07.10.2013 Views

Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Sociology 153<br />

12. Runciman’s chapter could be considered part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> British discussion on <strong>the</strong><br />

embourgeoisement <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> manual worker. The cues for such a concept are still rare,<br />

especially as <strong>the</strong>y would have to come from different time periods <strong>and</strong> be ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />

sensitive to change. It is <strong>the</strong>refore not surpris<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong> matter is still controversial.<br />

13. All <strong>the</strong>se cues are not subject to quick change. In <strong>the</strong> United States, at this moment,<br />

Negro activists request greater participation <strong>of</strong> family organizations <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

adm<strong>in</strong>istration <strong>of</strong> local schools. The reason now is <strong>the</strong> protection <strong>of</strong> civil rights,<br />

but as an unanticipated consequence <strong>the</strong> balance between family <strong>and</strong> school might<br />

shift. If one were to watch for such changes <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> com<strong>in</strong>g years, Dahrendorf’s<br />

type <strong>of</strong> data would not be too helpful, though very conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> depict<strong>in</strong>g an<br />

exist<strong>in</strong>g basic structure.<br />

14. I wish to draw special attention to a reflective <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>formative auxiliary paper by<br />

J. A. FISHMAN on ‘Sociol<strong>in</strong>guistics <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Language Problems <strong>of</strong> Develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Countries’, subsequently published <strong>in</strong>: International Social Science Journal 20 (2),<br />

1968, p. 211.<br />

15. L. COSER, The Study <strong>of</strong> Conflict, Glencoe (Ill.), Free Press, 1962.<br />

16. S. KELLER, Beyond <strong>the</strong> Rul<strong>in</strong>g Class, Toronto, R<strong>and</strong>om House, 1968.<br />

17. A very good discussion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> problems here <strong>in</strong>volved can be found <strong>in</strong> S. NOWAK,<br />

‘The Cultural Norms as Elements <strong>of</strong> Prognostic <strong>and</strong> Explanatory Models <strong>in</strong><br />

Sociological Theory’, The Polish Sociological Bullet<strong>in</strong> I4 (21, 1966.<br />

18. A review <strong>of</strong> this literature may be found <strong>in</strong> A. BARTON, Organizational Measurement,<br />

New York, College Entrance Exam<strong>in</strong>ation Board, 1961.<br />

19. E. SHILS, ‘The Macrosociological View’, <strong>in</strong>: T. PARSONS, et al. (eds.), American<br />

Sociology, New York, Basic Books, 1968.<br />

20. Fortunately it is now possible to obta<strong>in</strong> a quick overview <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> present state <strong>of</strong><br />

this discussion. A number <strong>of</strong> readers on <strong>the</strong> philosophy <strong>of</strong> science <strong>in</strong>clude writ<strong>in</strong>gs<br />

on history. In addition, two readers on historical analysis have recently appeared,<br />

each edited by a protagonist <strong>of</strong> very different po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>of</strong> view: W. DRAY (ed.),<br />

Philosophical Analysis <strong>and</strong> History, New York, Harper & Row, 1966; P.<br />

GARDWER (ed.), Theories <strong>of</strong> History, New York, The Free Press <strong>of</strong> Glencoe,<br />

1959.<br />

21. I. DEVA, ‘The Course <strong>of</strong> Social Change: A Hypo<strong>the</strong>sis’, Diogenes, 1966, p. 74.<br />

22. P. HOFSTATTER, Gruppendynamik, Hamburg, 1957.<br />

23. A. ETZIONI, ‘Non-conventional Uses <strong>of</strong> Sociology as Illustrated by Peace Research‘,<br />

<strong>in</strong>: P. F. LAZARSFELD, et al. (eds.), Uses <strong>of</strong> Sociology, New York, Basic<br />

Books, 1967.<br />

24. The French speak <strong>of</strong> ‘thkories de portbe rnoyenne’; <strong>the</strong> Germans use ‘Theorien der<br />

mittleren Reichweite’. This latter term has many applications <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>social</strong><br />

sciences <strong>and</strong> has sometimes been translated by ‘effective scope’.<br />

25. This is a good po<strong>in</strong>t to mention ano<strong>the</strong>r term<strong>in</strong>ological difficulty. Marxist authors<br />

<strong>in</strong> Eastern Europe refer to <strong>the</strong>mselves as Communists <strong>and</strong> designate <strong>the</strong> work <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong>ir Western colleagues as bourgeois sociology. But no Western <strong>social</strong> scientist<br />

would designate himself as bourgeois. One has, <strong>the</strong>refore, to use <strong>the</strong> somewhat<br />

illogical counterpo<strong>in</strong>t <strong>of</strong> Communist-Western. An even more complicated dilemma<br />

is created by sociologists who feel strongly that analytical reflections are<br />

neglected by many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir colleagues whom <strong>the</strong>y call positivists. But no modern<br />

sociologist, however concentrated on empirical work, would use this term today.<br />

He would never deny that all <strong>the</strong> analytical procedures listed above are <strong>in</strong>dispensible<br />

<strong>in</strong> good empirical work. (Samuel Stouffer is <strong>of</strong>ten quoted as an archpositivist;<br />

<strong>the</strong> title <strong>of</strong> his collective papers is Social Theories to Test Ideas.) In <strong>the</strong><br />

spirit <strong>of</strong> this section <strong>the</strong> counterpo<strong>in</strong>t <strong>the</strong>orist-positivist wil not be used.<br />

26. R. K. MERTON, On Theoretical Sociology - Five Essays, Old <strong>and</strong> New (which <strong>in</strong>cludes<br />

Part One <strong>of</strong> ‘Social Theory <strong>and</strong> Social Structure’), New York, Free Press,<br />

1967, P. 42.<br />

27. Ibid.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!