Past and present currents of sociology: 70 years of Current Sociology

This review paper marks the 70th anniversary of Current Sociology, the first journal founded by the International Sociological Association (ISA). The past seven decades have been a time of immense change within sociology and around the world, and the shifts within the structure and content of the journal mirror these transformations. Current Sociology today is a vastly different publication to the bibliography focused journal of 1952, and remains one of the top global sociology journals, and a proudly international publication. This short overview traces the history of Current Sociology across the decades, highlighting the work of the editors in guiding the development of the journal, and providing a glimpse into the development of the discipline, and the social developments of the past 70 years.

Max Weber no século XXI: entrevista com Stephen Kalberg

Os anos de 2020, 2021 e 2022 formam um triênio memorável para a teoria weberiana. Em 2020 nós rememoramos os 100 anos de falecimento de Weber. Em 2021, comemoramos o jubileu da publicação póstuma da grandiosa obra “Economia e Sociedade” [Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft] - considerada a mais importante obra sociológica do século XX, segundo pesquisa de opinião do Comitê do Programa de Congresso da ISA (International Sociological Association). No ano vindouro, 2022, relembraremos o centenário dos “Ensaios Reunidos de Sociologia da Religião” [Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre]. Cem anos se passaram desde as publicações inaugurais de Weber e elas ainda são uma fonte inexorável de aprendizados, seja através da análise de seus aspectos histórico-hermenêuticos, seja na discussão sobre sua a atualidade. As publicações do professor Dr. Stephen Kalberg, um expoente da exegese especializada, demonstram a capacidade de leitura dos fenômenos atuais que a teoria weberiana possui. Stephen Kalberg é professor do Departamento de Sociologia da Universidade de Boston e autor de inúmeros artigos de impacto, dentre os quais destacamos Max Weber's types of rationality: Cornerstones for the analysis of rationalization processes in history. No recente livro Searching the Spirit of American Democracy: Max Weber on a Unique Political Culture, Past Present, and Future (obra traduzida para o francês, grego, italiano, japonês, português – no prelo, espanhol e coreano), por exemplo, o autor recorre reconstrói a especificidade do espírito da democracia americana de modo a evidenciar a atualidade da obra de Weber.

Is There an Ibero-American “Youthology”? A Conversation

This article reproduces a conversation between Carles Feixa and Maritza Urteaga, researchers in youth studies, whose paths converge in the critical study of contemporary youth culture. Carles Feixa, PhD, is Professor of Social Anthropology at the Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona) and holds a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of Manizales (Colombia). He was previously a lecturer at the University of Lleida, and has been visiting scholar in Rome, Mexico City, Paris, Berkeley, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Newcastle and Lima. He has also been a public policy consultant for the United Nations and VP for Europe of the “Sociology of Youth” research committee of the International Sociological Association. In 2017 he was awarded the icrea Academia Award by the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council. Maritza Urteaga, PhD, is Research Professor at the National School of Anthropology and History in Mexico City, and a level ii member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico. This conversation reviews Feixa’s career, from its beginnings in the 80s to the present, to determine whether there is something that can be called Ibero-American “youthology”.

Global sociology revisited: Toward new directions

As newly elected President of the International Sociological Association, I unfold my vision for new directions for global sociology. After defining what a global sociology is, I will point out two particular directions for this sociology: supplementing the postcolonial approach with an anti-authoritarian one, and theorizing post-secular society. One cannot but acknowledge the scars of the colonial era, but postcolonial studies have been rightly used but also abused. I would identify two abuses: the over-emphasis on external factors while neglecting local ones, and the binary logic of antagonistic categories such as East/West, universalism/contextualism. Thus, I make the call to supplement the postcolonial approach with an anti-authoritarian one. There are three levels of authoritarianism: one relates to the political regime; another relates rather to neoliberalism; and the third concerns attitudes. The authoritarian attitude is closely related to the difficulty of dealing with religion in our society. Global sociology should take into account in any contemporary analysis of society the new features of our post-secular society, a sort of low-key secularism in confluence with neoliberalism. In light of these two directions, I would like to see global sociology moving forward. But what should the features of this global sociology be? The article will discuss five features for global sociology.

The crisis of the new western sociological schools. That showed the XIX congress of the ISA?

In the article the authors analyze the development of Western sociological science during 20 years that have passed between the 14th and 19th ISA Congresses held in Canada (in Montreal – in 1998 and Toronto –in 2018, respectively) and claim the crisis state of Western sociology at the moment, largely due to the departure and rejection of basic research, the transition mainly to applied and reduced professionalism in the sociological sphere. Since the Congress of the International Sociological Association is the largest scientific event, it is of interest to evaluate the results of sociological research presented in the reports of the participants, to analyze the methods used and the chosen scientific directions, as well as the potential of sociologists. And the 19th ISA Congress showed that along with the Western sociological schools that are currently experiencing a crisis, new sociological schools are being formed in South Africa and Australia, which have achieved noteworthy results.

Steering the world from where we are: An introduction to the sociocybernetics perspective

The concept of sociocybernetics has been shaped over the past 40 years at the intersection between first- and second-order cybernetics, constructive epistemology and systems science. This has produced a common language to bridge these different disciplines and a common basis for research analysing complex social problems. Sociocybernetics applies second-order cybernetics concepts to the study of societies, communities and groups in which first- and second-order reflexivity may play an important part, but it is not only a theoretical perspective in the abstract; it is also an approach that is applied to the analysis of cross-disciplinary issues such as systemic violence, the role of technology in society, environmental challenges, urban planning, community development, social identity and media representation, among many others. This article provides an introduction and a general conceptual description of second-order cybernetics in the broader context of cybernetics and systems sciences. It also presents the sociocybernetics debate as it stands today, after the 20-year anniversary of the Research Committee on Sociocybernetics’ (RC51) activities within the International Sociological Association (ISA) and its contributions to understanding and acting upon an increasingly complex social world. Sociocybernetics is the science of turbulent societies that somehow continue to adapt themselves, despite the complexities they are confronted with. The articles in this monograph introduce some of the current work of the research committee and showcase the extensive potential for sociocybernetics’ interaction with other areas of sociology and contemporary debate.

Models in sociocybernetics: A 20 year review at the ISA-RC51 on Sociocybernetics

What is a model? A frequently asked question by an observer when sharing the record of their work describing reality when communicating findings. However, there are other related questions: Has the model been validated? Is the model valid? Is the model useful? This article gives possible answers to these questions from the sociocybernetics paradigm. The second order, the observation of the observer, is an integral approach to the study of the model concept, but, above all, to the action involved: making a model. The text draws on systems theory and offers a reflection on the possibilities, alternatives, barriers and potentials of making models-based sociocybernetics and, also, sociocybernetics-based models. The reader will find a review of the approach to reality through models, the scales of observables and observers, an account of main works related to model theory and practice, and a review of tools available for making and simulating models and discussion on model value. The article concludes with a review of the last 20 years of the International Sociological Association (ISA) Research Committee 51 (RC51) on Sociocybernetics activity related to models and modelling.