Varieties of Critique in Sociological Theory and Their Methodological Implications for Social Research

Abstract

The notion of critique, as in the idea of a critical theory of society, is in urgent need of clarification both theoretically and methodologically. At least five major uses of the term can be found within sociological theory, the positions associated with the critical theory of the Frankfurt School from Adorno to Habermas and Honneth, Bourdieu's critical sociology, critical realism, Foucault's genealogical critique, and various notions of critical practice, most notably the work of Boltanski and Thévenot. It is possible to detect a movement from the Hegelian-Marxist approach towards interpretative conceptions of critique, leading to a pluralisation of critique and a shift from macro to micro analysis. A theoretical clarification of the notion of critique in these approaches offers a basis for a new and more rigorous methodological application of critique in social research.

Non-normative critique

“…Something similar currently seems to be happening to pragmatic sociology. For instance, in his article on ‘varieties of critique’ in sociology, Gerard Delanty (rightly) argues that Boltanski and Thévenot ‘pluralize critique’ and ‘relativise [normativity] to context specific discourses’ which makes OJ useful for ‘understanding social conflicts’ (Delanty, 2011: 86). The consequence is that, apart from emphasizing ‘people’s capacities to act in different ways’ its critical edge is limited (Delanty, 2011).…”

“…making them contestable (see Hansen and Triantafillou, 2011: 198). The positioning of pragmatic sociology in a non-normative but critical programme goes against the work of a number of scholars, including Boltanski (Honneth, 2010; Boltanski, 2011; Delanty, 2011; Celikates, 2012), who have recently pleaded for it to be integrated into the normative programme of unmasking research – a remarkable and radical repositioning that so far has caused little debate. 2 This article is the first to provide a more systematic account of the sacrifices involved in such a move and to develop an alternative that adheres to the original guidelines of pragmatic sociology but adds to it a more tactical and critical ethos.…”

Getting under their skins? Accessing young children’s perspectives through ethnographic fieldwork

“…resistance towards discursive and performatively constructed power. According to Delanty (2009), the critical power of sociological analysis lies precisely in its capacity to deconstruct apparent senselessness (Delanty, 2009). It exposes what appear to be more or less naturally given norms of behaviour and differences among groups of people as power relations, and shows how these power relations make it more difficult for some than for others to achieve the 'good life'.…”

Re-envisioning Human Rights in the Light of Arendt and Rancière: Towards an Agonistic Account of Human Rights Education

“…The contribution, therefore, of an agonistic account of HRE is that it approaches human rights not as universal principles expressed in declarations, but rather through the lens of what Delanty () calls a ‘reconstructive critique’, namely, an engagement with human rights that encourages their ongoing reconstruction. This implies that educators, trainers, activists and learners of human rights in formal, non‐formal and informal settings try to make sense of human rights in practice, as an open‐ended process, just as Rancière would suggest.…”