Embracing Social Activism: Sociology in the Service of Social Justice and Peace

Abstract

For many years, we have personally and professionally, individually and together, struggled with what it means to be a sociologist today. We wondered what the mission of sociology should be given the hardship and suffering in the world and the urgent need for significant social change. We have found the answer in two places. First, we started with our shared vision of a better worlda world that is substantially more just and peaceful. Second, we thought about what it will take to get us closer to that new world and realized that part of the answer lies in certain key historical moments in, and particular contributions of, the sociology of the past. The promise of sociology has not been fulfilled, but we can change that by learning from these lessons of our past and envisioning the exciting possibilities for the future-a future in which sociology plays an active role in healing and transforming our world.

Social structures, power and resistance in monist sociology: (New) materialist insights

“…Power and resistance are concepts that have been foundational both to theorising social change and to practical interventions to address injustices or inequalities through practice, policy or activism ( Boudon, 1991 ; Dale and Kalob, 2006 ; Fox and Alldred, 2017 ). Though power has been variously conceptualised in social theory, sociologists have been wary of ontologies that reduce power to human decision-making, regarding such models as ‘one-dimensional’ ( Lukes, 2004 : 19), or failing to acknowledge the duality of agency/structure ( Giddens, 1981 : 49–50).…”

Young bodies, power and resistance: a new materialist perspective

“…Issues of social order and disorder, and of how social continuity is sustained and how change may be effected, depend substantially upon social theories of the connected topics of power and resistance (Boudon 1991;Dale and Kalob 2006). Questions include: what is the nature of power and how does it work?…”

Where's the peace in this movement? A domestic violence advocate's reflections on the movement

“…They may be unlikely to get involved outside of the campus, as at some schools activism is discouraged, even among those involved in subjects like sociology, social work and women's studies. This is to the tremendous detriment of students as well as the broader community, according to humanist sociologists Dale and Kalob (2006). Many academics with whom I have spoken have related that their local agency did not want to collaborate, or when they did, they made demands with which those in higher education were unwilling to comply.…”