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Generally Speaking: An Invitation to Concept-Driven Sociology
In this invitation to "concept-driven" sociology, defying the conventional split between "theory" and "methodology" (as well as between "quantitative" and "qualitative" research), Eviatar Zerubavel introduces a yet unarticulated "Simmelian" method of theorizing specifically designed to reveal fundamental, often hidden social patterns. Insisting that it can actually be taught, he examines the theoretico-methodological process (revolving around the epistemic and analytical acts of focusing, generalizing, "exampling," and analogizing) by which concept-driven researchers can distill generic social patterns from the culturally, historically, and domain-specific contexts in which they encounter them empirically.
Disregarding conventionally noted substantive variability in order to uncover conventionally disregarded formal commonalities, Generally Speaking draws on cross-cultural, cross-historical, cross-domain, and cross-level analogies in an effort to reveal formal parallels across disparate contexts. Using numerous examples from culturally and historically diverse contexts and a wide range of social domains while also disregarding scale, Zerubavel thus introduces a pronouncedly transcontextual "generic" sociology.
Book Details
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Publish Date: Nov 27th, 2020
- Pages: 128
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.10in - 5.40in - 0.40in - 0.35lb
- EAN: 9780197519288
- Categories: • Research• Research• Sociology - General
About the Author
Eviatar Zerubavel is Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University. His publications include The Elephant in the Room: Silence and Denial in Everyday Life (OUP, 2006); Ancestors and Relatives: Genealogy, Identity, and Community (OUP, 2011. Awarded Honorable mention in the 2012 PROSE Award "Sociology and Social Work" category); Hidden in Plain Sight: The Social Structure of Irrelevance (OUP, 2015); and Taken for Granted: The Remarkable Power of the Unremarkable (2018).
Praise for this book
"Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty." -- M. Lawler, CHOICE"A much welcomed methodological capstone to Eviatar Zerubavel's nearly 50 years of concept-driven research creatively illuminating many of the filaments of social cognition and interaction that would have remained less discernible via more traditional methodologies." -David A. Snow, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine
"Drawing from his brilliant half-century opus and a virtuoso talent for recognizing profound patterns in social life, Eviatar Zerubavel gifts us with a novel guide on how to conduct concept-driven research. With great style and captivating examples, Generally Speaking will inspire social scientists but also fascinate general readers." -Viviana A. Zelizer, Lloyd Cotsen '50 Professor of Sociology, Princeton University, and author of Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy"Equal parts manifesto and retrospective, Generally Speaking provides a peek into the thought process of one of sociology's most original practitioners. Throughout the book, Zerubavel pushes sociology to think both more boldly and more playfully. Sociology would be a better place if we heeded this call." -Iddo Tavory, Associate Professor of Sociology, New York University
"Drawing from his brilliant half-century opus and a virtuoso talent for recognizing profound patterns in social life, Eviatar Zerubavel gifts us with a novel guide on how to conduct concept-driven research. With great style and captivating examples, Generally Speaking will inspire social scientists but also fascinate general readers." -Viviana A. Zelizer, Lloyd Cotsen '50 Professor of Sociology, Princeton University, and author of Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy"Equal parts manifesto and retrospective, Generally Speaking provides a peek into the thought process of one of sociology's most original practitioners. Throughout the book, Zerubavel pushes sociology to think both more boldly and more playfully. Sociology would be a better place if we heeded this call." -Iddo Tavory, Associate Professor of Sociology, New York University