Television Series as Critical Theories: From Current Identitarianism to Levinas. American Crime, The Sinner, Sharp Objects, Unorthodox

Critical theory with emancipatory aims today to find a source of regeneration in ordinary cultures, and in particular, in TV series. Certain series can play a role in reinventing critical theories, drawing on the tradition of the Frankfurt School but shifting some of that School’s formulations through contact with current forms of interpretive sociology and pragmatic sociology. This requires a cross-border dialogue between the “language game” of TV series and the “knowledge game” of political theory, to use concepts inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein. In this article, I will focus on four series: seasons 1 of American Crime (2015) and The Sinner (2017); Sharp Objects (2018); and Unorthodox (2020). The resources provided by these cultural works can help us formulate a critical decoding of important aspects of the current ideological context, in particular, the intersecting identitarian and ultra-conservative tendencies we find in France, Europe, the United States, and Brazil. These critical resources bear affinities to a political philosophy of the opening of being inspired by the ethical reflections of Emmanuel Levinas.

Collective Religious Freedom as Associational Action: How Sociological Concepts Can Help Make Sense of the Jurisprudence

Religious freedom is protected by section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Historically, the right has been understood in individual terms, though the courts have acknowledged a collective dimension to religion as expressed in a community of believers. Yet, the precise meaning of collective religious freedom has not been fully fleshed out. The current case law only encompasses a limited range of forms of collective religious expression and does not articulate a coherent theory as to why some collective 2(a) claims succeed while others fail. This paper draws on concepts from interpretive sociology to help clarify the existing jurisprudence and reveal a tension that is otherwise invisible over the status of volition/voluntariness in the collective religious freedom framework. Addressing this tension can help rationalize the Court’s jurisprudence and give resources to critics looking to change how the law encompasses collective religious experience.

Max Weber’s Way from Social Economics to Sociology

One of the most outstanding intellectual achievements in the history of classical thought in social sciences which have remained influential up until today are undoubtedly associated with the name of Max Weber. Through a detailed text analysis and a conceptual mapping of the logic of the argumentation, this paper sets out to offer a profound insight into the classical German sociologist’s approach to science, both “early” (about 1903/4) and “late” (post-1913), in terms of some fundamental matters of epistemology and methodology. The first part of this paper investigates social economics in terms of its theoretical and methodological foundations and applicability, while the second part looks at interpretive sociology from the same perspectives, with an emphasis on the differences between the two approaches. We argue that Weber’s dualist methodological attitude became explicit and dominant in his later writings. In addition, as he brought in focus the theory of social action, he not only became an explicit proponent of methodological individualism, but he also revisited and specified the logic and role of “causal explanation” and “interpretation”. Interpretive sociology no longer seeks a causal explanation for individual historical events by applying nomological knowledge, but instead commits itself to finding “causally adequate” explanation for the course and consequences of different types of social actions. Interpretation, in turn, no longer means an analysis of effects concerning the cultural significance of individual historical events in a special sense, but an interpretive understanding of various types of social actions, rational or “irrational”, directly or in a motivation-like manner. The paper concludes with a summary designed to highlight key legacies of Weber’s oeuvre that have remained valid and valuable for any analytical and empirical research in sociology.

The Social Interaction Behavior in School Education—An Interpretation of Giddens’ The Constitution of Society

Since 1960s, with the rise of phenomenology and hermeneutics, structural sociology has been impacted to some extent. In Giddens’ opinion, the structural sociology represented by Parsons greatly belittles the influence of individual's subjective initiative and cognitive ability on the society, and overemphasizes the dominant role of the society on the individual. However, interpretive sociology regards the material world such as society as the object world which is opposite to human existence and suspends the restriction of structure on individuals. According to Giddens, the problem of social theory is actually the problem of social order, that is, to explain how people transcend time and space and transcend the limitation of individual presence by means of social relations. Based on Giddens' social construction theory, this paper tries to explain the influence of communication behavior in school education on individual socialization of students.

Is the legacy of Max Weber relevant today? (On the centenary of his death)

The article discusses the main issues of the scientific heritage of the classic of world sociology Max Weber, and discusses the reasons why his legacy remains relevant today. It touches upon the problems and difficulties associated with the translation of Weber’s works from German, which led to the inaccuracies in the interpretation of his ideas. The article emphasized the main achievement of Weber that is the creation of an interpretive sociology and its conceptual apparatus. Much attention is paid to the concept of «freedom from values» in connection with Weber’s interpretation of science as a sphere in which there is no place for any criteria other than scientific ones, and the difference between the sphere of science and the sphere of politics, where the individual can openly show his interests and preferences. The methodological relevance of the problems and concepts disclosed by Weber, in particular, the concepts of «ideal type», «types of domination», «charisma», «social action», rationality», «bureaucracy» is considered.

Max Weber: the invariance of domination

The monograph highlights max Weber's concept of domination, which is the counterpoint and organizing beginning of his interpretive sociology. The action of the law of invariance of domination in various areas of economic and political life is shown. The article presents a comparative analysis of Weber's views on the structure and dynamics of domination with the ideas of his contemporaries Thorstein Veblen and Robert Michels in the field of Economics and politics, which do not lose relevance in the modern world. Special attention is paid to Weber's concept of domination in the context of the transformation of democracy and capitalism. For students and teachers, as well as all those interested in the problems of sociology of politics.

Reassessing the “rules of the game”: Max Weber and Peter Winch on rule-following

Peter Winch’s critical remarks concerning Max Weber’s interpretive sociology are centered around the notions of “rule” and “rule-following.” While Winch gave credit to Weber for much of his theoretical insight, he nevertheless found his account unsatisfactory for two reasons: its neglect of rules and rule-following in social life, and its apparent reliance on causal explanations. This article attempts to show how Winch might have been less than charitable on both of these accounts: that once one pays close attention to Weber’s concept of a “rule,” and to his ideas concerning “adequate causation,” the two frameworks for interpretive sociology could turn out to be much more similar than it is usually assumed.