PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY CB

Sociology s secret writing - lessons from post-modernism; learning discipline discursively; beginning science; method as the main text; concluding science; was sociology always like this? maybe the reviewer is just dense - review and revision as argument; sociology writing in the wake of post-modernism. Appendix: full citation of the 56 articles in the sample.

This is a bold book. In the tradition of C. Wright Mills, Ben Agger wants a public sociology, a sociology that takes the lead in building a democratic public sphere. Showing us how to enter this new century, Agger clears away much of the excesses of sociology' dreary, conservative past, a past obsessed with method, numbers and somewhat sterile theory. Agger creates a space for a living, breathing, literary sociology, a sociology that will make a difference in the world of human affairs.--Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois This study is one of the most important enterprises that any sociologist can undertake today, namely, an honestly critical reconsideration of what sociology has been, what it is now, and how it could become better. Public Sociology builds upon Agger s other widely respected books on the practices of social science, and enhances our understanding of this discipline s mission with his sophisticated, comprehensive, and telling critique.--Timothy W. Luke, Virginia Polytechnic Institute Not only does Agger exorcise the living ghosts who write sociology and regulate its institutional network, he lays bare for all to see, the carefully hidden secrets of the discipline. Such an analysis offers a bold critique of those of us who practice sociology professionally. It forces us to face up to and figure out what is important and unimportant in what we do. Those not enraged by this book will laugh themselves silly, when, like us, they are not choking back the tears of their own embarrassment.--Charles Lemert and Audrey Sprenger "Quantitative Sociology " Do not miss the work of Ben Agger, one of the nation's intellectual treasures. Provocative and original, Agger probes and skewers the meat of a sociology turned rancid. Once a field whose journals were readable, essay-ish, and centered on important societal debates, mainstream sociology has since the 1970s increasingly become centered on minor issues, statistical methods, and mindless mimicking of natural science. While many critical sociologists still research major issues racism, classism, and sexism they are often forced to the margins of a field trying too hard to be a "hard science" discipline.--Joe Feagin, Author of White Racism