Showing papers in "International Review of Sociology in 2015"
TL;DR: In this paper, a framework for a relational sociology of culture is proposed, which is based on Howard Becker's notion of "art worlds" and a more sustained reflection upon both the facilitative potential of social networks and their shaping, as hypothesised by Peter Blau (and developed by Miller McPherson and Noah Mark).
Abstract: In this paper I outline a framework for a relational sociology of culture. I begin by briefly defining relational sociology and contrasting it with both individualistic and holistic alternatives. Culture, I suggest, is an inherently relational concept and needs to be theorised and analysed as such. This argument is briefly elaborated through a discussion of the generation and diffusion of culture by way of interaction and social networks. The respective contributions of Tarde, Durkheim, Merleau-Ponty, and Wittgenstein are given particular attention. In the final part of the paper I introduce and discuss Howard Becker's notion of ‘art worlds’, drawing out and elaborating upon its relational foundations whilst also further developing it through a more sustained reflection upon both the facilitative potential of social networks and their shaping, as hypothesised by Peter Blau (and developed by Miller McPherson and Noah Mark), by way of homophilic attraction in ‘social space’. The paper covers a lot of ground...
79 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a critical realist version of relational theory of society (CRRS) developed since 1983, which is also called CRRS and is suitable to understand how the morphogenesis of society comes about through social relations, which are the connectors that mediate between agency and social structure.
Abstract: In recent years, many different versions of relational sociology have appeared. In this paper, I present a critical realist version developed since 1983, which is also called ‘relational theory of society’ (CRRS). It shares with the other relational sociologies the idea of avoiding both methodological individualism and holism. The main differences lie in the way social relations are defined, the kind of reality that is attributed to them, how they configure social formations, and the way in which their changes are conceived (morphogenesis and emergence). In particular, this approach is suitable to understand how the morphogenesis of society comes about through social relations, which are the connectors that mediate between agency and social structure. The generative mechanism that feeds social morphogenesis resides in the dynamic (that is, in their ways of operating) of the social relations networks that alter the social molecule constituting structures already in place. Social morphogenesis is a form of ...
77 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that relational sociology is at risk of losing its raison d'etre if it does not answer two fundamental practical and ontological questions: (1) Why do we need relational sociology? and (2) What do we study in relational sociology.
Abstract: Starting from the idea that relational sociology has been founded on various and incompatible social ontologies, I argue that it is at risk of losing its raison d'etre if we do not answer two fundamental practical and ontological questions: (1) Why do we need relational sociology? and (2) What do we study in relational sociology? In this respect, I propose a deep, transactional sociology partly and freely inspired by the work of J. Dewey which clearly detaches relational sociology from social determinism and co-determinism.
76 citations
TL;DR: Relational sociology as discussed by the authors provides a substantial account of social networks, conceptualizing them as real social structures interwoven with meaning, including stories, identities, social categories (including role categories), and institutions.
Abstract: This paper offers an overview of relational sociology as developed by and around Harrison White. Relational sociology provides a substantial account of social networks, conceptualizing them as real social structures interwoven with meaning. Forms of meaning connected to network configurations (as part of their ‘domains’) include stories, identities, social categories (including role categories), and institutions. Recent advances lead to a network perspective on culture, and to an emphasis on communicative events in networks. In contrast to other strands of relational sociology, the approach aims at a close connection between empirical research and theoretical reflection. Theoretical concepts and arguments are geared at empirical applicability in network research, rather than mainly providing a theoretical description of the social world. Finally, the author's own version of relational sociology is sketched: social networks are seen as dynamic constructions of relational expectations. These emerge and deve...
67 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present and summarize the theoretical proposals of four leading scholars of the so-called "relational sociology" and contextualize its emergence and developments, and summarize its theoretical foundations.
Abstract: In this paper I present and summarize the theoretical proposals of four leading scholars of the so-called ‘relational sociology’. First of all I try to contextualize its emergence and developments ...
56 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the main challenges that the cultural and structural changes within the families and in gender relations and the changing social expectations about men's involvement in the care of children and about fatherhood pose to men's and fathers' identity.
Abstract: The proposed thematic session aims to highlight the main challenges that the cultural and structural changes within the families and in gender relations and the changing social expectations about men's involvement in the care of children and about fatherhood pose to men's and fathers’ identity. Fathering in contemporary society requires men to be simultaneously provider, guide, household help and nurturer. The difficulties of these roles, and the tensions they sometimes produce, challenge men's relationships with their female partners, the meaning and place of work in their lives and their sense of self as competent adults. We will also explore the relationship between transitions to fatherhoods and the challenges of balancing work and family obligations. How to balance paid work, other interests and relationships with responsibilities, anxieties and pleasures of childrearing are today concerns for both men and women.
37 citations
TL;DR: This article found that top-down and bottom-up dynamics are mutually reinforcing, creating a co-evolutionary dynamic in women's empowerment, and analyzed their reciprocal relationship in both directions of impact.
Abstract: Some scholars find that top-down improvements in women's rights increase societies' value of gender equality at the grassroots, creating pressure for more adoption and enforcement. Others claim that the extension of women's rights is strongly dependent on value change at the grassroots, operating largely as a bottom-up process. We find that top-down and bottom-up dynamics are mutually reinforcing, creating a co-evolutionary dynamic in women's empowerment. We evaluate the rights/values dynamic with data on as many countries as possible, trace their changes over the longest time span available, and analyze their reciprocal relationship in both directions of impact. This is the first analysis that is at the same time (1) comparative across a diverse, global set of nations; (2) dynamic in looking at change in rights and values over time; (3) bidirectional in analyzing the interplay in both directions of impact; and, (4) controlled for relevant ‘third’ changes.
32 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, social capital emerges as a valuable sociological tool to analyze the social effects of Internet use, and a growing body of research has been conducted on social capital in the context of Internet usage.
Abstract: As the Internet becomes pervasive in western societies, social capital emerges as a valuable sociological tool to analyze the social effects of Internet use. Thus, a growing body of research has be...
29 citations
TL;DR: The challenges of such a geographic focus on religions are epistemological, theoretical, and methodological as discussed by the authors, and it is necessary to think the geography of religion beyond the boundaries of geography.
Abstract: Relying on a review of recent literature (and, sometimes, older publications), this paper attempts to highlight issues relating to the ‘spatial turn’ in religious studies. It outlines a series of developments in the study of religions related to issues in space, location and territory that have been enhanced by the intellectual framework of globalism and the empirical context of globalization. The challenges of such a geographic focus on religions are epistemological, theoretical and methodological. An examination of new and not-so-new issues in geographic approaches to religion shows how topical the perspective is, and how necessary it is to think the geography of religion beyond the boundaries of geography. In what ways do these new regimes of territoriality, these new concepts of religious space, and these new methods to understand the changes of material and cultural expressions of religion, whether wide-scale or local, partake on a paradigmatic shift? And how promising is it?
24 citations
TL;DR: This article developed a theoretical framework that highlights the role of context in variation of morality and distinguish between three contextual dimensions that condition morality: symbolic forms, scenes of address, and narrating subjects.
Abstract: How does context condition morality? This is one of the core questions of the sociology of morality and also one that has remained largely untheorized till date. In this article, we draw on insights from symbolic interactionism, and develop a theoretical framework that highlights the role of context in variation of morality. This framework is informed by a view of the self as a reflexive process that engages with moral norms through giving a self-account in relation to the norms. Based on this view, we distinguish between three contextual dimensions that condition morality: symbolic forms, scenes of address, and narrating subjects. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the presented theoretical framework for sociological studies of morality.
24 citations
TL;DR: A review of fathering research reveals a predominantly agency-level emp... as discussed by the authors investigates social policies concerning men's transitions to fatherhood and the changing role of fathers in Japan and finds that a majority of the fathers are employed at the agency level.
Abstract: This paper investigates social policies concerning men's transitions to fatherhood and the changing role of fathers in Japan. A review of fathering research reveals a predominantly agency-level emp...
TL;DR: The public debate in France has rolled out heatedly on the building of minarets, with opinion polls giving a majority of French opposed to the idea as discussed by the authors. Nevertheless, a fair number of mosques have been built throughout the past century.
Abstract: The public debate in France has rolled out heatedly on the building of minarets, with opinion polls giving a majority of French opposed to the idea. Nevertheless, a fair number of mosques has been built throughout the past century. The French reception of mosques is therefore a complicated case. Recalling the history of French mosques and its different turns, with a focus on recent history, allows a glimpse at the visibility of Islam in the national sphere in France and its public reception. It also underlines that religious buildings, in the city, are at the intersection of different levels: questions of identity, of politics, of faith, and of integration, are all at stake.
TL;DR: This article found that men with more egalitarian gender role attitudes and higher scores on parenthood status salience are more involved in child care tasks, but the strength of this association depends on the age of the child.
Abstract: Using data from the first two waves of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, I examine to what extent men's own attitudes explain their paternal involvement after the transition into parenthood. This study moves beyond previous work by incorporating multiple dimensions of paternal involvement, by unravelling issues of causality regarding the measurements of attitudes and behaviour and by taking important father, mother, and child characteristics into account. In line with my expectations, the results show that men with more egalitarian gender role attitudes and higher scores on parenthood status salience are more (relatively) more involved in childcare tasks. However, results vary depending on the outcome measure studied. First, my finding reveal that men with more egalitarian gender role attitudes and higher scores on parenthood status salience spend more time (in absolute terms) on playing with their child, but the strength of this association depends on the age of the child. Furthermore, only men with more egalitarian gender role attitudes are relatively more involved in physical and logistic tasks. Both men with more egalitarian gender role attitudes and men with higher scores on parenthood status salience are relatively more involved in child care tasks labelled as ‘responsibility’
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative interview with 11 Austrian couples before and after birth when decisions concerning parental leave were made revealed that parents considered parental leave a central element of masculinity as long as it suited fathers' needs and circumstances permitted.
Abstract: Men and masculinity are considered a key factor in changing gender inequality at the transition to parenthood. Prior research on gendered division of parental leave concentrated on fathers’ perspectives. This paper includes perspectives of fathers and mothers who make use of parental leave in different ways and asks how masculinity is jointly constructed, how these constructions are linked to the use of parental leave, and if and how they are oriented towards hegemonic masculinity. The analysis is based on 44 qualitative interviews with 11 Austrian couples before and after birth when decisions concerning parental leave were made. Our case reconstructions reveal that parents considered parental leave a central element of masculinity as long as it suited fathers’ needs and circumstances permitted. The decisions for sharing parental leave were father-centred as both partners valued father’s leave higher than mother’s.
TL;DR: In a previous article, in this Journal (2011, 21.1) as discussed by the authors, a practical definition of religion was proposed, which offered considerable explanatory scope: religion consists of beliefs, actions and institutions which assume the existence of supernatural entities with powers of action.
Abstract: In a previous article, in this Journal (2011, 21.1) Steve Bruce put forward a practical definition of religion which he held out as offering considerable explanatory scope: religion consists of beliefs, actions and institutions which assume the existence of supernatural entities with powers of action, or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moral purpose. This article proposes that this definition holds dramatic explanatory scope that has yet to be realised by sociology. The element ‘moral purpose’ in that definition represents a not clearly acknowledged, but nevertheless substantial, agreement amongst sociologists that religion is a life-meaning-making enterprise defined by the imposition of moral order on a universe that is incomprehensible and indifferent to human existence. The full implication of that definition is the reversal of the conventional perspective on secularisation. If the placement of life within a meaningful sense of existence is the domain of religion, it follows that today's se...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use multilevel regression to study the determinants of individual-level support for the economic system and test for differences in the perception of economic performance due to political attitudes and personal properties.
Abstract: A capitalist market economy is based on several institutional elements, such as private ownership and competition. Does public support for this economic model rise if the economy prospers, and fall during a downturn? Or is public support largely independent of the ups and downs of economic cycles? We hypothesize that positive economic performance increases support and that persons profiting personally are more supportive of the economic system's constitutive institutional elements. Using multilevel regression we study the determinants of individual-level support for the economic system. We also test for differences in the perception of economic performance due to political attitudes and personal properties. The findings partly support the hypotheses, indicating that macro-economic factors matter for individual-level attitudes towards the economy. Attitudes towards different institutional elements of the economic system also differ in the degree to which they are political or economic, and influenced by ec...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the role of education policies in the pursuit of social inclusion and social justice, but also show how local actors adapt and experiment in managing the socio-cultural diversity of the students and the school contexts.
Abstract: From a critical sociological perspective, this article advances the debate between global schooling with political incentives and local meanings with localized educational practices and supports. It focuses on the role of education policies in the pursuit of social inclusion and social justice, but also shows how local actors adapt and experiment in managing the socio-cultural diversity of the students and the school contexts. First, I show the issues of educational support policies in the French context with a historical background and their re-appropriation by local actors. Second, I present the theoretical framework of my research (2008 to 2013), the methodology and initial results. Last, I analyze the main qualitative results of my comparative research in order to highlight ‘good’ or ‘bad’ educational support practices according to various criteria, starting with interactional socio-cultural posture between different actors.
TL;DR: In this paper, the adoption of a model of legal intervention for integrating Muslims into Italian liberal democracy is discussed. But the main thesis of this paper assumes that diversity-conscious respect for difference and its legal recognition is a better strategy for achieving justice than a blindfolded Eurocentric vision, based on uniformising secular methods.
Abstract: The main thesis of this paper assumes that, while we are not arguing for a full-fledged personal law system in Italy (which provides Muslims with different legal systems), we assume that diversity-conscious respect for difference and its legal recognition is a better strategy for achieving justice than a blindfolded Eurocentric vision, based on uniformising secular methods. This paper suggests the adoption of a model of legal intervention for integrating Muslims into Italian liberal democracy. I will call this model a ‘pluralistic institutional approach to integration’, based on a ‘a joint governance approach’. It requires a conceptual break with absolute, unlimited and undivided sovereignty and jurisdiction. Such a pluralistic institutional approach to integration encourages the accommodation of some of the most pressing minority demands in some limited areas. In family law – as we will see – there can be different possible solutions available to conduct their private relationship compatible with their u...
TL;DR: In this article, the attitudes of Japanese and Korea's citizens to their judicial review mechanisms were analyzed through the analysis of their attitudes to the judicial review mechanism and their attitudes towards the judicial system.
Abstract: Though very close geographically and culturally, postwar Japan and the Republic of Korea – both non-classical Western democracies – each experienced a very different democratization process and adopted a different kind of democratic regime. This is strongly expressed in the form of their judicial review mechanisms that are aimed in different ways at assisting citizens in encouraging the courts to review laws and policies. Given this backdrop, through the analysis of the attitudes of the Japanese and Korea's citizens to their judicial review mechanisms we search for civic attitudes in these societies. By doing so, we try to contribute to the great debate regarding the capability of non-Western societies that did not develop from a well-rooted liberal culture to adopt and internalize liberal-democratic values.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the relations between religious institutions and the state in a non-state environment, and the example for the secular environment has been taken from Estonia that is considered a high...
Abstract: The article focuses on the relations between religious institutions and state in a secular environment. The example for the secular environment has been taken from Estonia that is considered a high...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the changes in fatherhood in Lithuania, focusing on the experiences and attitudes of men who became fathers in two different historic periods: the soviet time and in the years of societal transformations after the collapse of the communist regime.
Abstract: The paper examines the changes in fatherhood in Lithuania, focusing on the experiences and attitudes of men, who became fathers in two different historic periods – the soviet time and in the years of societal transformations after the collapse of communist regime. The narratives of 24 men (born in 1950–1965 and 1970–1985) are explored, the data come from the qualitative research, conducted in 2012. It is maintained that the construction of fatherhood in late socialism can be described in terms of modern fatherhood metanarrative, while the features of a ‘new father' can be traced mainly among the younger males of ‘independence generation’.
TL;DR: The concept of social capital was investigated as an explanatory variable of a number of significant socioeconomic phenomena, such as economic development, the well-functioning of institutions, and school performance as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The concept of social capital was investigated as an explanatory variable of a number of significant socio-economic phenomena, such as economic development, the well-functioning of institutions, and school performance. This study proposes an analysis of the relation between social capital and well-being. The two concepts have been interpreted by social sciences in many different ways. In particular, as a result of its recent success, social capital has been the object of a great deal of interpretations. Social scientists have considered it either as a collective resource (macro social capital), or as an available resource amongst members of specific groups (friends, associations, local communities, etc.; i.e. meso social capital), or as a resource that individuals can achieve through their personal networks (micro social capital). Using data from a representative sample of Italian citizens (25–80 years old), this work investigates which dimension (micro, meso, or macro) of social capital has (if any) a ma...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse le gouvernement par les normes dans le conflit israelo palestinien depuis une decennie, and questionne ainsi la porosite morale des dispositifs de gestion de ce conflit and la diversite des conduites morales.
Abstract: Cette contribution analyse le gouvernement par les normes dans le conflit israelo palestinien depuis une decennie. L’hypothese est que le droit et l’ensemble des dispositifs securitaires et juridiques, s’ils sont intimement lies a l’ordre du controle et d’une certaine domination, donnent lieu a differentes representations cognitives. L’enjeu est pour certains agents de se saisir des regles a l’œuvre dans les dispositifs de controle et d’en faire un usage pratique, voire strategique. L’etude questionne ainsi la porosite morale des dispositifs de gestion de ce conflit et la diversite des conduites morales. Differents cas de figures (la mobilite economique et residentielle, la lutte contre les expropriations ou la conquete des droits au travail) permettent de poser un regard contraste sur la qualification de cette realite securitaire par les citoyens Palestiniens de Cisjordanie ou de Jerusalem. L’etude s’appuie sur un ensemble de materiaux d’enquete, qui renvoient a des evenements differents propres a fonder...
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of parental divorce on the outcomes of children's marital relationships has been studied and well documented in many contemporary Western countries, including the USA and the UK.
Abstract: The effect of parental divorce on the outcomes of children's marital relationships has been long studied and well documented in many contemporary Western countries. This paper investigates whether ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative sociological study with Swedish young women labelled with an intellectual impairment is presented, and the aim is to present an exemplification of the social constructio...
Abstract: The present article is part of a qualitative sociological study with Swedish young women labelled with an intellectual impairment. The aim is to present an exemplification of the social constructio ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a review on "religion and territory" is presented, focusing on the evolution of the state-religion relationship and the governance of religious space, revealing points of view as regards religion and territory.
Abstract: One of the specificities of modernity is the way its challenges the human relation to space. This in turns implies changes concerning religion. This article is an introduction to the special issue of the Review on “religion and territory.” It displays the diverse aspects at play: first, the contemporary study of the question of space in human and social sciences, and its recent evolution, open a vast and challenging field. The complex relationship between religious belonging and spatial setting is also a promising entry point. Furthermore, the evolution of the state-religion relationship, and the governance of religious space, are revealing points of view as regards religion and territory. Finally, the questions pertaining to religion and the management of the urban space are also of interest.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the main results of a case study carried out on two cohousing associations that actively promote and increase awareness of cohousing, a model of co-residence that is gradually developing also in Italy.
Abstract: In this essay we will describe the main results of a case study carried out on two Cohousing associations that actively promote and increase awareness of cohousing, a model of co-residence that is gradually developing also in Italy. The research, conducted through several interviews with members of the ‘Cohousing in Toscana’ and ‘Coabitare’ Associations and analysis of their narratives, shows that people are really motivated to invest time and resources in collective projects to realize a model of social and sustainable life.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse les formes originales d'action publique, which s'esquissent a l'echelle des territoires and renouvellent les cadres normatifs institutionnels de gestion de la grande vieillesse.
Abstract: Du fait de l'allongement de l'esperance de vie, de tres nombreuses personnes vivent desormais un grand âge, c'est-a-dire une longue periode de l'existence au cours de laquelle ils se confrontent a leur finitude. Ce nouveau temps de l'existence questionne la conception traditionnelle d'un cycle de vie ternaire, et la definition de la fin de la vie. Autour de cette derniere etape du parcours de vie, se revelent les ambiguites de la culture des problemes de la vieillesse et se noue une controverse concernant la desinstitutionalisation et la destandardisation des parcours de vie. A partir des donnees issues de travaux empiriques cet article analyse les formes originales d'action publique qui s'esquissent a l’echelle des territoires et renouvellent les cadres normatifs institutionnels de gestion de la grande vieillesse. Il met au jour la dialectique qui s'engage entre une forme de production centrifuge et institutionnalisee des politiques publiques, initiee par l'Etat et un processus centripete dans lequel la ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare different types of mensonge dans l'espace public, i.e., regime de verite ou regime de veillance.
Abstract: Quelle place pour le mensonge en democratie ? Comment differencier les differents types de mensonge dans l’espace public ? La democratie est-elle un regime de verite ou un regime ou les modes de ve...
TL;DR: The history of religion in the Baltic Sea area shows a development from the time of the Lutheran Reformation of a mosaic of states with very different jurisdictions of creed, from the tolerance under local containment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the strict Evangelical mono-religion of the Scandinavian countries as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The geopolitical history of religion in the Baltic Sea area shows a development from the time of the Lutheran Reformation of a mosaic of states with very different jurisdictions of creed, from the tolerance under local containment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to the strict Evangelical mono-religion of the Scandinavian countries. With seventeenth-century mercantilism, groups of skilled people of ‘foreign’ religion were invited to newly founded towns and ironworks in order to promote the economy. In the eighteenth-century enlightened absolute monarchs, defying both church and bourgeoisie, allowed groups of Catholics and Jews to Scandinavia under spatial restrictions on settlement. In Russia non-Russians of different religions were tolerated, while dissidents to the Orthodox Church were deported to peripheral places. With the Prussian territorial expansion in Germany, more groups were included into citizenship, including Jews. The last states to include groups of ‘foreign’ creed were the early ninet...