunge into the early hours.

Whether you want live music or party vibes Innsbruck'snightlife scene has something to suit all tastes. Fromdusk till dawn bars, clubs and music venues providenon-stop meeting points for all party animals.If you are on the look out for concerts and DJ eventsthen you'll have found the right address at theTreibhaus, the Hafen and pmk. The Treibhaus inAngerzellgasse (very close to Sowi & Golden Roof) isthe oldest alternative venue in Innsbruck, but even so, itstill has one of the "youngest" gig programmes. Almostevery day, musicians perform international jazz, hip-hopand Latin; it is also a venue for salsa discos, DJ eventsand cabaret evenings. Apart from the two event roomsin the "Tower" and on the ground floor, there is aspacious daytime and evening café on the ground floorand a jazz club in the cellar, both of which offer plentyof variety. The Hafen, near to the "West" motorway exit,specialises in pop, rock and heavy metal. Pmk (Platt-

form mobiler Kulturintiativen or platform of mobile cultu-ral initiatives), an amalgamation of more than 20 cultu-ral clubs, puts on alternative rock, electro-pop, grungeand heavy metal concerts in Viaduktbogen 19 at veryreasonable prices.

We now find ourselves in yet another centre ofInnsbruck's music scene, in the so-called Bögen or theArches. Since 1985, bar after bar has opened in thearches of the railway viaduct, including the coolBabalon, the Project, the Plateau, or the Weli. If you areup for an Innsbruck "pub crawl" with only shortdistances between watering holes, plus many differenttypes of bars, then the Arches will be just the place foryou.Whatever your tastes, if you're visiting Innsbruck, it'sworth enquiring about up-and-coming events. DJSundays by DKK (DJ Coffee and Cakes) are held in theKulturgasthaus Bierstindl and club nights withinternational DJs and live acts take place on a regularbasis in the Sinne in Wilhelm-Greil-Strasse, in theHafen and in the Gothic cellar of the Hofburg.

weather


participants

Zeynep Alemdar; Asst. Prof.; Okan University,International Relations and Political ScienceDepartment , Akfirat Kampüsü Formula 1 Yani , Tuzla,Istanbul , Turkey; 0 216 677 16 30- 1131(W) ; 0 216677 16 49 (F) , 0 533 967 36 48 (M), zeynep.alemdar(at)okan.edu.tr

J. I. (Hans) Bakker; Ph.D., Prof.; Department ofSociology and Anthropology, MacKinnon BuildingRoom 616, University of Guelph,, Guelph, OntarioCanada N1G 2W1; (519) 824-4120 ext. 53545 FAX(519) 837-9561, hbakker(at)uoguelph.ca

Jan Balon; Dr, Institute of Sociological Studies, Facultyof Social Sciences Charles University in Prague,Prague, Czech Republic; janbalon1(at)hotmail.com

Gabriel A. Barhaim; Prof. of Sociology; NetanyaCollege, Netanya, Israel; barhaim2(at)netvision.net.il

Henning Bech; Prof., Dr ScientSoc; Department ofSociology, University of Copenhagen, OsterFarimagsgade 5, POB 2099, DK-Copenhagen K,Denmark; hb(at)soc.ku.dk

Michael Beetz; Dr; Institut für Soziologie, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Carl-Zeiß-Straße 2, 07743Jena , Germany; phone 03641-945519,Michael.Beetz(at)uni-jena.de

Dieter Bögenhold; Prof. Dr., Freie Universität Bozen,School of Economics and Management, Via Sernesi 1, I- 39100 Bolzano; dboegenhold(at)unibz.it

Gerda Bohmann; A.o. Prof. Dr.; Institut für Soziologieund empirische Sozialforschung, WirtschaftsuniversitätWien, Augasse 2 - 6, A-1090 Wien; Tel.: 0043-1-31336/4744, Fax: 0043-1-31336/707,gerda.bohmann(at)wu-wien.ac.at

Eva Bravc; candidate, Department of Sociology, Uni-versity of Graz, Universitätsstrasse 15, A-8010 Graz,Austria; Tel. 0650 5103887, eva.bravc(at)edu.uni-graz.at

Craig Browne; Dr.; Department of Sociology andSocial Policy , The University of Sydney, 166 R. C. MillsBuilding, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;2006, Tel: 61-2-93512665; Fax: 61-2-93069380,craig.browne AT usyd.edu.au

Tine Buffel; Vrije Universiteit Brussels (Free Universityof Brussels), Social agogics, Brussels , Belgium; Tel:02/629 30 73, Tine.Buffel(at)vub.ac.be

Nilgün Çelebi; Dean, Prof. of General Sociology andMethodology, Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Faculty ofArts and Science, Burdur, Turkey; phone: 0090 532 3939 152, nilguncelebi(at)ttmail.com

Daniel Chernilo; Dr, Assoc. Prof. of Sociology,Departamento de Sociología, Universidad AlbertoHurtado, Cienfuegos 46, Santiago, CHILE; Fono (56-2)8897419, Fellow of the Warwick Centre for SocialTheory, UK, dchernil(at)uahurtado.cl

Rodrigo Cordero; PhD candidate; Department ofSociology, The University of Warwick, United Kingdom;9 Charlotte Street, Flat 3, CV31 3EB Leamington Spa,UK, Phone: +44 07 876344371 / +44 01 926889649,R.A.Cordero-Vega(at)warwick.ac.uk

Jens S. Dangschat; Prof. Dr., Vienna University ofTechnology, Faculty of Architecture and SpatialPlanning, Department of Spatial Development,Infrastructure and Environment Planning, sectionSociology (ISRA), Vienna, Austria;dangschat(at)srf.tuwien.ac.at

Liliana Donath; Prof. Dr., University of the WestTimişoara , Faculty of Economic Science and BusinessAdministration, 16 Pestalozzi str., Timisoara, Romania;lilidonath(at)yahoo.com


Keith Doubt; Prof., Wittenberg University, SociologyDepartment, Springfield, Ohio, USA;kdoubt(at)gmail.com

Nail Farkhatdinov; Prof. for Fundamental Sociology,State University - Higher School of Economics,Moscow, Russia; Farkhatdinov(at)gmail.com

Kenneth F. Ferraro; Prof. of Sociology, PhD; PurdueUniversity, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2059, USA;765.494.4707 , ferraro(at)purdue.edu

Alexander F. Filippov; Prof.; Head of the Centre forFundamental Sociology, The State University – HigherSchool of Economy, Moscow, Russia;filippov-af(at)yandex.ru

Robert Fine; Prof., Department of Sociology ,University of Warwick, Coventry CV47AL, UK;R.D.Fine(at)warwick.ac.uk

Waltraud Finster; Assoc. Prof.; Innsbruck School ofPolitical Science and Sociology, Innsbruck, Austria;waltraud.finster(at)uibk.ac.at

Joachim Fischer; Dr, Department of Sociology,University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany;Joachim.Fischer(at)tu-dresden.de

Jürgen Fleiß; candidate, Department of Sociology,University of Graz, Universitätsstrasse 15, A-8010Graz, Austria; Tel. 0650-5103887, juergen.fleiss(at)edu.uni-graz.at

Stefan Fornos Klein; Ph.D. candidate; Universidadede São Paulo (USP) – Brazil, Postal address:; R.Oséas Gomes de Oliveira, 595, Parque dos Príncipes –São Paulo (SP), CEP: 05396-290, Brasil (Brazil);sfkstefk(at)yahoo.com

Christian Fuchs; PD Dr., ICT&S Center - AdvancedStudies and Research in Information andCommunication Technologies & Society, University ofSalzburg, Sigmund Haffner Gasse 18, 5020 Salzburg,Austria; Phone +43 662 8044 4823, Fax +43 662 63894800, http://www.icts.uni-salzburg.at/fuchs/,christian.fuchs(at)sbg.ac.at

Jeff Goodwin; Prof. of Sociology; New York University,295 Lafayette Street, Room 4115, New York, NY10012-9605, USA; 212-998-8378; 646-298-7797(mobile); 212-995-4140 (fax),http://www.jeffgoodwin.net; jeff.goodwin(at)nyu.edu

Jens Greve; PD Dr., Fakultät für Soziologie, UniversitätBielefeld, PF 10 01 31, 33501 Bielefeld, Germany; Tel.(**49)-0521-106-3987, jens.greve(at)uni-bielefeld.de

Haldun Gulalp; Prof., Political Science andInternational Relations; Dean, Faculty of Economic andAdministrative Sciences, Director, Center for GlobalStudies, Yildiz Technical University, Besiktas 34349,Istanbul, TURKEY; Tel: +90 (212) 259 5221,hgulalp(at)yildiz.edu.tr

P.Paolo Guzzo; Prof. Dr., University of Palermo, Italy;guzzo(at)unical.it

Eleonóra Hamar; Dr, Faculty of Arts, MasarykU n i v e r s i t y , B r n o , C z e c h R e p u b l i c ;hamar(at)phil.muni.cz

Rasco Hartig-Perschke, M.A.; Hamburg University ofTechnology (TUHH), Institute of Technology andSociety (ITG), W-5, Schwarzenbergstraße 95, 21071Hamburg-Harburg, Germany; Phone: +49 40 428783737, Fax: +49 40 42878 2635, www.tuhh.de/tbg,perschke(at)tu-harburg.de

Kornelia Hauser; Prof. of Sociology and GenderStudies, Universität Innsbruck, Fakultät fürBildungswissenschaften, Liebeneggstr. 8, A-6020Innsbruck, Austria;http://web.utanet.at/hause244,kornelia.hauser(at)uibk.ac.at

Nikita A. Kharlamov; Junior researcher; Center forFundamental Sociology, Institute for Theoretical andHistorical Studies in the Humanities, State University -Higher School of Economics, 12 Petrovka Street, office182, Moscow, Russia, 107031; +7 926 532 8842,nkharlamov(at)hse.ru

Christoph Kirchengast; MA, Innsbruck School ofPolitical Science and Sociology, Innsbruck, Austria;christoph. kirchengast(at)uibk.ac.at

Svetlana Kirdina; Dr Dr, Russian Academy ofSciences, Institute of Economics, 117218 Moscow,Russia; kirdina(at)inecon.ru


Kanakis Leledakis; Panteion University, Athens,Greece; leledakis(at)panteion.gr

Marlene Lentner; MA, Research Institute forVocational Training and Adult Education at theJohannes Kepler University Linz , Weingartshofstraße10, A-4020 Linz, Austria; phone: +43-(0)70-609313-23,fax: +43-(0)70-609313-21, lentner(at)ibe.co.at

Emiliana Mangone; University of Salerno, Departmentof Educational Sciences, Via Ponte don Melillo 84084Fisciano (SA), Italy; tel. +39089962287 fax+39089962129, mobile: +393385202847,emangone(at)unisa.it

Gesa Lindemann; Prof. Dr., Universität Oldenburg,Germany; gesa.lindemann(at)uni-oldenburg.de

Anastasia Marinopoulou; Dr., Associate Editor ofPhilosophical Inquiry Journal, Thucydidou 45, AgiosDimitrios 17343, Athens, Greece;anastasia.marinopoulou(at)gmail.com

Paulin Mbecke; PhD Candidate, WitwatersrandUniversity, Johannesburg, South Africa; SeniorResearcher, CSIR Defence, Peace, Safety & Security,Crime Prevention Research Group, Building 44, MeiringNaudea Road, Brummeria, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa;Tel. 012 841 2231; Fax 012 841 4750,pmbecke(at)csir.co.za

Kevin McSorley; Dr, RN29 board member, Universityof Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK;kevin.mcsorley(at)port.ac.uk

Tamas Meleghy; ao.Univ.Prof. Dr., Innsbruck Schoolof Political Science and Sociology, Innsbruck, Austria;tamas.meleghy(at)uibk.ac.at

Anil Muhurdaroglu; PhD candidate; Cemal NadirSokak 6/3,, 06680 Cankaya, Ankara, TURKEY;anilmuhurdar(at)yahoo.com

Mariam Meynert; Research Assistant, PhD candidate;Department of Education, Box-199, University of Lund,Lund 22100, Sweden; (postal address: Spolegatan 11,Lund S-22220, Sweden), mariammeynert(at)swipnet.se

Heinz-Jürgen Niedenzu; Assoc. Prof. Dr., InnsbruckSchool of Political Science and Sociology, Innsbruck,Austria; heinz-juergen.niedenzu(at)uibk.ac.at

Alaattin Oguz; Research Assistant; Faculty of Arts andSciences, Department of Sociology, Middle EastTechnical University, Inonu Bulvari, 06531,Ankara/Turkey; Office: ++90 312 210 31 35; Gsm: ++90555 489 34 86, alaattin(at)metu.edu.tr

Ian Parenteau; Dr, Département de science politique àl'UQÀM, 4277, rue Fabre, Montréal QC H2J3T5Canada; ian(at)parenteau.info

Seppo Poutanen; Dr.Soc.Sc., Docent; Department ofSociology, University of Turku, Assistentinkatu 7, FIN-20014 University of Turku, Finland; tel. +358 (0)40 7238993; fax +358 (0)2 333 5080, seppou(at)utu.fi

Max Preglau; Prof. Dr., Innsbruck School of PoliticalScience and Sociology, Innsbruck, Austria;max.preglau(at)uibk.ac.at

Werner Reichmann; Dr MA, Universität Konstanz, FBSoziologie und Geschichte, Fach D-46, D-78457Konstanz, Germany; +49-7531-88-2163, Mobil +43-6505146439, werner.reichmann(at)uni-konstanz.de

Roland Robertson; Prof. of Sociology; Director of theCentre for the Study of Globalization, University ofAberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland;r.robertson(at)abdn.ac.uk

Steffen Roth; MA, Center for Management, BerneUniversity of Applied Sciences, Department forBusiness and Administration Studies, P.O. Box 305, CH- 3000 Bern 22; steffen.roth(at)bfh.ch

Markus Schermer; PD Dr., Innsbruck School ofPolitical Science and Sociology, Innsbruck, Austria;markus.schermer(at)uibk.ac.at

Willem Schinkel; Dr, Erasmus University Rotterdam,Netherlands; Schinkel(at)fsw.eur.nl


Philip Selznick; Prof. Emeritus of Law and Sociology,Jurisprudence & Social Policy Program, School of LawUniversity of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, Phone(510) 653-5031; selznick(at)berkeley.edu

Mariana Slavin; University of the West Timisoara,Faculty of Economics, Str. Pestalozzi nr.16, Timisoara,Romania; slavinmariana(at)yahoo.com

Mikhail Sokolov; State University – Higher School ofEconomics (St. Petersburg), Sojuza Pechatnikov 16, St.Petersburg, 190008, Russia; European University at St.Petersburg, , 3 Gagarinskaya street, 191187 St.Petersburg, Russia; tel. +7-812-2755257; fax. +7-812-2755139, msokolov(at)eu.spb.ru

Helmut Staubmann; ao.Univ.Prof. Dr., InnsbruckSchool of Political Science and Sociology, Innsbruck,Austria; helmut.staubmann(at)uibk.ac.at

Daniel Šuber; Dr, University of Konstanz, Departmentof History and Sociology, P.O. Box 5560 D 28, D-78457Konstanz, Germany; Daniel.Suber(at)uni-konstanz.de

Csaba Szaló; Dr, RN29 board member, MasarykUniversity, Brno, Czech Republic;szalo(at)fss.muni.cz

Ehud Toren; Jerusalem, Israel. Nina Toren; Prof., School of Business Administration,The Hebrew University Jerusalem 9195, Tel: 02-5881068; Fax: 5881341, Home, Nayot 36, Jerusalem93704, Israel; Tel:12-6791290; Fax:6791457,msntoren(at)mscc.huji.ac.il

Hirofumi Utsumi; Dr, Otemon Gakuin University, 1-15,Nishiai 2-chome, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-8502, Japan; Tel:072-641-7627; Fax: 072-643-9432,utsumih(at)gmail.com

Frédéric Vandermoere; Dr, Ghent University, Dept. ofSociology, Korte Meer 5, 9000 Gent, Belgium; Tel:0032.486.400.735, Frederic.Vandermoere(at)Ugent.be

Friso van Houdt; Msc, PhD Candidate, ErasmusUniversity Rotterdam, Faculty of Social Sciences,Room M6-35, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, TheNetherlands; vanhoudt(at)fsw.eur.nl

Gilles Verpraet; Dr, RN29 board member, ChercheurCNRS, 59 rue Pouchet, 75017 Paris, France;verp(at)ehess.fr

Paula-Irene Villa; Prof. Dr., LMU München, Institut fürSoziologie, Konradstr. 6, 80801 München, Germany;Paula.Villa(at)soziologie.uni-muenchen.de

Mary Vogel; Dr, Visiting Fellow, Rothermere AmericanInstitute, University of Oxford; Reader; School of Law,King's College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS,UK; Tel.: 0044-(0)20 7848 1121,mary.vogel(at)kcl.ac.uk

Tomoko Watarai; PhD Fellow; LMU München, Institutfür Soziologie, Konradstr. 6, 80801 München, Germany;tomoko_watarai(at)ybb.ne.jp

Frank Welz; Dr, RN29 coordinator, Director of studies;Innsbruck School of Political Science and Sociology,Innsbruck, Austria; frank.welz(at)uibk.ac.at

Jan Winczorek; Dr, Department of Sociology of Law,Warsaw University, postal address:; UniwersytetWarszawski, Wydzial Prawa i Administracji, KatedraSocjologii Prawa, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland; jan.winczorek(at)aster.pl


abstracts

Zeynep Alemdar Istanbul, Turkey

Working and Middle Class Perceptions of theEuropean Union: Case of Turkey

Domestic civil society organizations (CSOs) that do nothave access to their states transcend nationalboundaries and use international organizations (IOs) inorder to bring pressure upon their states. Thesetransnational interactions transform in parallel with thechanges in the domestic political scene and in thedomestic and international organizations’ ownstructures. This paper attempts to explicate thesechanges through a class perspective, recently a rareeffort. Through a structured focused case study, thepaper examines two types of Turkish CSOs, threeworkers organizations, and three women’s groups(taken as the representatives of middle class), and

their interactions with the European Union. Given therestrictive legal framework imposed on the TurkishCSOs and the EU’s liberal provisions for those, it islogical to suggest that CSOs will appeal to the EU topush the Turkish government to change its policies.Contrary to expectations, however, some women’sgroups, choose not to appeal to the EU, arguing thattying their cause to the EU would limit their organizationto a certain agenda. Turkish trade unionconfederations, on the other hand, appeal to the EU,depending on the organization’s position towards theEU membership. Thus, the working class and middleclass have different approaches towards the EU. Thispaper attempts to explain the reasons of theseattitudes, in an effort to provide new insights about thenature of these relationships, thereby, asking newquestions about the transnationality of domestic socialmovements.

J. I. (Hans) Bakker Guelph, Canada

“The Unity of Sociological Theory: A PeircianSemiotic Meta-Paradigm as the OverarchingPerspective”

Fragmentation, specialization and sub-disciplinary“sections” in every nation-state make sociology appearas many disparate subfields. Meta-theories (Ritzer2008: A-1) which attempt to be reflexive about thatdiversity result in three “end products.” Ritzer labelsthose ideal type model (ITM) results of Meta-theory: (1.)M-u, (2.) M-p and (3.) M-o. This paper is a contributionto M-o, Meta-theorizing to produce overarchingperspective. The overarching perspective can be accomplished bymoving from a Cartesian dualist to a Peircian triadicepistemology. Bakker’s version of Peircian neo-modernsemiotic epistemology is labeled the INSOR Meta-Paradigmatic model. The model is explained andseveral false dilemmas are critiqued. This level of M-oMeta-theory is only possible if we read Kuhn carefully

and apply Post-Peircian insights (Deely 2001). Earlierwork by Bakker has attempted to apply a PeircianSemiotic Meta-Paradigm to the study of “the semioicsof the book” and “symbolic interactional semiotics of theClub DJ.” But there is a need to further explicate theMeta-theory. Even the notion of a “Meta-Paradigm” thatgoes beyond Cartesian dualism is difficult for manysociologists to fully grasp. We are so used to thinking interms of the relationship between a “subject” (Galileo)and an “object” (the moon) that we forget thatDescartes’ epistemology and ontology is a limitedproduct of his time and place. Peirce’s notion of the“sign” is much more universal. Moreover, the neglect oflate Medieval Scholasticism means that Early Modernaxiomatic assumptions are often reflected in twenty-firstcentury social science. Even much of what passes asPostmodern social theory in sociology and in CulturalStudies is still firmly locked into de Saussure’sCartesian assumptions about signification. Peirciansemiotics has to be differentiated from Frenchsemiologie as well as Cartesianism.


Jan Balon Prague, Czech Republic

Theoretical Research in Sociology: Its Conditionsof Possibility

In my paper I concentrate on the problem of theoreticalexplanatory models in sociology. My intention is to mapand critically analyze both the argument againsttheoretical forms of explanation and the argument re-constructively adopting and revising classical, modernand contemporary sociological theories of action. Thequestions, I am addressing, are the following: how is(sociological) explanation of action possible, and how isit, today, possible to dismantle the problematicalrelation between general theory and experience?Historically, I take Parsonsian project of general actiontheory, and consequent attempts at the reconstructionand revision of Parsonsian theory, as a key reference.However, the intention is not to call for a renewal ofsociology in the form of Parsonsian type of theorizing,

but conduct a detailed study of reconstructivetheoretical explanatory models, their contradictions andconditions of possibility. My paper considers theconcept of action to be a central category of socialinquiry: it intends to delineate the challenged object of ageneral theory of action, analyze the conditions andprerequisites of general explanatory schemas andintegrate them into a theoretical explanatory model. Mykey point is to take sociological theory of action as anexample of a viable theoretical approach, allowing toaddress the problems of theory construction bothsystematically and analytically. I argue that thedissolution of sociological theory is not in sight, since itgenerated a certain conceptual framework withoutwhich sociology would be fundamentally incomplete.

Gabriel Barhaim Netanya, Israel

On the Imbalance of the Present Private and PublicSphere

The paper is concerned with the imbalance of thecontemporary private and public sphere andconsequently the role played by the public morality andits cultural discourses as a result of this asymmetry.The argument is based on Peter Berger’s statementthat the private sphere is deinstitutionalized while thepublic sphere is over institutionalized. In the paper I putforward the idea that as a result of the transference of

functions from family to other institutions both sphereshave radically changed.The public sphere has becomea private oriented public sphere while the privatesphere has been transformed into a vulnerable andpowerless environment. Two main sets of functionshave been shifted from the private to the public:emotional and body functions.The construction of bothspheres has been taking place around this shifting. Thepaper sets out to analyze the implications emergingwhen private needs once met by the family are nowserviced by public organizations. Especially, theconcern is with the empowerment of public moralitiesand individuals’vulnerabilties to their imperatives.

Henning Bech Copenhagen, Denmark

Some Pitfalls of Critical Sociology: An overview oftrends during the last 20 years

Surveying the theoretical landscape of the last 20 yearsof “critical sociology”, it appears that it is largelydominated by a number of “paradigms”. Among theseare negativism, intersectionalism, politologism,discursivism, lacanianism, and monoperspectivism à lamode (be it Habermas, Foucault light, Luhman,

Feminism, Bourdieu or Latour), often in some kind ofalliance. The paper aims at specifying thecharacteristics of these theoretical frameworks as wellas their strengths and weaknesses. Further, somealternatives will be discussed.


Michael Beetz Jena, Germany

The Autology/Ontology-Paradox. On latentstructures of the social theory discourse

The discourse on social theory appears to be anextremely heterogeneous controversy and (besidessome usual themes and topics) therefore seems to barea systematic order or historical logic. Nevertheless, as Isuggest, it contains an implicit difference that constituteits latent unity: a distinction concerning two aspects,which can be called ‘autology’ and ‘ontology’.Reflections about the historical circumstances ofphilosophy and the role of social theory in society areconfronted with an endless debate on the object ofsociology, the existence of social structures andconstruction of cultural realities. The relationshipbetween ideology and scientific objectivity,

understanding (“Verstehen”) versus explanation(“Erklären”) as well as theories versus practices can’tbe discussed without both reclamation of objectivity anda reference to cultural contexts of social theory. Sowhat seems to be a theory is always a performance too.Furthermore, I will argue, the first (and maybe only)program of social theory that postulates an explicitsolution to the autology/ontology-paradox was AugusteComte’s positivism. Comte’s scientific systemestablished rigid distinction between social and physicalworld as well as between social and biological life and(quite similar to that of Herbert Spencer) it claimedstrong political pretensions. As a matter of course theirintrinsic consequence went beyond the professionalscope of academic standards. Comte’s and Spencer’sideas couldn’t be ignored, but for all their influenceweren’t they acceptable for social theory in general. So,in a structural sense, they both fulfill the function ofscapegoats.

Dieter Bögenhold Bolzano, Italy

Hazards and Challenges for Sociology: NewConfigurations in Social Sciences Claim NewDomains within the Academic Division of Work

Sociology as academic term and area exists alreadysince about 120 years, depending on definition. Sincethe middle of 20* Century a continuous increase ofsociology has occurred in which the field has multipliedwith respect to topics and related subfields and topeople being involved. In that course the question hascome up if sociology is still a homogenous unit or if onehas to talk about sociological disciplines. The claim forfostering interdisciplinary research which we findnowadays reflects the diagnosis that our islands ofshared knowledge have become too fragmented. Withrespect to social theory increasing talk about a need fora „dialogical turn" (Levine) is on the agenda whichclaims more basic discussion on sociology within thedivision of the academic landscape of social sciences.Especially, the relationship of sociology to history,psychology, or economics has to be explored moredetailed in order to locate the sociological positionwithin the "space-time-matrix" (Wallerstein). What is theconcrete object when talking sociology ? Is their a

common approach including inductive versusdeductive methods or empirism versus abstracttheorizing ? Is there a specific social object which canbe considered as being an exclusive research domainof sociology in relation to "neighbouring subjects" ?Finally, is sociology primarily a clear subject, a researchmethod or a philosophical-political program ? The papertries to take up those questions more systematicallycombining them with the development of sociology forthe last 100 years and by highlighting the links tohistory, economics and psychology. What appears tobe interesting is that in those other academic subjectsthe same discussions can be found claiming foropening and reintegration processes into the oppositedirections. New assessments come up which providehazards as well as chances for sociology in its currentPerformance. In times of globally converging dynamics,sociology seems to be at a crossroad towards a keydiscipline theorizing that "sociology matters" on the oneside or of becoming a service Provider for diverseapplied Utilities on the other. A profound sociology ofsociology has to deal with those challenges which areof theoretical nature.


Gerda Bohmann Vienna, Austria

Difference, not Identity! A genuine sociologicalperspective to an old, but nonetheless ongoingproblem: the case of Secularisation

Currently, there are tendencies in Sociology to opt forarrangements with her “neighbour-disciplines” - on thelevel of the discourses, and on the institutional levelalso. The demarcation to other Social Sciences andHumanities becomes so pretty difficult; to constitute an“identity” of the discipline becomes hard. But - is thequestion really “how to find identity”? Or, is not“difference” the decisive question. That is to say: whatare the specific differences of a sociologicalperspective, compared to the others?I think that a genuine sociological perspective is able tohold her ground in reflecting on “classical” problems ofSociology, particularly on those that retain an actualinterest in the dynamic of social change: such as“secularisation” (Max Weber) for example. The

secularisation-thesis represents one of the nucleuses ofsociological theory, but she came under fire by her anti-thesis - the so-called “re-sacralisation”. In mycontribution, I will show that she is able to stand the test- despite of some empirical phenomena (as newspirituality, or politisation of religions), which seems tocontest her profoundly. But we have to start from basicsof sociological recognition, like the convergence of theworld toward humanity, the “historicity” of societies andthe realistic-constructive character of knowledge. Inother words: if we start from the perspective, that hasbeen constitutive for the institutionalisation of Sociologyas discipline, and which remains decisive for theconcept of functional differentiation in modern societies.

Craig Browne Sydney, Australia

From the Sociological Imagination to SocialImaginaries: Multiple Modernities and theParadoxes of Transformation

This paper contends that the most significantconceptual shifts in contemporary social theory arethose associated with the notion of social imaginariesand the perspective of multiple modernities. It will beargued that these should indeed be consideredmutually reinforcing standpoints and that both thenotion of social imaginaries and multiple modernitiesare unique in their capacity to reconsider theproblematiques of classical sociological theory, such ascapitalism, democracy and revolution. According toCharles Taylor, the invoking of civil society by themovements of 1989 drew heavily on the modern socialimaginary of a moral order of mutual benefit and its self-

understanding of the ‘practices and outlooks ofdemocratic self-rule’. Likewise, the analyses of 1989from the perspective of multiple modernities havehighlighted the competing projects of modernisationand the different historical trajectories ofinstitutionalising transformations. By contrast, manyalternate influential perspectives have proven unable tosatisfy the various normative and empirical demands ofsocial theory. It will be argued that postmodernism, therisk society, and globalisation should be regarded asproviding limited insights into the permutations of thecapitalist imaginary and the paradoxes oftransformation. Finally, some of the tensions betweenthe different elaborations of social imaginaries andmultiple modernities will be explored, as the contrastingconceptualisations seem to reflect differences in theassessment of the relationships between religion anddemocracy, capitalism and civil society.


Tine Buffel Brussels, Belgium

Local social networks and the elderly: Theoreticalperspectives

The paper focuses on the relationship between socialnetworks and the connection with a territory or placefrom a theoretical perspective. The main aim is toexamine how these issues are addressed and studiedfrom an elderly person’s perspective. Firstly, we showthat the increased popularity of questions concerningthe relationship between social capital and theneighbourhood has not seen similar increased interestin life-span or gerontological issues in communityresearch. Although, community attachment andbelonging appear to be important aspects of theexperience of growing old. Second, the paper offers areview of a broad range of literature examining theinteraction between elderly people and their immediateliving environment. We demonstrate that the majority ofthe gerontological research into the person-environment relationship can be divided into 3categories, respectively focusing on the physical (the

built environment), the psychological (placy identity)and the social dimension. In the last category, theneighbourhood is considered as a social space and astarting point for participation and social interaction. Weshow that in most of the network-theoretical researchapproaches focusing on the social dimension, personalneighbouring networks are studied as help and supportsystems. The focus is then on the characteristics of thesocial network (notably size and composition) andwhich aspects of help and support are beneficial to thewell-being of elderly people. To conclude, we contrastthese network-analytical approaches with othertheoretical perspectives, criticizing the study ofcommunity as real, demonstrable, countablerelationships that are important when using resources.In the discussion we argue that it could be fruitful tolook for transversal connections between the broaderestablishment of theories concerning social capital,community and neighbourhood and gerontologicalperspectives.

Nilgun Celebi Ankara, Turkey

Is "Socius" better than "Society"?

The aim of my paper is to introduce concept of "socius"instead of "society" as very subject matter of sociology.As long as I am concerned in sociology we need a newconception the one which will cover all humangatherings in any time and space to come over thediversification not only in sociology but almost in allsocial sciences. Now, each branch of sociology tries toexamine a single piece of social reality thinking that itsmain source is the modern society or the civic aspect ofnation-state. Actual society is seen as main laboratoryby other social sciences also. Even many historians seeclassical and medieval times as a prelude for main(final?) stage of social evolution. However, we knowvery well that society is a time-space bound conception.

It belongs to modern times. Its birth place is westernEurope and its birth date is close to birth date of nation-states. I think a science should have more solid,durable soils to stand on. Concept such as "socialsystem" is not enough since it has boundary problemseven if it doesn't call closed systems into minds. "Socialstructure " would be better one but it couldn't introduceany satisfactory premise for both social and collectivepersonalities. Although very tentatively, I reckon that"socius" may be better than these conceptions assubject matter of sociology. It means "humangatherness". Its main premise is this: Human beingsare sociable. I think if we use "socius" as umbrellaconception for all human gatherings then we do findsmoother roads to reach from one science to anotherfrom one branch of sociology to another.


Daniel Chernilo Santiago, Chile

Between Social Theory and Natural Law: The Caseof Karl Löwith

The relationship between natural law and social theoryhas not been at the centre of scholarly debates in eithertradition and this paper seeks to explore this connectionwith the help of Karl Löwith. Indeed, Löwith’s way intosocial theory is duly associated with his subtle yet briefMax Weber and Karl Marx. But an equally noticeablefeature of his work is that this interest in social theorywas, if not short-lived, at least marginal in terms of hisown wider intellectual preoccupations. My starting pointin this piece is precisely to use his ‘outsider’s view’ tolook at the relationships between social theory and thetradition of natural law. On the one hand, in Meaning inHistory Löwith is not taken aback by social theory’s self-affirmation and sense of novelty and rupture. He is

sceptic of social theory’s justifications of secular humanprogress and argues that social theory has become tooinfatuated with its own alleged novelty. But on the otherhand, these crucial insights come at a heavy price asLöwith tends to underplay the differences andexaggerate the communalities between social theoryand natural law. The former, for him, effectively mirrorsin secular terms the religious dogmas of the latter. Theoverall assessment of his work is ambivalent becausewhereas Löwith must be duly commended for havingfirmly established the connection between bothtraditions the substantive result of his reconstructionlooks problematic in so far as he ends up dissolvingsocial theory into the modern form of natural law.

Rodrigo Cordero Warwick, UK

Is there still a sociology of crisis? Rethinking thenotion of crisis in sociological theory

The notion of crisis has played a major role in thesociological imagination. Indeed, in canonical sociologycrisis was a central element for the temporal descriptionand critique of modernity; even more, this concernabout crisis has never abandoned sociology. However,crisis has become a notion naïvely incorporated intheoretical and empirical research merely as a 'catch-all-word' and 'light metaphor' for describing the present.The paper contends that despite the essential role ofcrisis in sociology's historical vision, it is quite clear that-especially since the 1970s and 1980s- there is a lackof confidence and scepticism about the necessity of atheory of crisis itself, which could let us speak of the"crisis of crisis theory in sociology". The current senseis that crisis is part of the intellectual history of

sociology but not an important theoretical concept anylonger. Accordingly, sociology has privileged the use ofthis notion rather as a semantic for describing its ownepistemological disorder and lack of theoreticalconsensus. In this context, the paper addresses threemain concerns: a) why does the concept of crisis seemto be not significant for sociology anymore?, b) is atheory of crisis still relevant and possible withinsociology?, c) how to recover an strong and dynamicconcept of crisis? In doing so, the paper discusses themain characteristics of classical theories of crisis insociology, the elements behind the decline of crisistheory and criticizes some of its contemporaryreplacements, such as theories of exception and globalrisk.


Jens S. Dangschat Vienna, Austria

The difference that space makes …

Social theory is – generally speaking – a-spatial. Thereare, of course, classical works by Simmel and Eliaswho started to underpin the social meaning of placesand space. Moreover, Giddens argued, after havingdetected the time geography, that there should be nosociology without space. His view on space, however,is tightly connected with an understanding of space likea container, i.e. as a box that can be disconnected fromits content like people, infrastructures, nature etc. Doingso, he was meeting more or less the former state of theart of urban and regional sociology, which eitherneglected space as always present or where followingthe container view (like human geography).

Following a debate among German social scientists onthe meaning of places and the development of atheoretical term ‘space’ from the early 1980s onwards,the paper develops a macro-meso-micro model ofspace which integrates conditions of the production of

places/ territories (‘place making’, P. Healey) (macro)as much as the re-construction of socio-spatial scenesby individuals and their spatial behaviour (‘spacing’ – M.Löw) based on their socialisation and social position(micro). On the meso level it is concentrated on specificplaces under empirical research and followsphenomenons like segregation, integration, use ofpublic space etc.

The last aspect concentrates on the question of thecompetition for attractive sites and among places likecities and regions. Based on the structure-habitus-practise of reproduction formula of social inequalities byPierre Bourdieu (shp model), there will be developed adouble shp model, explaining the production andreproduction of places to stabilise interest systems. Thecore of the concept will be defined by the ‘habitus ofplace’, an understanding of value systems embedded inplaces as result of collective learning in situ whichserves independent from the existing actors which arere-defining this local habitus

Liliana Donath & Mariana Slavin Timişoara, Romania

Tax compliance. A behavioural approach

Behavioural finance is a relatively new research area ofeconomy. Though its promoter, Joseph Schumpetermade attempts to use aspects concerning behaviouralaspects in his studies, the subject did not become fertileuntil the late ‘70s. It studies the financial behaviour ofvarious entities (individuals, firms, groups,governments, society) by using o mixture of economicand psychological investigations. The issue that israised concerns mainly the reaction of economicsubjects to the changes perceived in the level andnature of determinants that govern marketmechanisms, the tax system, the determinants thatdrive saving and investing incentives, the attitudetoward risk, etc.Traditionally, economic research uses neutral methodsto explain attitudes, disregarding emotional reactions.

From a certain point of view, the neoclassical theorydeclared itself as being „anti behavioural”. But, on theother hand, in the decision making process thepsychological foundation, the culture, education, as wellas moral, ethics, the historical environment becomeextremely important in analysing economic incentives. The paper attempts to trace the most importantbehavioural and sociological determinants of taxcompliance that add to those already extensivelyidentified by the rational economy.

The choice of the subject was inspired by everydayreality suggesting that tax payers are influenced in theirdecision whether to fully pay their debts toward thegovernment or to try to evade, by withdrawing a part oftheir income from taxation.The paper tries to identify the main sources ofbehaviour concerning the tax compliance given the factthat this attitude differs greatly among communities andcountries. Its originality consists in revealing the maindeterminants of tax compliance given the experience ofdifferent nations.


Keith Doubt Wittenberg, USA

On the Non-tenability of Evil as Action

Is evil action? In the framework of empirical logic, thenull hypothesis is that evil is not action. While evilexists, it does not exist as action. Plato, Martin Buber,C. S. Lewis all take this position. The alternativehypothesis is that evil is action. As action, evil is radicaland powerful. The alternative hypothesis is the onemost widely accepted in popular culture and scholarlydiscourse. In sociology, Jeffery Alexander and ThomasCushman support the alternative hypothesis. To acceptthe alternative hypothesis, it is necessary, I argue, to

explain how evil correlates not with one but with eachelement of Talcott Parsons’ action frame of reference. If, for example, evil were action, its logical end wouldbe sociocide, the killing of society, a neologism. Evil,though, does not establish relationships, except therelationship of randomness. Evil instead results in theloss of human togetherness, exactly what social actionsustains and develops. This study revisits thesignificance of the action frame of reference insociological theory; it tests the alternative hypothesis,not with experimental research, but with the rhetoricalmethodology that Kenneth Burke calls "perspective byincongruity."

Nail Farkhatdinov Moscow, Russia

Painting as a sociological phenomenon

Although different methodological approaches exist insociology of art equally, they give us the sameperspective of consideration of art. Art is often reducedto the things that play significant role in social life, butare not appropriate to the essence of art. From thispoint of view art is something external. In theseperspectives we learn about social conditions of artproduction, power, institutions etc, but they areirrelevant to art, when we have to investigate art initself, its nature. Some of these theories are discussedin the paper. I pay more attention to one of themethodological programs of sociology of art – the field

of art by Pierre Bourdieu. I discuss the possibilities andlimitations that sociology provides by the example ofBourdieu. So the main requirement to sociologicaltheories of painting is not to exclude art specifies, but toinclude them into the sociological conceptualization ofart. Finally I discuss ways of overcoming the limits oftraditional approaches to art. I solve these problems byemphasizing the act of perception of painting andconstructing sociology of painting. One of these ways isto revise the classical sociological approach on thewhole and to find out the obstacles to constructsociology of art, which will concern with the nature of artitself in sociological sense.

Kenneth F. Ferraro West Lafayette, USA

Time and Cumulative Inequality Theory:Demographic and Developmental Processes

Cumulative inequality theory is new set of axioms andpropositions designed to explain life course stratificationprocesses such as allocation and accumulatedadvantage. Central to studying such processes isrecognizing the importance of timing in how individualsare exposed to risks and benefits and interpretreasonable courses of action. The purpose of thispaper is to explicate temporal processes forunderstanding the accumulation of inequality over thelife course and within societies.According to cumulative inequality theory, socialsystems generate inequality, which is manifested overthe life course via demographic and developmentalprocesses. Time is central to both processes becauseit enables one to identify the onset and duration ofexposures. Demographic processes

are set in historical time, with opportunity and riskembedded in macrosocial structures. Developmentalprocesses are set in biographical time and are highlydependent on perceptions of one’s life trajectory.People have a sense of how they are doing, and thissense influences their subsequent actions.Drawing from pioneering works in symbolicinteractionism, I articulate how diachronic processesare central to interpretations of accumulated inequalityand one’s life chances. I argue that perceived lifetrajectories are inherently social comparisons and thatfavorable trajectories are associated with greater self-efficacy and a more strategic approach to the future.By attending to diachronic evaluations, cumulativeinequality theory privileges the structure/agencydialectic for the study of human development andstratification processes.


Alexander F. Filippov Moscow, Russia

Analysis of social events as a theoreticalperspective

What sociologists do observe? Nobody has ever seen asystem, an institute or even a (the) society or socialaction. We have to infer from what we see to what weonly pretend to see in our researches. Our concepts areour optical devices that at once enable and disable usto see what happens. The concepts being constructedin and embedded into a consistent theory do allow us toget always only a restricted access to reality. So, thequestion about the basic level of sociologicalconceptualization is so important. It is the questionabout the interface between theory as a sensitizingscheme and reality as what should be theoretically

placed outside theory, however deficient this distinctionmay be. My suggestion is that social event be theconcept both enabling us to register the most relevantfacts of sociological observation and get access to awide range of resources of theoretical sociology. Eventis an element, a unit of sociality – however always in atheoretically grounded perspective of observation.Sociality, as far as it can be observed, consists ofevents and can be analyzed further and further till wearrive at the level of temporarily shortest and spatiallymostly restricted events. From here we can go up, tothe complicated figurations of events. The theories ofG. H. Mead, E. Goffman, H. Garfinkel and N. Luhmannshould be re-interpreted and to some extent integratedas the theories of events.

Robert Fine Warwick, UK

Social theory against antisemitism: reflections oncurrent trends

The classics of social theory offered an alternative wayof thinking about the pathologies and costs of modernityto that provided by antisemitic writers. For example,one aspect of Marx's critique of Bauer, Proudhon,Duehring and Bakunin lay in his rejection of theirantisemitism. An analogous comment could be madefor Weber, Durkheim and Simmel. In Europe todaysocial theory is once again beginning to confront thequestion of antisemitism. Some theorists of 'newantisemitism' see it as an imminent threat to the

European project. Some theorists of what I would call'post-antisemitism' largely deny the existence ofantisemitism in the post-Holocaust age. And some inthe 'postnationalist' tradition of Habermas take a middleposition: they take the threat of antisemitism seriouslybut see the construction of the new Europe as capableof meeting and defeating this threat. My paper takes offfrom an analysis of the pivotal and neglected role ofclassical sociology in resisting antisemitic ways ofthinking in the age of imperialism and then considersthe main currents of contemporary socio-theoreticalanalysis of antisemitism in Europe in order to compareand contrast them with the classical heritage.


Joachim Fischer Dresden, Germany

Figurations of the Third. Consideration of anInnovation in Social Theory

All humanities and social sciences (since they appearas a specific group of academic disciplines) require asocial theory (or theory of intersubjectivity) as a keytheory epistemologically as well as ontologically.Sociology as a key discipline of this group of sciencesoffers such a social theory. The relevance of the“otherness” (“alterity”, “ego-alter ego”, “doublecontingency”) distincts humanities and social sciencesfrom other disciplines: the natural science (approachingits “object” (nature) in a subject-object-relationship), thephilosophy (transcendental approach within self-relationship of subjectivity) and theology (approachwithin the relevation of the extramundane Third). The well elaborated social theory of the “Other”(“Verstehen”, “Anerkennung”) is accompanied by theturn to the “Third” - the mundane “Third” - withindifferent disciplines of the humanities and socialsciences (especially linguistics, psychology, literarystudies, sociology). Thus my paper concentrates ondistinguishing and systematizing four arguments, whichpush forward the turn to the Third as a methodological

and ontological innovation at the basis of social theory:1. The argument of formal communication in language:By a merely dyadic theory of intersubjectivity the entiresystem of personal pronouns (as a core ofcommunication roles of every language) could notmade accessible (N. Elias)2. The material argument of family or triangulation:Human socialisation is only possible and completed by“triangulation” (internalization of the third perspective)(Freud, Lacan etc.)3. The argument of transition from interaction toinstitution: The social theory needs the figure of thepersonal Third in order to reconstruct the phenomenonof “institution” or “system” or “discourse”.(Berger/Luckmann, Z. Baumann)4. The argument concerning the richness of the Third:Literature tells that every socio-cultural world alreadyconfigurates itself in a lot of structures (translator,messenger, rival, trickster, mediator, judge, scapegoat,coalition, “the real winner”, agent, divide et impera,parasite, majority/minority), which neither cannot beexplained by a merely dyadic interaction nor need afourth (party/person). (G. Simmel, Th. Caplow).

If these four arguments, which cannot be reduced toeach other, are able to establish the figure of themundane Third or “tertiary” (“Tertiarität”) in the basicsocial theory, one can draw consequences for themethodical and ontological innovation of the humanitiesand the social sciences. By this basical operation socialtheory can keep together this group of sciences in abetter way than before.

Stefan Fornos Klein Sao Paolo, Brazil

The concept of critique among thecontemporaneous sociological debate

The main issue of the hereby-proposed paper is toaddress myself to the possibility and relevance ofcontinuously propagating social theory among thecontemporaneous sociological research, concentratingon one major topic. Although nowadays the viewpointthat has been formerly known as critical social theory isuttermost less valued in this debate, I shall presentarguments for maintaining a critical standpoint in face ofthe recent theoretical developments. It goes withoutsaying that it is not an intention of such an approach tomerely stick to previously elaborated assumptions butbesides to question some of their postulates in as far asthis seems significant.

Specifically for my part I turn to this question amidsociology of education, in relation to which, at least inBrazil, the sociologists have partially distancedthemselves leaving a great part of the debate toeconomists, psychologists and pedagogues. Withoutinquiring about whether their contribution is important, itis crucial to stress that a critical sociological perspectiveis essential to this contest and shall, therefore, not beforfeited. To illustrate this point I aim at focusing onmethodological issues among the interpretation of morerecent changes happening throughout higher educationand claim in favor of its treatment from a dialecticalstance, thereby centering attention on thecontradictions inherent to a large part of theseprocesses.


Christian Fuchs Salzburg, Austria

Critical Social Theory in the Age of the Internet

This presentation introduces a framework for thetheoretical and critical analysis of the relationship ofInternet and society. It points out the main theoreticalframework concepts employed in the book "Internet andSociety: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Fuchs2008, Routledge). Starting point is dialecticalphilosophy, which is a applied in order to ground acritical theory of society, which in turn is applied to

contemporary society. The basic framework concept isbased on dialectics of structures and actors, essenceand existence, continuity and discontinuity.Contemporary society is conceptualized astransnational informational capitalism. Based on thedialectical logic of essence, an antagonism between co-operation and competition is seen as being constitutivefor capitalism, and as getting deepened in the age ofthe Internet. It is argued that co-operation is theessence of society and that capitalism in general andtransnational informational capitalism in particular is analienation of human existence from its essence.

Jeff Goodwin New York, USA

The Strange Disappearance of Capitalism from theSociology of Social Movements

Capitalism and political economy were importantexplanatory factors in many of the seminal studies ofsocial movements by U.S. sociologists during the1970s. The theoretical ideas in this important body ofwork (including books by Michael Schwartz, Piven andCloward, Charles Tilly, Theda Skocpol, and DougMcAdam) broke sharply with earlier (mainly social-psychological) theories of collective action. However,more recent studies of movements and contentiouspolitics have largely ignored the enabling andconstraining effects of capitalism and political economy.This strange disappearance of capitalism from socialmovement studies is presumably linked to the declininginfluence of Marxism and other radical perspectives in

U.S. universities during the 1980s and 1990s. Ironically,as global capitalism became more powerful, it alsobecame more invisible to scholars of popularmovements. In this paper, however, we are lessconcerned with the causes of this invisibility than withits deleterious analytical consequences for the study ofpopular politics. The neglect of political economy mightbe justified by the fact that most of the contemporarysocial movements that U.S. and other sociologistsstudy are not centrally concerned with economic, labor,or work-place issues and thus have nothing or little todo with capitalism. We argue, however, that even thosemovements that do not represent classes or makeprimarily economic demands are still powerfully shapedby capitalism. Our paper enumerates the main ways inwhich capitalism shapes and constrains a range ofmovements and political conflicts.

Jens Greve Bielefeld, Germany

Emergence, reduction and the causal impact ofinstitutions

There is a broad consensus in many social theories thatsocial phenomena are “emergent” phenomena thatresist reduction to individuals and their beliefs andactions. The concept of emergence thus seems to offera concept that unites currents in sociological thoughtthat are otherwise diverse, like system-theory andstructural-individualism in rational choice theory. In thefirst part of the paper the three claims made byemergentism, (1) that there is no social reality withoutindividuals (2) that they are nevertheless irreduciblesocial properties and (3) that these properties are ableto exert their own causal influences on individuals(Archer 1995: 148; Sawyer 2005: 65ff.), are criticized.By using an argument from the philosophy of mind thatJaegwon Kim brought forward against a parallel ideaabout physical and mental states (Kim 2005), it can bedemonstrated that the idea of irreducible causal powersof social properties has to be refuted. This criticismrests on a simple consideration: If social properties

have to be realized in individuals (according to 1), thecausal powers of social properties have to be thecausal powers of individuals. The second part of thepaper scrutinizes a consequence of this criticism. Ifsocial causality rests in individuals how can we takeaccount of the fact that given institutions often shapeindividual actions? I’m going to argue that we canaccommodate this idea by understanding institutionsindividualistically as mutual expectations about thebehaviour of others. The rules that follow from this exerttheir causal influence by situational individualinterpretations. The empirical adequacy of thisperspective will be demonstrated by a looking at arecent study on corruption and violence in Germanyand Latin America (Schmid 2007).

Archer, Margaret (1995): Realist social theory: themorphogenetic approach. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.Kim, Jaegwon (2005): Physicalism, or Something NearEnough. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Sawyer, R. Keith (2005): Social Emergence. Societiesas Complex Systems. New York: Cambridge UniversityPress.


Schmid, Carola (2007): Korruption, Gewalt und die Weltder Polizisten. Deutschalnd, Chile, Bolivien undVenezuela im Vergleich. Frankfurt a.M.: Vervuert.

Haldun Gulalp Istanbul, Turkey

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Dilemma and the TurkishSolution

Rousseau’s normative theory, distinguishing betweenthe “will of all” and the “general will,” contains aninternally insoluble dilemma. The will of all is the sum ofparticular wills (private interests), whereas the generalwill represents society’s collective interest and istherefore qualitatively superior as democraticexpression. But Rousseau does not propose any modeof determining the general will other than voting, whichmay (and indeed, does) generate nothing but the will ofall. While Rousseau is aware of this pitfall, hetautologically assumes the problem away.

Hence, governments either rely on the democratic voteto determine the general will, and thereby risk theundesirable outcome of only eliciting the sum ofparticular wills, or they forgo the democratic process todetermine the general will through some other means

and unilaterally declare it. Rousseau, a democrat, findsthe latter solution unacceptable. He thus has no choicebut to unsatisfactorily theorize that it is possible to askthe citizens not what their particular wills are, but whatthey think the general will should be.

Turkey’s republican ideology was deeply influenced byRousseau’s political theory, and Turkish nationalism byEmile Durkheim’s sociological theory, both of whichemphasize the organic unity of society. Historical andcontemporary evidence reveals that the Turkishsolution to Rousseau’s dilemma, i.e., to the question ofhow to institute liberal democracy and still maintain thenotion of a singular national interest, has been tocircumscribe the field of political choice, so that certainstate institutions monopolize the meaning andsubstance of the “general will,” while political partiescompete on the composition of the “will of all.”


P. Paolo Guzzo Palermo/Calabria, Italy

In Law’s Circle: a KOL study of a group of Siciliansocial workers

Act n.328/2000 reshaped social welfare policy andservices in Italy. Indeed, it shifted many powers fromthe centre to local authorities (Regioni, Comuni,Aziende sanitarie) and endowed professional socialworkers with three functions: welfare co-planning,social control of individual needs, and finallysafeguarding discomforted citizens’ human rights. Thisstudy analyzed a neglected theme in Italian literature onsocial and health services: that of social workers aslegal professionals. As a matter of fact, social workersare exposed to highly variable processes of juridicalacculturation and legal socialization, that could reflect aparticular ethos of social service. A qualitative studywas conducted in 2006-2007 on a group of 197 Siciliansocial workers, based on a modified version of A.Podgorécki (1973) socio-legal technique calledKnowledge and Opinion about Law (KOL). The legalsocialization of social workers is an interesting case ofsociology in action, which can be analyzed through afruitful use of different sociological concepts, such asthat of impact of legal culture (L.M. Friedman, 1975), orthat of therapeutic-professional jurisdiction (E.Freidson,1970; Light, 1995; Huber, 1991; Wexler eWinick, 1995). The study, therefore, focuses on theattitudes, behaviors and ethos of interviewed Siciliansocial workers in their relationships with traditional legalprofessionals (such as judges, lawyers, policemen, civilservants). Therefore, the paper tries to bridge someimportant streams of sociological analysis: sociology ofprofessions, sociology of law and sociology of health..

References (provisional): U. Ascoli (1999), Il welfarefuturo, Carocci, Roma; A. Bartolomei, A.L. Passera(2002), L’assistente sociale, Edizioni CieRre, Roma;Brint (1993), Eliot Freidson’s Contribute to theSociology of Professions, “Work and Occupation”,20:259-278; P. Casey e D. B. Rottman (2000),Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Court, “Behavioral &Science Law” 18(4):445-457, September 2000; A.Febbrajo, A. La Spina, M. Raiteri (a cura di,2006),Cultura giuridica e politiche pubbliche in Italia, Giuffè,Milano; L. M. Friedman (1975), Legal System – ASocial Science Perspective, Russel Sage Foundation,New York; trad. it e introd. G. Tarello, Il sistemagiuridico nella prospettiva delle scienze sociali, IlMulino, Bologna,1978; E. Freidson,(1970) Profession ofMedicine: A Study of the Sociology of AppliedKnowledge, University of Chicago Press, Chicago; P.Guidicini e C. Landuzzi (a cura di,2006), I territori delwelfare. Servizi sociali, regionalizzazione e garanzie,Angeli, Milano; F. Hafferty, and D. Light (1995),Professional Dynamics and the Changing Nature ofMedical Work, “Journal of Health and Social Behavior”Extra Issue: 132–153; P. W. Huber (1991), Galileo’sRevenge: Junk Science in the Courtroom, Basic Books,New York; A. La Spina (1983), Il Modello Normativo delWelfare State. Teoria della Social Policy in GranBretagna, Ila-Palma, Palermo; Id. (2003), La politica peril Mezzogiorno. Le politiche pubbliche in Italia, Il Mulino,Bologna; Id.. (2005), Mafia, legalità debole e sviluppodel Mezzogiorno, Il Mulino, Bologna; D. W.Light (1995),Countervailing powers: A framework for professions intransition, in T. Johnson, G. Larkin e M. Saks(eds.1995), Health professions and the state in Europe,London, Routledge; C. Pennisi et alii (2006),Procedimenti e cultura giuridica nella riforma dellepolitiche sociali in Sicilia, in P. Guidicini e C. Landuzzi(a cura di, 2006), op. cit. pp.43-65; A.Podgorecki et alii(eds.1973), Knowledge and Opinion About Law,London: Robertson; D.Wexler and B. Winick(eds.1995), Law in a Therapeutic Key, CarolinaAcademic Press, Durham (N.Y.)


Eleonóra Hamar Brno, Czech Republic

Social Theory Implied: Articulating the Post-Holocaust Jewish Second Generation

It has been argued recently that intellectual interchangeis needed between Holocaust studies and sociologysince the actual separateness and non-dialogicalrelationship of these fields of knowledge causes blindplaces on both sides. Gerson and Wolf (2007) forexample claims not only that sociology/social theorycan play a crucial role in Holocaust studies, but alsothat Holocaust research might confront the maindevelopments in sociology/social theory. Given that theseparateness of Holocaust studies and sociologyweakens the argumentative force of both of these fieldsthey are calling for their “intellectual cross-fertilization”. Iwould like to question this picture by showing howsocial theory works in the context of post-HolocaustJewish second generation research. I do not mistrust

the reason behind the mentioned call for intellectualinterchange; the underlying principle of this idea isworth of attention. What I cast doubt on is its implicitpresupposition: such an idea seems to presume theexistence of two separate fields of knowledge (that ofHolocaust studies and sociology) which have to bebrought closer to each other after a phase ofdisconnected development. A short analysis of theconcept of post-Holocaust Jewish second generationcan reveal that the very articulation of such a subject isgrounded in social theory. There is no knowledge aboutthe second generation waiting to be cross-fertilizedwhile sociological theories of identity, generations andethnicities were crucial for its constitution as a relevantobject of inquiry.

Rasco Hartig-Perschke Hamburg, Germany

System Properties and the Explanatory Power ofSocial Mechanisms – A Communication-OrientedApproach

Among the various concepts, schemes and modelssociological theory offers for the explanation of socialemergence, there are only a few that have been widelyembraced, even by approaches and paradigms that areusually recognized as exclusive and adverse. One ofthese concepts is the idea of generative andexplanatory mechanisms (Hedström/Swedberg 1998),first introduced by Small (1905), Merton (1949/1968),and Karlsson (1958). The paper reflects the current useof the concept in the wider context of social systemstheory and communication theory with a special focuson the possibilities it offers to explain the structuraldynamics of communication and the emergence of

system properties. Social mechanisms are recurringprocesses, i.e. procedures and practices that reliablygenerate certain associations between certain socialsituations. Reconstructing their structural dynamic, theycan be redefined as sociological mechanisms thatexplain why particular “set-up conditions” usually leadto specific “termination conditions” (Machamer, Darden,Craver 2000). Following Niklas Luhmann’s systemstheory (Luhmann 1984) and Andrew Abbott’s relationalapproach to social theory (Abbott 2001), mechanismsare defined as communicative procedures and distincttypes of reference structures between communicativeevents and sequences. Focussing on the fields of massmedia and public online-communication as areas ofapplication and political scandals as subject matter, thepaper shows (1) how the reproduction of conflictsbetween discourse communities, (2) the indication ofassumed intersubjectivity, (3) the emergence of closedsemantic fields, and (4) the redistribution of socialvisibility contribute to the reproduction of social normsand system properties.

Kornelia Hauser Innsbruck, Austria

Pragmatism and critical Social Theory

In my perception the revival of Pragmatism (a firstreception took place in the 20ies of the 20th century) onthe left wing theoretical side has a lot to do with thesocial conditions or better: with the social change ofsociety. We find totally new structures of economical,social and cultural processes of exclusion.Interdependence and participation – the foundations ofinclusion – are corroding followed by individual isolationand forms of poverty.

First I will give a short overview of the german criticaltheory misunderstanding of American thoughts. Then Iwill review some raw ideas of the new condition ofcapitalism. Finally I will discuss why pragmatism wouldbe an excellent framework for a better understanding.


Nikita A. Kharlamov Moscow, Russia

Urban Environment as a Machine of Modern –Postmodern Transitionin the Light of Georg Simmel’s Sociology

The problem of linking everyday life and large-scalesocial and cultural change lies at the heart ofcontemporary research on postmodernity. Sociologicaltheory has to explain the connection between globalprocesses and mundane human life and understandwhether these processes lead to the emergence of aspecific postmodern everydayness.

The proposed paper is devoted to clarifying thisproblem by juxtaposing it with the problem formulatedby Georg Simmel in «The Metropolis and the MentalLife». I argue that Simmel was primarily concerned withevaluating the large city as the key place of modernityand as its basic environment (rather than withmetropolitan mentality per se). Simmelian problem is

thus one of the general problems of sociology ofmodernity, and it is the problem of where, in what place,in what environment does the transition from traditionalto modern society happen (and where could it be legiblyobserved).Appraisal of Simmelian problem allows forconceptualizing the city as the fundamental mediatingdevice, a «machine» that fuses together different scalesof the social life and routinely constructs elementaryeveryday social interactions and communicative eventsin urban space and urban time. Working this problemout in contemporary theoretical context leads toassigning the central place, that of a ‘bridge’ betweenlarge-scale processes and everyday life, in the modern– postmodern transition to the city and its novel urbanforms and environments. I suggest that properunderstanding of the mediating role of cities is crucial todeveloping sociological theory of postmodern urbaneveryday life.

Svetlana Kirdina Moscow, Russia

Institutional Matrices Theory as Methodology forTheoretical and Empirical Research of RussianSociologists

The paper presents new social Institutional MatricesTheory, created in the early 2000s (Kirdina, 2000,2001), and its application in modern sociologicalresearch. More than 100 articles, theses andmonographs of Russian researchers were studied. Themain sociological disciplines and topics which use the

institutional matrices theory as basic methodology aresingled out. They are - political sociology, comparativesociology and cross-cultural research, social change aswell as analysis of institutions and globalization.Proponents’ and opponents’ positions expressed indiscussions on institutional matrices theory in Russianjournals on Sociology and Economics are analyzed inconclusion.


Kanakis Leledakis Athens, Greece

Psychoanalysis and a Theory of Social Action

Relatively recent contributions to a theory of socialaction have made significant advances over some ofthe problems faced by older approaches:(a) Structure and action can be considered as instancesof a single process rather than as distinct andantithetical entities.(b) Social practice is the level at which the reproductionof society primarily occurs (through social action).(c) The actor is also socially constructed, though neverfully, retaining some degree of autonomy. What is still lacking, however, is a satisfactory accountof the mechanism through which a subject can be seenas socially constructed in the context of the pointsabove.It is in this respect that the psychoanalytic account ofthe psyche can be offer valuable insights. It can beargued that psychoanalysis offers a theory ofstructuring of the initially undifferentiated unconsciousflux of psychical energy. The outcome of this structuringis the emergence of psychical agencies. In Freud's ownaccount these agencies are the ego and the super-ego.

More generally, the structuring can be seen as referringto the social subject. The crucial element, however, isthe mechanism through which this structuring takesplace, namely that of identification. - Identification offersa way of theorising the construction of a socialindividual that transcends the conscious/unconsciousdivide. It refers both to the unconscious internalisationof elements and -at a later stage- to consciousimages/representations, i.e. identities proper. Thusother theories referring generally to internalisation (asG.H. Mead's which has, nevertheless, remarkablesimilarities to Freud's) or only to norms (as in Parsons)can be superseded.Also, the process of identification continues to functionthroughout the individual's life. Therefore theconstruction of the social subject has to be seen not asproducing a given entity, but as creating proclivities anddispositions which structure and orient but notdetermine action. Finally, even in the earlier andunconscious stages of identification a certainrecognition of oneself is always present. Hence thepossibility of self-knowledge and eventually of self-objectification and a level of autonomy can betheorised.The above remain relatively unexplored both withinpsychoanalytic theory and in the context of a widersocial theory. Recognising the significance the conceptof identification can have for a theory of the socialsubject and of social action, can lead to further analysisand elaboration in both domains.

Gesa Lindemann Oldenburg, Germany

The implicit theoretical convergence of action andsystems theories

Systems theories and action theories are oftendescribed as conflicting or incompatible approaches. Iwill unfold an argument, which goes in a differentdirection. Referring to classic action theory (Weber) anda modern version of systems theory (Luhmann) I willargue that these approaches share a commonunderstanding of how to conceptualize socialphenomena. This becomes obvious, if the concepts ofWeber and Luhmann are described in an abstract wayon a meta-theoretical level. I will elaborate theargument with reference to Weber’s concept of “socialrelationships” and his understanding of emergentphenomena: “social forms (soziale Gebilde)” like “legitimate power”. These concepts are compared toLuhmann’s concept of “double contingency” and hisunderstanding of the emergent phenomenon “social

system”. Weber as well as Luhmann work with a two-level-concept of social phenomena. They start with ahighly complex relationship between at least twoentities – human beings/(conscious) systems –structured by mutual expectations and attitudes.Secondly both of them describe emergent phenomena,which evolve from the relationship: social forms(Weber) or systems (Luhmann). By elaborating thisabstract theoretical structure common to bothapproaches, it becomes possible to grasp theirdifferences as variations of an implicit consensus: ashared understanding of social phenomena. If it ispossible to elaborate an implicit consensus betweensystems theory and action theory, it is probable thatother approaches such as symbolic interactionism canbe understood in a similar way. Maybe social theory ismuch less diverse than we have thought.


Emiliana Mangone Fisciano (SA), Italy

Sociological training as strategy for theempowerment of healthcare’s professionals

Contemporary contexts of work, including healthcare,are characterized by the dichotomy rigidity/flexibility.The notion of flexibility must not be understood aspassive adaptation rather the capability to built anactive intervention. Healthcare organization can berepresented as an organism whose parts mutuallyinvolve and interact. That leads to the interweavingbetween organization’s development and professionalchange, paying attention to the quality of work: in suchsituation, the training of healthcare’s professionalsundertakes less the compensatory function rather thefunction of system’s regulation. The training that isn’tonly the transfer of knowledge, but the promotion ofcapacity of learning by learning ( in other wordslearning by daily works experience and relations)makes the worker an active part in the productions’processes of “good health” and in all developmentprocesses of healthcare organization.

In the prospective of improvement of health andsocio-health services, the training should be anempowerment in which the integration between theory,research and effectiveness isn’t eliminable: in thisdirection the sociology should undertake a fundamentalrole to build and keep the integration of these aspects,by investing with responsability the work contexts.There, every professional with his knowledge andexperience can be directly involved into choicesconcerning problematic situations.

The interaction between knowledge and interventionrefers to a “relational approach” to social reality thatconsists of objective aspects (objects) and subjectiveaspects (symbols). Thus, sociology is a research aboutthese connections that are at same time “actions” and“functioning”, “inter-subjectivity” and “organizationalstructure”.

Anastasia Marinopoulou Athens, Greece

Politics for the sake of Rationality: problematicsderiving from critical theory

The question on the nature of politics shouldcommence with communicative processes, whetherthese are uncoerced or obstructed, that take placewithin the social field. Communicative action candeclare political problematics within any debate andreform any political organization that adopts it, for ithinges on the intention of a rational society.

Communicative processes do not provide anyconciliatory theory and do not necessitate any finalagreement of conflicting social parties. The issue forcommunicative action remains to identify political andsocial differences. That is why though communicativeaction is often misrepresented as a process ofattempting to reach some unconditional agreement, inreality it discloses more disputes and ambiguities thanwhat it identifies initially within the social and politicalrealm.

The aim of this presentation is to suggest that wheneither communicative action as suggested byHabermas, or political organizations or institutions ascriticized by Horkheimer and Habermas are losing theirdirection towards a defined political aim, that attemptsto form and render social rationality innovative andtimely for social needs, this constitutes then the lack ofrational politics. The latter produces the profession ofan irrational rationality that instrumentalises not onlyindividual demands but also concrete collectiveinterests and practices.

An apolitical politics generates rule changing or evenpolitical boundaries’ realignment to the extent that thissafeguards the reproduction of the existing political andsocial order. It does not necessitate though anyalternative to the existing political resolutions or socialconstruction in general that would render the latterviable for humans, innovative for social dialectics andopen for multiple forms of political criticism andredefinition, according to reason expressed by socialsubjects.


Paulin Mbecke Johannesburg, South Africa

Child Abuse in Theoretical Debates: Towards anIntegrated Modelled Theory

This paper is based on a PhD thesis on Modelling theDifferential Incidence of Child Abuse, Neglect andExploitation in Poor Households in South Africa. Thepaper acknowledges that, child abuse is one of thedisconcerting challenges of our times. It critically looksat various theories that seek to explain child abuse. Atheoretical interrogation of these theories acknowledgesthe merit of and is centred on social and criticaltheories.

The aim of the thesis is to build a theoretical groundingon understanding child abuse by filling the gaps andshortcomings found in the explanation of child abuse.

The paper argues that the gaps and shortcomings inunderstanding child abuse are caused by an over-estimation of the individual, structural and societaldynamics from socio-economic factors as the mainfactors causing child abuse, especially in poorhouseholds.

The paper maintains, after a critical analysis of 1800recorded cases of child abuse, that there is no singletheory or model that integrates causal factors fromvarious theories for a clear understanding of childabuse. The findings of the analysis confirm the initial argumentof the thesis and suggest an Integrated ModelledTheory (IMT) from which to approach and facilitate aclear understanding of child abuse, neglect andexploitation in poor households.

Kevin McSorley Portsmouth, UK

Social Theory, Mobility and Immobility

One prominent theme in contemporary sociologicalanalysis has been to emphasize the rise of globallynetworked processes, movements and flows and theconcomitant decline in the significance of modern socialand political boundaries. According to this analysis, weneed to think beyond a focus on the nation state, toconstruct a ‘sociology beyond society’, whoseconceptual vocabulary is deft enough to track the neweconomic, cultural and social mobilities, the permanentliquidities, that are the emerging and defining featuresof the modern cosmopolitan networked world. At thesame time, an alternative strand of contemporary

sociological discourse has emphasized sedentariness,enclosure and inertia over movement and change asincreasingly important contemporary cultural logics. Ithas pointed to the proliferation of gated communities,ghettoes, camps and other enclaves, as well as theexpansion of technological surveillant assemblages, asexpressions of new political logics of securitization andxenophobia. This paper will consider the heterogeneityof these understandings of regimes of (im)mobility as aresult of both differences in the phenomena underattention as well as the theoretical traditions drawnupon.

Tamás Meleghy / Heinz-Jürgen NiedenzuInnsbruck, Austria

Sociological Theory and Social Innovation

If following the natural sciences modern sociologicaltheory is not able to cope with social innovations. Itusually tries to explain the effects of given conditions.Its interest refers to predictable events. Consequentlythis version of social theory remains unable to explainreal discoveries in the field of science, technology orsocial institutions. In contrast to that the presentationwill discuss an evolutionary social theory that refers tothe life-sciences instead of the exact sciences. Bymeans of the theory of social evolution actualdiscoveries can be focused. Social innovations willbecome understandable. They can be understood assolutions to problems which accommodateconsequences that are more or less predictable.


Mariam Meynert Lund, Sweden

Inserting childhood, pedagogy, and educationalresearch into modernity and postmodernity –Theoretical reflections

This paper locates the concept of childhood within twoparadigmatic discourses in the area of the NewSociology of Childhood viz. modernity andpostmodernity. Modernist perspective/paradigmlocates itself in the dualistic and either /or approach,while postmodernist perspective locates itself in valuingdiversity and both/and approach. Studies related tochildhood by and large have been embedded inmodernist understanding of the child as a unified,reified and essentialized subject – at the centre of theworld, that can be viewed and treated apart from

relationships and context. From a postmodernperspective, there is not such thing as “the child” or“childhood”, an essential being waiting to bediscovered, defined and realized. There are manychildren and many childhoods, each constructed by ourunderstanding of childhood and what children are andshould be – constructions produced within dominantdiscourses located within the project of modernity. Itfurther attempts to locate educational theory andpractice and construction of knowledge within these twoparadigms and finally inserts research theory andpractices within modernity and postmodernity.

Anil Mühürdaroğlu Ankara, Turkey

Embedded limits of national sociologies: the caseof Turkey

Discussions on the Turkish society have usually beenconducted upon its in-between position with respect toEastern and Western civilizations. Regardless of beingthe proponents of modernist-progressivist, conservativeor syncretistic camps, Turkish social scientists utilizedthe East-West duality for their investigations in severalforms like secularism-Islam, urban-rural or center-periphery. Although having certain benefits as ananalytical tool, the structural features of the Turkishsociety forced social scientists to adopt the East-Westduality as an essential distinction, which served as anepistemological obstacle for sociologists' ability topenetrate into social phenomena. Modernizationtheorists undermined micro-scale investigations as validresearch units and preferred to label communities orsocial groups as 'modernized' or 'conservative' withrespect to certain characteristics which they believed to

indicate the degree of modernization. Culture-orientedstudies, on the other hand, could not synthesize theiranalyses with structural changes and consideredreligion as an independent variable. As a result, earlysociological studies in Turkey could not supply sufficientmaterial for contemporary sociologists who areembarked on reinterpreting the Turkish society withnew conceptual tools of the emerging approaches toidentity formation. The clash between the 'old' and 'new'thematic interests constituted an additional obstacle forimproving sociology's foundational fields of investigationwith the positive contributions of contemporaryapproaches through which the dynamics of Turkishsociety could have been understood with alternativecategories. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the self-limitations of Turkish sociology in terms of developingthe conceptual devices for interpreting the dynamics ofthe Turkish society.


Alaattin Oguz Ankara, Turkey

The Possibility of Sociology in Turkish Context

Considering the emergence period of sociology inTurkey, it is witnessed that sociology was used fornational unity of newly emerged Turkish nation at thebeginning of the twentieth century. The purpose in hereis to create an inner consistency among the modernTurkish nation, whose pioneer figure is Ziya Gokalpwho was the first sociologist in Turkey. Regarding thismission, Ziya Gokalp tried to adapt the sociology ofEmile Durkheim by way of looking cultures as totalentity and emphasizing unity of social existence, whichwas the Turkish nation at that time. While Durkheimhad an objective to put forth the positivistic elements ofmodern society; Gokalp did the same as constructingthe Turkish counterpart of modern society. Rather, theequivalent of “social” became “Turkish nation” inTurkish context. Therefore, the contents of social

things, social unity and consistency were deployed andpreserved by Turkishness, modernization and Islam.For instance, the counterpart of division of labour wastransformed into Turkish culture and Islam. The reasonfor this correlation found its expression in the answersto the problems of the modern Turkish nation; and thisalso reflects the nature of the Turkish social science.The epistemological and methodological quesitoning ofSociology is an exceptional situation and there are rareexamples (such as the research of social history in1960s) of it. One of the most significant cause of thisignorance is to find the immediate solutions to theproblems of nation state and Turkish nation. As amatter of course, the role of sociology has been rarelyquestioned and sociology keeps its instrumentalposition towards the main social and politicalpredicaments. In this presentation, my basic objective isto interrogate this instrumental role of sociology inTurkey, and to discuss its epistemological andmethodological possibility in Turkish context by takingaccount of major sociological traditions in Turkishacademia.

Ian Parenteau Montréal, Canada

Frame, Ideology and the Anti-GlobalizationMovement

How can the anti-globalization movement (AGM)disaffection from politics be explained ? In spite of largeliterature on the topic, it is still difficult to find asatisfactory answer to this question. The fewformulations bring into question the character toodiverse and scattered of the movement which forbids itfrom being able to translate his speech into concretepolitical action. But these responses are unconvincingin so far as it avoids from trying to fully grasp theelements which affect its reasoning that are locatedoutside the social realm. To fully understand the AGMdisaffection from politics, one needs to explain why incontemporary societies, political action is now sodevalued. The AGM is, in this sense, a meremanifestation of the recent transformation of thegeneral relationship to politics, this transformationneeds therefore to be studied in conjunction with that ofthe AGM.

The topic of AGM is primarily a sociological matterwhich is basically dominated by two researchparadigms: new social movements and frame analysis.We will turn are attention only to the latter.

Frame analysis focuses on psychosocial and inter-subjective issues in the social movements and seeks toexplain, through the action of framing, howmobilizations take shape and what contribute to theirsuccess. This approach fails, however, to explain thereasons for the political disaffection of AGM for itconducts its analysis in a social black box. Thehypothesis I defend is as follow: to understand why theAGM refuses to engage into politics, we must conductan analysis centered on the ideology it carries, whichpermits to link the AGM with values shared outside thesocial realm; values that finds themselves in a certainway "condensed" into the no globo thought.


João Howell Pato Lisbon, Portugal

From Public Goods to Public Policies: sociologywithout concepts? (cancelled)

The absence of sociological theorization andconceptualization on public goods is an intriguing issuein contemporary Sociology. The relevance of theconcept first became evident when public propertyregimes and public provision of goods were addressed(water & sanitation, education, defense, etc.): for itscollective value, some goods should be excluded fromprivate property, and this principle was first adopted inRoman Law. Nineteenth century public economists,trying to achieve efficiency in public finance, becameinterested on the concept. Therefore, we findsystematic conceptual approaches in both disciplines,as well as subsequent mainstream research lines(public choice theory, welfare economics, public policyanalysis, etc.).

When national governments assumed the need tointegrate private stakeholders and citizens in general onthe larger framework of public policy making (especiallyafter the 1970’s), trying to induce behavioral changes(individual or collective), some sociological perspectivesemerged. Mancur Olson’s work is probably the first, andstill the most acclaimed piece of sociological theory onthe field, claiming that group size and communicationare key variables in understanding collectivemanagement of goods. Since Olson’s work, researchtrends have developed towards multidisciplinaryframeworks, but sociological theorization is stillresidual, despite recognition of sociological variables askey variables.We intend to give insight on conceptual /methodological perspectives when it comes tointroduce sociological variables into analyticalframeworks designed for public policy analysis. Thiseffort might also contribute to the preliminary definitionof public goods as a sociological concept.

Seppo Poutanen Turku, Finland

Finland: an outpost for critical realism andneopragmatism to settle their score

In the European context of recent developments insocial theory, critical realism, and Rortian and Joasianneopragmatism can be considered two, or possiblythree, important and competing programs forreorganising social research, starting frommetatheoretical basis. It has become obvious that thereis no discussion or argumentation that could be labelledas ‘European’, concerning the relative merits and flawsof these programs, but more generally, variousnationally embedded traditions in the philosophy ofsocial sciences, social theory and social research indifferent countries have significantly shaped thediscussion. Thus, it is no accident that critical realism,for example, has won remarkably strong support inGreat Britain compared to social theory (and itsmetatheory) pursued in most other European countries,new member countries of EU included.

In this presentation I will review the current pattern ofdiscussion between more or less self-confessed criticalrealists and neopragmatists in the Finnish context. Myresearch material consists of a number of recent journalarticles and book chapters published under the title ofsociology or social theory. By analysing structure andcontent of arguments – and textual strategies used - inthe material I will first outline the Finnish case of settingcritical realism and neopragmatism against each other,and then discuss if any general lessons might be drawnfrom this case.


Roland Robertson Aberdeen, Scotland

Glocality and the Transdisciplinarity of Sociology

We are currently in a crucial mutational phase ofdisciplinarity, at the center of which is sociology andsocial/cultural theory. To a small extent this situationconstitutes an extension of the writings of Comte, but"Comte without the positivism." Comte's positivismdepended upon a unified conception of humanity and itis the latter which is addressed in this paper, withoutthe suggestion that positivism necessarily follows froma universalistic view of humanity. The principal area ofstudy which connects the focus upon humanity (as wellas post-humanity) to contemporary social science and

other disciplines is that of so-called globalization. Thispaper investigates the ways in which there is a globalconvergence across numerous sciences anddisciplines. At the same time, what are often callednational sociologies should be regarded as variationsupon cross-national and cross-cultural boundaries. Theconcept of glocalization is employed as a form ofinterrogating the relationship between methodologicalnationalism and a more universalistic type of sociology.Methodological glocalism is advocated as a way inwhich national and/or indigenous styles of sociologyshould be regarded as a form of the inclusion of avariety of sociological practices in a rapidly globalizingworld, one which is potentially dialogically pluralistic.

Steffen Roth Bern, Switzerland

Bringing Society Back in Market - Why MarketSociology is No Segment of Economic Sociology

Architectural history, economic history, ethnology,capital theory, and innovation re-search give evidenceof the existence of non-economic markets. Followingthe tradition of Luhmannian sociology the paperdevelops a trans-economic concept of the Markets ofSociety including political, scientific, esthetic, religious,and further markets, as well. Given this multitude ofmarkets, the paper sketches a research programfocused on the analysis of forms and functions of (non-)economic markets as well as on the exchange ratesbetween the very: How is belief charged against truth,

truth against power, power against money, moneyagainst health? But the idea of exchange ratefluctuations between money, power and truth is not theonly surprise resulting from a systemic multi-marketapproach: If we can conceive both the existence of non-economic markets of society and the idea of exchangerates between the very, then market sociology cannotbe treated as an exclusive segment of economicsociology, anymore. Thus, the paper finally promotesthe idea of discussing Market Sociology as anindependent segment of sociology.

Philip Selznick Berkeley, USA

Sociology as a ‘Moral Science’

In this paper I accept Durkheim’s claim that sociology iswhat he called a “moral science.” Durkheim soughtobjective criteria –“inherent in the facts themselves”--fordistinguishing a healthy social body from one that isdiseased or morally impoverished. Durkheim’s ideascontributed to the ethos of positivism, which has donemuch to undermine a commitment to human and moralwell-being. We need to reaffirm that commitment tosociology as a “moral science” without abandoning thespirit of naturalism or the method of science.

Positivism asks us to accept a false and perniciousdichotomy between normative and descriptive theory,between facts and values. But by studying majorcomponents of social life including communication,

authority, rationality, justice and culture, sociologybecomes a disciplined empirical and theoretical study ofthe prevalence and fate of values. The result is areunion of moral philosophy and social science.

The study of qualitative variations requires boththeoretical sophistication and empirical investigation ofkinds, contexts and contingencies. Such investigationsinclude facts, that is, latent or emergent values insocial experience. These values provide the foundationfor the formation of standards and ideals by which toevaluate the social conditions that help realize thosevalues or subvert them. It is this criticism in the light ofvalues and ideals that makes sociology a “moralscience.”


Mikhail Sokolov St. Petersburg, Russia

Why successful “theory groups” do not emerge atthe periphery of the academic world-system? Theevidence from the Russian case

As many important works in sociology of sciencedemonstrated (e.g. Abbott, Collins, Mullins), thecoherent intellectual statements which we call “theories”are inseparable from a form of social organizationMullins named “theory group”. Following this line ofreasoning, we can suppose that the wider institutionalcontext can inhibit development of this organizationalform and, conversely, stimulate emergence of othertypes of academic groupings which do not producetheory-like statements. This possibly explains the factthat, in spite of existence of a huge disciplinarycommunity in Russia, no theory enjoying nation-widerenown has emerged their in the last 20 years. Thetypes of organizations which dominate the Russianacademic scene are local “schools” (shkoly) withenormous internal cohesion and strong sense of loyaltyto their leaders but with marked tendency to avoid

posing their distinctiveness from other “schools” inintellectual terms. It is argued that prevalence of“schools” over “theory groups” results from (1)extremely low mobility of personnel at the academiclabor market; (2) scarcity of means of professionalcommunication, dampening down “market for ideas”;(3) general economic shortage, favoring investmentsinto empirical research rendering short-turn monetaryreturn over long-term investments into producing anddisseminating theoretical schemata. As these traits arealso characteristic of many other societies, we canarguably claim that they are responsible for thephenomenon “academic dependency” theorists try toexplain: how does the disciplinary “core” localized infew Western universities maintains its privilegedposition of producer of theory in the global division ofacademic labor.

Daniel Šuber Konstanz, Germany

The traces of philosophy of life in Germansociology – towards a neglected affinity

While it is generally assumed that the methodologicalroots of the social sciences were based on a dualisticconception of science which had been purported byneo-Kantian philosophers, the contributed paperinvestigates the influence of Dilthey’s life-philosophicaland holistic theory of knowledge on the methodologicalworks of sociologists like Weber, Simmel andMannheim.Although a few scholars – like J. Weiß (1992) – haveexpressed the conjecture that Weber and Simmel bothfollowed a similar theoretical strategy in their theoreticalfoundation of ›verstehende Soziologie‹ as Dilthey in hisrenowned ›Critique of Historical Reason‹, such a stancehave barely been fully legitimized and must still beviewed as a minority view. In order to found thisstatement, I want to dwell on the prominence of the

concept of Erfahrung in Weber’s Wissenschaftslehreand of Verstehen in Simmels theory of historicalknowledge. As can be shown, both concept figured asnodal points which allowed them to overcome thelimitations of a neo-kantian frame-work for knowledgefoundation. Symptomatically, Weber and Simmel, likeDilthey, arrived at a relationist conception of scienceand validity. In Karl Mannheim’s epistemology we finally encounterprobably the most explicit theory of social scientificknowledge that put itself within the tradition of Diltheyanphilosophy of life. In particular manners, Mannheimeven radicalised Dilthey’s presuppositions: especially inhis critique of epistemology, which Mannheimsubstituted with a sociology of knowledge, but also inhis concept of dynamic relationism. It can be concludedthat Mannheim’s sociology of knowledge translatedDilthey’s general theory of knowledge.


Csaba Szaló Brno, Czech Republic

Cosmopolitan Memories: Mapping the ConceptualBoundaries of Cosmopolitanism

My presentation will analyze social theory at work byfocusing on the concept of cosmopolitan memory. I willset side by side the sociological idea of transition fromnational to cosmopolitan memory cultures as it wasdeveloped by Daniel Levy and Natan Sznaider withrecent debates on cosmopolitanism in socialanthropology and cultural theory. I propose to explorethe conceptual boundaries of cosmopolitanism with thehelp of the following question: in what sense docosmopolitan memories need to be grounded in anormative, inclusive symbolic representation of theOther?

Nina Toren Jerusalem, Israel

Intersection Theory

The Intersection model has been adopted in the socialsciences by feminist critical theory in the 90' (Crenshaw2001). It is presently widely used to analyze andexplain the social consequences for individuals havingmultiple identities and group affiliations. In particular,this theory is applied to the understanding and\orimprovement of the situation of discriminatedminorities.Intersection theory postulates that minority groups areusually discriminated against on the basis of more thanone characteristic, e.g. being black, leading tocomposite forms of social inequalities in various socialdomains. Namely, educational opportunities, wageinequalities, the development of diverse socialnetworks etc.

Intersectional approaches maintain that these factorsare not independent analytic categories that can besimply added to each other but rather constitute oneanother, and should be studied as a synergetic whole. This study pertains to a major case of this phenomenon- the RCG paradigm, that is to persons discriminatedsimultaneously on the bases of race, class and gender.To examine empirically the tenets of intersection theoryI employ the qualitative method including groundedtheory and narrative analysis. The data show how thecharacteristics of gender, class and ethnicity intertwinein the life experiences of oriental faculty women inacademia in Israel, and the conditions under whichthese configurations may change.The intersection perspective is not only of theoreticalvalue but is important for the articulation of public policyand its implementation. It can be expanded beyond thestudy of personal identities and self perceptions, tointerpersonal relationships, organizations and largesocial systems, such as the global labor market andlabor force migration.


Hirofumi Utsumi Osaka, Japan

Society in the Age of Globalization

One of the critical concept on which sociology has beentraditionally based is “society.” In sociology post-WorldWar II, “society” has been identified with nation-state.Recently the image of “society” has been criticized.Does this criticism pertain to the deprivation of theconcept “society”? Does the age of globalization mean“post-social/post-societal” era? This presentationargues that the concept “society” is useful for sociologyeven in the age of globalization as long as we keep inmind the distinction between “society as a whole” and“society in a narrow sense”. The discussion consists ofthe following five parts: (1) theoretical distinctionbetween economy, state, and “society in a narrowsense”; (2) economical globalization and “society in a

narrow sense”; (3) changing relationship between stateand “society in a narrow sense”; (4) globality of “societyas a whole”; (5) relationship between “society as awhole” and “society in a narrow sense.” If we continueto identify “society as a whole” with a nation-state, wecannot analyze the trends of “society in a narrowsense” or “the social” at present time. Contrary to say, ifwe can dismantle once the sociological imagination ofthe 20th century and rebuild the approach into “societyin a narrow sense” based on a re-imaged “society as awhole”, the age of globalization will promote the re-birthof sociology. Contemporary sociology needs a similarsociological imagination to that of the first generation ofsociology, which established an approach into “thesocial” in contrast with politics and economy.

Frédéric Vandermoere Gent, Belgium

‘Sociology as if nature doesn’t matter’: external,disciplinary and intra sub-disciplinary factors

In this article we’ll discuss to what extent it is tenable torestrict sociology to a ‘sociology of the social’, and whymainstream sociologists exclude(d) the non-social fromtheir analyses. Firstly, the intellectual climate in whichsociology developed as a discipline will be outlined.Secondly, an overview is given of the different positionssociologists take vis-à-vis the relation between thesocial and the natural. These include but are notrestricted to: realism, constructivism, and anti-dualism.Next to external explanations for the development of a‘sociology as if nature did not matter’ and some factorsdistinctive to the sociological discipline (e.g.: thedominance of the Weberian and Durkheimian tradition),we’ll discuss some intra sub-disciplinary conflicts (e.g.:sociologists of environmental issues versus realenvironmental sociologists, sociologists of scienceversus actor-network theorists, European versus U.S.environmental sociologists, etc.). The internaldifferentiation within the sub-discipline of environmentalsociology is framed in Abbott’s (2001) notion of‘microcosm’ (i.e. the idea that a subset of a larger unitcontains scaled-down versions of structures andprocesses in the larger unit). In response, anecological-symbolic approach (ESA) is developed(Kroll-Smith & Couch, 1991, 1993). The intermediateposition of the ESA between a postmodernist stance onthe one hand, and the strong program on materiality onthe other hand, is clarified and grounded inreconstructed realism (Rosa, 1998). Finally, thepotential of an ecological-symbolic approach will bediscussed and illustrated by a case study aboutpeople’s responses to chemical contamination in aneighbourhood (cf. Vandermoere, 2008a, b).

ReferencesAbbott, A. (2001). Chaos of disciplines. Chicago:University of Chicago Press.Kroll-Smith, J. S., & Couch, S. R. (1991). What is adisaster? An ecological-symbolic approach to resolvingthe definitional debate. International Journal of MassEmergencies and Disasters, 9(3), 355–366.Kroll-Smith, J. S., & Couch, S. R. (1993a). Symbols,ecology, and contamination: Case studies in theecological-symbolic approach to disaster. Research inSocial Problems and Public Policy, 5, 47–73.Rosa, E. (1998). Metatheoretical foundations for post-normal risk. Journal of Risk Research, 1(1), 15-44.Vandermoere, F. (2008a). Psychosocial health ofresidents exposed to soil pollution in a Flemishneighbourhood. Social Science & Medicine, 66, 1646-1657.Vandermoere, F. (2008b). Hazard perception, riskperception, and the need for decontamination byresidents exposed to soil pollution: the role ofsustainability and the limits of expert knowledge. RiskAnalysis, 28(2), 387-398.


Friso van Houdt Rotterdam, Netherlands

Citizenship as Instrument of Bio-Power: IdentifyingChanges in the Functioning of Citizenship in theNetherlands in Times of Glocalization andCulturistic Discourse

Citizenship is a concept strategically used as a solutionfor differing problems. For example Aristotle usedcitizenship as solution for the problem of ruling and tobe ruled and Gaius used citizenship as a solution forthe problem of the protection of the individual. As aconsequence citizenship has historically developed intoa multilayered and multifunctional concept. In this paperthe functioning of citizenship in contemporary Dutchpolicy has been analyzed. This analysis has ‘situated’citizenship in the period of ‘glocalization’ (i.e. migration)

and it has been ‘contextualized’ in a ‘culturistic’discourse (Schinkel, 2007). The analysis showed thatcitizenship is a useful instrument of ‘bio-power’(Foucault, 1976): with citizenship it becomes possible todifferentiate and regulate population(s) because itfunctions as social closure of the nation-state andsociety. It further showed that citizenship incontemporary Dutch policy is used as a solution forproblems of social integration and therefore a new kindof citizenship developed: bio-political participation.

Paula-Irene Villa Munich, Germany

The subject(s) of gender – social theory withingender sociology

Gender Studies have been one of the most prolific andmaybe most visible sub-disciplines within (European)social sciences for the last decade. Despite beinggenuinely trans- or interdisciplinary, the analysis ofgender as a core social difference and as an importantsocial structure (which intersects with other relevantsocial differences and structures such as class,race/ethnicity) calls for an equally firm and flexibletheoretical grounding. Gender sociology reflects manycore issues of social theory such as structure,difference, construction (of knowledge, ‘Lebenswelt’,etc.), self, etc., often challenging the supposed neutralmeaning of these concepts as presented by the(supposedly) more general social theory. In short:gender issues might be seen as a specific version ofthe more general question of social theory. Or, as Iwould rather argue, gender sociology makes an

excellent focus in order to think through the core issuesof sociology. Following this standpoint, one can tracethe ‘import’ of almost all core concepts and of almost allrelevant theories (and methodologies) into the socialstudy of gender.

In my presentation, I will highlight one of the mostrecent imports from ‘general’ social theory to ‘specific’gender analysis, i.e. the concepts and debatesconcerning the subject and/or subjection. Further, I willargue that gender sociology (or even: feminist theory)has to some extent been important for social theoryregarding critical notions of subjection and by re-introducing Foucauldian readings through the work ofButler and the most recent governmentality studies.Finally, I will sketch a critique of these notions,especially regarding most recent concepts of the neo-liberal self (e.g. Bröckling 2007). In my opinion, thesenotions tend to reproduce a rather well-known errorwithin social theory/sociology: They reduce persons tomere effects of structures, ignoring the own logic ofpractice, experience, and embodiment.

Mary Vogel Oxford/London, UK

Democracy and the Shifting Balance of Public andPrivate Governance

In thinking about law today, it is sometimes said thatthere is more law but that the public institutions of thestate appear to be playing a lesser role in it.Increasingly, one hears talk of the retreat of the state infavour of neoliberalism and of the blurring of theboundary between public and private in criminal justice.Privatisation is advancing rapidly and practices ofdiscretionary informality in the courts are on the rise.This paper argues that there is a shift underway in thebalance between public and private power. It is onewith powerful implications for accountability. Contoursand dynamics of that shift are explored.


Frank Welz Innsbruck, Austria

Sociology towards Transdisciplinarity

Sociology is stuck in a theory crisis. Its cognitive identityseems to be fragmented (1). The continual splicing offinto new themes and subfields, however, is fueled byinstitutional forces. On the one hand, it is a matter of itssheer size, a fragmentation from above. On the otherhand, in regard of (non-existent) European sociology afragmentation from below seems to be at work: localresistance against homogenizing forces (that keeps‘European’ sociology vibrant between the local and theglobal).Can social theory keep a fragmented disciplinetogether? My thesis is that recent developments inmodern thought (2), reflected in the philosophy ofscience toward a transdisciplinary process thinking,

may be able to reorient the discipline’s self-understanding und fuel the unifying links that inspire thebreadth of sociological studies.It has been Ilya Prigogine in chemistry and ImmanuelWallerstein in social science who argued that a non-mechanistic ‘complex’ world view will be able to obtaina structural reorganisation of the sciences beyonddisciplinary boundaries. Their view proposes aninstable, evolutionary, and fluctuating reality which isless stable, less geometric and no longer in equilibriumas presupposed by classical science. Insofarcomplexity studies go beyond the traditional philosophyof science and its constructivist ally.Finally, there will be an increasing demand for socialtheory to transcend the heterogeneity of the appliedsociologies by discussing their applicability to atransdisciplinary complex reality (3).

Jan Winczorek Warsaw, Poland

The Adam Slodowy Effect. Reception of NiklasLuhmann's sociology in sociology of law and legaltheory

The paper discusses reception of Luhmann's theory insociology of law an legal theory. It owes its title to ametaphor of „Slodowy Effect”, a cognitive shockcommonly experienced by viewers of famous polish TVshow of 1970-80s, to which Luhmann's theory iscompared. In its main part the paper discusses maincurrents of reception of Luhmann's sociology in said

disciplines, distinguishing several ideal-typical patternsof reaction to Luhmann's ideas. This in turn allows for apresentation of several dilemmas of reception, aimingto account for failures and successes in disseminationof theory. Finally, some conclusions are offeredconcerning the chances of future proliferation ofLuhmann's theory in sociology of law as well as moregeneral limits of theory-oriented sociology of law thatare becoming apparent in the light of Luhmann'senterprise.

wlan access

In the Sowi building you will have WLAN access to theinternet via your laptop, if you like. The login is:

cb571000 / password: esa2008It will also work till a few days after the conference.Please ask for the information on how to login (a fewpages with pictures)


where to eat

Pubs & Restaurants close to SOWIInside SOWISOWI MensaSOWI East (on campus)Pizzeria DottoreSOWI BistroThai-Spezialitäten NOI(“Thai specialty restaurant”) (entrance at the back)SOWI SouthSolo Vino Solo Pasta („Universitätsstraße“)

Next to SOWI (max. 1 min.)member Kaiserjägerstr.Kapuziner Kaiserjägerstr.Restaurant Schwarzer Adler Kaiserjägerstr. 2Burgtaverne (Austrian) Universitätsstraße 20 closed on TuesdaysSAHIB. Zum Inder (Indian) Sillgasse 3 11.30-14.30 & 18.00-1.00 hrs 0512-571468Panithan (Thaiküche) Sillgasse 9Pizzeria Palermo Sillgasse 21Next to the Golden Roof (5 min to SOWI)Ottoburg Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 1 www.ottoburg.at 0512-584338Restaurant Maria von Burgund Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 15Elferhaus Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 11 www.elferhaus.atRestaurant Goldener Adler Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 6 www.goldeneradler.atRestaurant-Weinhaus HAPP Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 14 www.weinhaus-happ.at 0512-582980McDonalds Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 35 www.mcdonalds.atGasthaus Goldenes Dachl Hofgasse 1 www.goldeneradler.atBurggrabenStiftskeller Burggraben 31

NORDSEE Burggraben 15 www.nordsee.atPizzeria Plaza Burggraben 17Maria-Theresien-StraßeCafè Restaurant Lichtblick Maria-Theresien-Straße 18 www.restaurant-lichtblick.atNORDSEE Maria-Theresien-Straße 11 www.nordsee.atWienerwald Restaurants Maria-Theresien-Straße 12 www.wienerwald.comMcDonalds Maria-Theresien-Straße 40 www.mcdonalds.atTheresienbräu Maria-Theresien-Straße 51-53 www.brauwirtshaus.atFurthermore in the Old town (5-15 min close to the SOWI)al dente Meraner Straße 7 www.restaurant-aldente.atcafe bar restaurant dengg Riesengasse 11-13 www.dengg.co.atCafè Restaurant Kunstpause Museumstraße 15 www.kunstpause.atCafe-Restaurant Fischerhäusl Herrengasse 8 www.fischerhaeusl.atCafe-Restaurant Herzog-Friedrich Riesengasse 6Gasthof Weißes Rössl Kiebachgasse 8 www.weissesroessl.atPapa Joe`s Seilergasse 12 www.papajoes-ibk.atRestaurant Cammerlander Innrain 2 www.cammerlander.atRestaurant Krahvogel Anichstraße 12 www.krahvogel.atSophisticated

Restaurant EuropastüberlBoznerplatz (on the corner ofSüdtirolerplatz)

www.europatyrol.com

Restaurant Goldener Adler Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 6 www.goldeneradler.atRestaurant Ottoburg Herzog-Friedrich-Straße 1 www.ottoburg.atTHE DAY AFTER

Gasthof PlanötzenhofPlanötzenhofstrasse 30(1 hr. upwards, 20 min. back)

www.planoetzenhof.at 0512-274017


for lunch


Many people support(ed) the conference, in particular I would like tothank my colleagues Heinz-Jürgen Niedenzu, Max Preglau and HelmutStaubmann as well as Monika Flory, Siglinde Hörtnagl and Verena Krug.We were further supported by the Executive committee of the ESA RN29Social Theory, Patrick Baert (Cambridge, past chair), CarolineGijselinckx (Leuven), Kevin McSorley (Portsmouth), Csaba Szalo (Brno)and Gilles Verpraet (Paris), as well as many RN members, in particularNikita A. Kharlamov and Svetlana Kirdina.

Frank WelzRN coordinator & local organizer


»SOCIAL THEORY AND THE SOCIOLOGICAL DISCIPLINE(S)«

Social Theory Conference (RN29)European Sociological Association

September 11-13, 2008Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria

Call for papers

The heterogeneity of the national streams of sociologystems not only from differences in the studied socialstructures but also from the infusion of varying theoreticaltraditions. Moreover, even the diversity among thematicfields and sub-disciplines within national communities ofsociologists can be considered from a similar perspective.Social theory’s unity and diversification among thesesociological or social scientific (sub)disciplines, its state-of-the-art, and new developments are thematic interests of theconference.We invite papers that will analyze social theory at work, e.g.how (and which) social theories operate in one of thesociological sub-disciplines or in sociology in general. Casestudies of theory’s impact, application, or neglect in thethematic fields and in the national streams of sociology willalso be welcomed.

One cost of sociology’s growth and its institutional successare fragmentation and specialization. However, thecontinual splicing off into new themes and subfields, andfrequent cutting off from traditional links with the classicalfounders, discipline-wide issues, and subfield-transcendingquestions are often criticized at ESA and ISA meetings. Itultimately contradicts sociology’s self-understanding in twoimportant ways: first, its widespread post-Kuhnianphilosophical foundation and, second, its public role insociety.Consequently, it is increasingly important to remindourselves what the identity of sociology is and look forunifying links that inspire the breadth of sociological studies,namely, for social theory: How does social theory keepsociology and social sciences together? And, in particular,how does it do that in practice?

Abstract submission Deadlines

Please submit your proposal (max. 250 words) by emailto: ESA Social Theory Research Network (RN29)

j Frank Welz (coordinator), Innsbruck University,[email protected]

Abstract submissionNotification of authorsConference registration

18th May 200825th May 200830th June 2008 (by email)

Innsbruck

Tyrol has always been a popular destination for tourists -and social theorists, from 2008 on. The capital city, Inns-bruck, with its 130,000 inhabitants is surrounded by a pic-turesque panorama of mountain peaks, several of whichcan be reached by cable cars offering a superb view of thecity and the surrounding mountains. The region gives abun-

dant leisure opportunities all year round. In summer moun-tain-climbing, hiking (15 000 km trails), mountain-biking(4000 km), rafting, canyoning and paragliding, in winterdownhill and cross-country skiing, ice-skating, snowboardingand even bobsleighing on the Olympic run.Webcam: http://www.golden-roof.com/

Accommodation, travel and social program Conference fees

Please visit the conference website, see below. - Theconference will begin on 11th September, 6 pm, and endon 13th September, 6 pm.

The conference fees of 50 Euro (west; 30 Euro other) willinclude conference materials, a rack railway/cablewayticket and the welcome reception.

Further information and updates (e.g. keynote speakers) Conference venue

On the conference:On RN29:On ESA:

www.social-theory.euvia weblink, s. above.www.europeansociology.org

Innsbruck School of Political Science and SociologyInnsbruck University, SoWi-CampusUniversitätsstrasse 15A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria <phone +43 512 5077305>For all further questions please contact us by email or phone.

+ We are looking forward to see participants of previous meetings but welcome warmly new colleagues too. - If you wouldlike to be on a distribution list for email notices, send a note to this effect to the RN29 coordinator, see above. +

Documents

innsbruck, tyrol, austria september 11 - 13, 2008 · 2010-05-01 · Innsbruck Tourist Board t European Sociological Association 2 ESA Social Theory Conference, Innsbruck, September