Programme full

Wednesday 15 April 2015 09:00 - 10:30
PAPER SESSION 1
Theory
W323, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
Change, Transition or Transformation of Societal Practices and Orders?
Jonas, M.
(Institute for Advanced Studies)
In the social sciences debates about the question whether societal practices and orders have to be changed or
transformed in order to avoid or, if this would not be possible, to damp negative effects of the current financial,
economic, ecological and political crises gain more and more attention. Against the background of this observation,
my contribution is following the aims to give an overview about this debate, to clarify the concepts of societal change,
transition and transformation and – with reference to selected social phenomena like unsustainable production and
consumption processes – to discuss as well as to tare how and under which conditions these concepts might be used
as core concepts in a political analysis oriented praxeological research.
Operationalising the Figuration: Methodological Use of Elias’s Concept in Studies of British Funeral Directors
Sereva, E.
(University of Edinburgh)
Norbert Elias's concept of figuration pertains to (un)planned sets of interdependent people linked through some form
of commonality. But, how can researchers put the concept of figuration into practice? To date, very little has been
written about the practicalities of operationalising Eliasian concepts in social research. This paper introduces two key
issues that may arise whilst using figurational analysis 'in the field'. First, in attempting to explore the elusive and
unfolding qualities, the researcher is instead often presented with information pertaining to contemporary networks
operating within figurations. Figurational relationships are characterised by qualities which unfold gradually and are
not coterminous with interpersonal links. In a sense, interviews tend to create external situations which stop time and
involve the explaining of 'who knows whom now' matters. Second, in explaining 'important' relationships and events,
interviewees' day-to-day 'second-nature' relationships and activities fall by the wayside.
This paper pertains to an on-going project which utilises figurational analysis to explore the development of relational
interplays in British funeral directing firms. In addressing these key issues, this paper proposes that using long-term
network analysis as a jumping-off point in in-depth unstructured interviews allows for glimpses into the funeral firm's
figuration. The conversations which arise in discussion of the network maps go beyond 'who's who' and touch on
these elusive and unfolding qualities. Elias, perhaps deliberately, never gave specific prescriptive advice regarding
how to use figuration in research contexts, and thus the task is to specifically tailor approaches to mesh with the topics
and questions of interest.
Modern State Formation and Corruption Discourse: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Booker, M.
(University of Edinburgh)
This presentation reverses the question and asks not for the causes of corruption but why there is not more
corruption. It draws on research currently undertaken on the connections between modern state formation and political
corruption discourse in Britain in the 19th and in Germany in the late 19th to mid- 20th centuries. Two findings in
particular are highlighted: First of all, it can be shown that corruption discourses come in different types and develop
through different phases: in the example of the United Kingdom, an initial definitional phase can be demarcated from a
mobilisation and later a consolidation phase. These different phases move through different aspects of corruption that
are identified as needing to be tackled. Secondly, the importance of the concept of corruption in the development of
the public good norm merits attention. Drawing again on examples from the United Kingdom, in particular the 1832
and 1867 Electoral Reform Acts as well as the consolidation of the state bureaucracy in the second half of the 19th
century, the paper illustrates how corruption is not just a 'pathology' of the democratic, inclusive, universalist state, but
is in fact essential to the idea of said state, the 'other' against which it defines itself.
BSA Annual Conference 2015 82
Glasgow Caledonian University