Pedagogy and Activism – Do the Two Mix? A Dialogue on Social Justice and Its Place in The Classroom

Abstract

In this introductory essay, I reflect on the connection between pedagogy and activism and introduce the three contributors to this special section on the topic. More specifically, I chart key points in the history of sociology in the West asking readers to consider whether sociology has ever been value-free. In the process, I invoke sociologists who thought it essential for integration of sociological thought and practice (albeit not necessarily in the form of activism), ponder the meaning of science and think about the meaning of an education in sociology. As part of the discussion, I also present my position on sociology, pedagogy, and activism.

Pragmatism as Problem Solving

“…The emancipatory strand within the discipline has always contended with an intellectual or rationalist strand that travels from Émile Durkheim through Talcott Parsons and structures the practice of academic sociology. The implicit struggles between rationalist and emancipatory approaches occasionally spill out into explicit debates, with some scholars arguing that it is not possible or advisable to avoid taking sides in social debates (Daniels 2018; Mitra 2020) and others worrying that activism will undermine the discipline’s claim to scientific legitimacy and may thus undermine its ability to have any effect on the very social problems the activists wish to solve (Massey 2007; Turner 2019). Scholars who have attempted emancipatory projects tell repeated and consistent stories of temporary or permanent rejection by and exclusion from the discipline (Romero 2020).…”