Public Sociology: Working at the Interstices

Gabriel, John; Harding, Jennifer; Hodgkinson, Peter; Kelly, Liz; Khan, Alya

doi:10.1007/s12108-009-9080-3

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The tangible outcomes and political work that result from food sovereignty praxis are predominantly marginalized by performance measurements. In this context, such engaged critical scholarship is marginal and largely hidden in the interstices of the academy (Gabriel et al 2009). However, there are still spaces within academia where these approaches are tolerated or even supported.…”

Section: Conclusion: a Proposition For Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

People, power, change: three pillars of a food sovereignty research praxis

Levkoe

Brem-Wilson

Anderson

2018

The Journal of Peasant Studies

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This article is situated within nascent debates on the role of academics within food sovereignty movements. Drawing on insights from a collective autoethnography, we report on our experiences conducting three food sovereignty research projects in different contexts and at different scales. We suggest that that the principles and practices of food sovereignty translate into a food sovereignty research praxis. This consists of three pillars focusing on people (humanizing research relationships), power (equalizing power relations) and change (pursuing transformative orientations). This article discusses these pillars and analyzes the extent to which we were able to embody them within our projects.

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Section: Conclusion: a Proposition For Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

People, power, change: three pillars of a food sovereignty research praxis

Levkoe

Brem-Wilson

Anderson

2018

The Journal of Peasant Studies

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“…This is the 'public sociology' proposed by Michael Burawoy, whose famous call in 2004 resonated loudly among sociological communities worldwide (see Burawoy, 2005). The literature demonstrates that sociologists from around the globe actively engage in local communities helping to solve concrete problems by shaping and supporting various civil initiatives, for example in India (Sundar, 2014), China (Lee and Shen, 2009), Latin America (Rodríguez-Garavito, 2014), Africa (Von Holdt, 2014), continental Europe (Revers, 2009) and the UK (Gabriel et al, 2009). Burawoy cheerfully greets the observed success of 'public sociology ' (2014a, 2014c).…”

Section: 'Public Sociology': a Global Success?mentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Global sociology’ in different disciplinary practices: Current conditions, problems and perspectives

Сергеевич

2015

Current Sociology

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This article discusses perspectives for the formation of a truly ‘global sociology’, implying active, open, mutually beneficial and equal interaction between sociologists from different locations, countries and cultures, in their joint efforts to comprehend, explain and improve the social world. The study is based on the conceptual scheme proposed by Burawoy, highlighting four different disciplinary practices: ‘professional sociology’, ‘policy sociology’, ‘critical sociology’ and ‘public sociology’. The formation of a ‘global sociology’ demands harmonious development and mutual enrichment between all the four ‘sociologies’, however, each of them has its own path in the global arena. The literature analysis demonstrates serious limitations in the global progression of ‘professional sociology’, while ‘policy sociology’ and ‘critical sociology’ also experience major difficulties. ‘Public sociology’, largely inspired by Burawoy, seems to be especially promising globally due to its key advantages: orientation towards non-academic audiences and a focus on the most acute social problems. However, currently this disciplinary practice has several fundamental constraints: marginality, radicalism, ideological bias and inherent conflict-orientation towards other ‘sociologies’. Drawing on John Meyer’s theory of ‘Scientized Environment Supporting Actorhood’, the article proposes the project of the new ‘Global Solidarity Sociology’, which utilizes the advantages of Michael Burawoy’s project while overcoming its principal limitations.

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“…These narrow disciplinary systems reflect institutional manifestations of the knowledge transfer paradigm that prevent community engagement in research processes. Second, these systems interact with entrenched discourses that are used to police the boundaries of legitimacy and to discipline academic labor by othering transformative research as being non-academic, lacking in theory, biased, or as lacking rigor (Gabriel, Harding, Hodgkinson, Kelly, & Khan, 2009;Herr & Anderson, 2014).…”

Section: Knowledge Mobilization In the Context Of The Impact Agenda Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformative research as knowledge mobilization: Transmedia, bridges, and layers

Anderson

McLachlan

2016

Action Research

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Mainstream knowledge production and communication in the academy generally reflect the tenets of positivist research and predominantly embody hierarchical processes of knowledge transfer. In contrast, a transformative research paradigm is rooted in knowledge mobilization processes involving close collaboration between researchers and community actors as co-enquirers as a part of a broader agenda for progressive social change. They also involve strategic communication strategies that mobilize knowledge beyond those directly involved in the research process. We illustrate the cyclical pattern and transgressive potential of knowledge mobilization processes through a reflective case study of a participatory action research program in the Canadian Prairies. Based on this work, we present three key knowledge mobilization strategies. These include: using transmedia to exchange knowledge across a range of communication media; building bridges to invite communication amongst diverse knowledge communities; and layering to communicate knowledge at varying levels of detail. We critically examine our own practice as a contested and partial process in tension with the institutional and cultural durability of the more linear knowledge transfer paradigm. Knowledge mobilization strategies provide a framework to implement research methods, communication processes, and outcomes that are high in impact and relevant in struggles for a more just and resilient society.

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Public Sociology: Working at the Interstices

Cited by 6 publications

References 9 publications

People, power, change: three pillars of a food sovereignty research praxis

People, power, change: three pillars of a food sovereignty research praxis

‘Global sociology’ in different disciplinary practices: Current conditions, problems and perspectives

Transformative research as knowledge mobilization: Transmedia, bridges, and layers

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