Migration and the critique of ‘state thought’: Abdelmalek Sayad as a political theorist

This article argues for reading the Algerian-French sociologist Abdelmalek Sayad (1933–1998) as a political theorist of migration. Various contributions have recently called to move away from the court-like assessment of claims by host states and foreigners and to engage more frankly with empirical work more attentive to concrete experiences and power relations. I contend that Sayad’s sociological work constitutes a substantial empirical and normative resource for ethical and political theory of migration, pointing to the persistence of ‘state thought’ and presenting original normative perspectives on emigration, inclusion in democracy, naturalization or postcolonial relationships. Such a reading of Sayad from a political theory perspective would then constitute a prime example of the cross-fertilization of empirical and normative approaches.

‘My Memories of the Time We Had Together Are More Important’: Direct Cremation and the Privatisation of UK Funerals

Funerals have long been of interest to social scientists. Previous sociological work has examined the relationship between individuality, belief and tradition within funeral services, founded on the assumption that public rituals have psycho-social benefit for organisers and attendees. With the introduction of direct cremation to the UK, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on funeral service attendance in 2020 and 2021, critique of this assumption is now needed. Drawing on interviews with recently bereaved people who organised a direct cremation in late 2017, this article illustrates how compromise, control and consistency are key drivers for not having a funeral service. The article argues that a declining importance in the fate of the body and a move towards ‘invite-only’ commemorative events represents a waning need for social support offered by a public, communal funeral service. In turn, this indicates a sequestration, or privatisation, of the contemporary funeral.

A Literary Piece as a Sociological Work: The Concept of Modernity in Karel Čapek’s "War With the Newts"

A literary Piece as a Sociological Work: The Concept of Modernity in Karel Čapek’s War With the NewtsIn this text, I interpret Karel Čapek’s novel War With the Newts (1936) as a sociological work and analyze the concept of the modern age that it presents. First, I show in what sense Čapek’s work was sociological. Following Theodor Adorno, I suggest that the difference between literature and sociology is not of a fundamental but of a historical and analytical nature, and that what defines sociology is not method, empiricism, or explicitly defined concepts, but the insightful notion of social totality. In Čapek, I analyze a social totality that I find in his concept of the modern age. Such an analysis provides insight into the self-destructive power of modern society. I suggest that Čapek’s portrayal of modernity still applies today and that we can recognize the same patterns he presented in the world around us. Utwór literacki jako dzieło socjologiczne. Koncepcja nowoczesności w Inwazji jaszczurów Karela ČapkaW artykule analizuję powieść Karela Čapka Inwazja jaszczurów (1936) jako pracę socjologiczną, skupiając się na zaprezentowanej w niej koncepcji nowoczesności. W pierwszej części tekstu pokazuję, w jakim sensie można uznać pracę Čapka za socjologiczną. Podążając śladami Theodora W. Adorna, uważam, że różnica między literaturą a socjologią nie jest fundamentalna, a jedynie historyczna i analityczna, oraz że wyróżnikiem socjologii nie są metoda, empiryzm czy jednoznacznie zdefiniowane koncepcje, lecz dające głęboki wgląd pojęcie całości społecznej. W drugiej części tekstu analizuję zidentyfikowane przeze mnie u Čapka pojęcie całości społecznej, jakie stanowi jego koncepcja nowoczesności. Analiza ta pozwala uzyskać wgląd w autodestrukcyjną moc nowoczesnego społeczeństwa. Staram się dowieść, że przedstawiona przez tego autora wizja nowoczesności jest wciąż aktualna, a opisane przez niego wzory możemy zaobserwować w otaczającym nas świecie.

El itinerario reflexivo: de la desazón disciplinar a los nuevos réditos del quehacer sociológico / The reflective itinerary: from disciplinary unease to the new profits of sociological work

Las diferentes implicaciones del hombre de ciencia en su pretensión por dar cuenta del contexto que le rodea y al cual pertenece, ha dado paso a una racionalidad ya no como certeza de la representación sino como evidencia de su instalación. De ahí que este artículo busque dar cuenta del oficio del sociólogo, asumiendo los nuevos desafíos disciplinares a partir del abordaje de un itinerario cimentado en la noción de reflexividad como actitud creativa, revolucionaria y polémica. Es así como se intenta esclarecer las exigencias, apuestas y potencialidades de la reflexividad sociológica, donde el sujeto se instala en la realidad que emprende y (auto)reflexiona de manera concomitante mientras reflexiona sobre otros, convirtiéndose también en objeto de su propia observación; entendiendo además que el acontecimiento abstraído como hecho objetual está en íntima relación desde dónde, cómo y para qué observa. En consecuencia, reconoce que no existe un universo totalmente determinista, debiendo mantener una actitud vital y una disposición disciplinar para devolverle la viveza, resonancia y profundidad al mundo social.

Translation as a Social Activity: Towards a Bourdieusian Understanding of Pickthall’s Translation of the Quran

This paper argued for a fresh understanding of Pickthall’s The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: An Explanatory Translation (1930) in light of Bourdieu’s sociological work. The main objective of this study was to develop an initial sociological model for understanding the production of Pickthall’s English translation of the meaning of the Holy Quran. By hypothesizing a field which could be called ‘the field of English translations of the meaning of the Holy Quran’, the researchers aspired to understand the dynamics of this field and its structure through delineating the socio-cultural and socio-political forces. After conducting an analysis at the macro level, the researchers analyzed the paratextual elements of the translation, the data of which represent the starting point for Bourdieusian insights into the production of Pickthall’s translation. The findings revealed that Pickthall’s capitalization is evident in the paratextual zone to secure his position within the field in question. The study concluded that Pickthall’s is a social activity, situated in a social space, and carried out by translating agents, both individuals and organizations, who are in a ceaseless struggle over accumulating capital at stake in the field.

Performing Trustworthiness: The ‘Credibility Work’ of Prominent Sociologists

To the limited extent that sociologists have considered non-academics’ trust in sociologists, legitimacy has become entwined with the idea of a value-free, ‘objective’ sociology. However, broader philosophical/sociological work suggests that credibility signals are more complex, with, for example, non-partisanship being separate to epistemic responsibility. In this article, I explore the nature of ‘credibility work’ in practice via interviews with 15 prominent English sociologists, making three contributions. First, I find that some sociologists deliberately pursue credibility, a phenomenon largely ignored in previous research. They do this primarily by ‘performing’ non-partisanship or epistemic responsibility within interactions. Second, this credibility work does not require the pursuit of ‘objectivity’; sociologists can signal epistemic responsibility despite partisanship, or pursue ‘dispassionate advocacy’. Third, the extent and nature of credibility work varies by context; indeed some sociologists benefit from partisanship, while others feel no need for credibility work. I conclude by stressing the need for further research.

Towards a Weberian sociology of intentional communities

Among the alternatives to contemporary capitalism being explored today, intentional communities merit particular attention. While German sociologist Max Weber is one of the most original theorists of community, his work has been used very unevenly in the analysis of intentional communities. However, a Weberian point of view on this subject can be developed. This article begins by discussing the status of communities in Weber’s writings, and goes on to make note of the very meagre use of these references in North American sociological work on intentional communities. Examining some foundational research carried out in France during the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the results of a survey conducted in North American intentional communities, the article deploys a Weberian sociology of religious institutions to broaden the scope of the analysis of community utopias.

Notes on an Anxious Genre: Queer Young Adult Literature and Culture

This chapter traces the emergence of queer themes and characters in young adult literature, as well as critical commentary on queer YA, to demonstrate how anxiety is the affective form that best characterizes this subgenre of children’s literature. Mason argues that, in the long tradition of children’s literature criticism, queer YA criticism functions as an illuminating index of anxieties about how adults address queer youth. This chapter draws on sociological work on adolescence, as well as psychoanalytic theorists Adam Phillips and Julia Kristeva, to illustrate how adolescence and young adult literature are themselves the products of adult anxiety. Anxiety characterizes the affective economy through which queer young adult literature circulates, Mason argues, while itself evincing a queer temporality that places delay and forward-oriented growth in tension with one another. Overall, Mason demonstrates the utility of children’s literature and its theories for thinking more broadly about adult concerns and anxieties.

Márkus and the retrieval of the sociological Adorno

Major sociological work related to the culture industry thesis was undertaken by Adorno during his period as a ‘refugee scholar’ in the USA. It has been charged with a ‘sociological deficit’ by leading figures within critical theory, typically without reference to that US context. A dialogue with Márkus’s work on Adorno and the Marxian production paradigm can redress failings in those critiques. However, such a task is complicated by the limitations of Márkus’s own major essay on this topic. This paper thus conducts an immanent critique of Márkus: ‘Márkus against Márkus’. Márkus’s proposals for the application of the Marxian production paradigm to aesthetic culture and his prospective vision for critical theory are so found to be very compatible with Adorno’s related work.