The unity of the sociology now termed classical was not that of a theory or discourse about social organization, social actors or the ways in which social wholes change; it was the study of society defined as a set of interdependent mechanisms ensuring the integration or combination of mutually opposed elements: the individualism of the actors and the internalization of institutional norms in the service of collective integration. The primary historical reason for the decline of this classical sociology is that its most stable foundation, the opposition between haves and have-nots along with that between men and women, was slowly undermined by a series of great social movements based at once on a quest for liberation and on the idea of equality It was the crisis in the earlier representations of social life which provoked, beyond the decline of the earlier sociology, the creation of a new intellectual space in which a constellation of forms of thought arose which constitute today what may be called contemporary sociology, and which is a sociology of ultramodernity. It is no longer in terms of objective situations or evaluations, economic or otherwise, that the social actor is explained. It is the cultural actor, his image of himself and his demands that govern a rapidly increasing part of social life. Throughout the world and in all sectors of social life, actors are making a comeback. Reversal of the conception and role of institutions leads us to see them as instruments for the defence of individuals against norms. Today’s sociology is better explained by its future than by its past. The new sociology is already constituted as a set of questions and sensibilities, more widespread across the planet than any other previous form of social thought. But this de facto existence of the new sociology is not - not yet - accompanied by sufficient self-reflection., Alain Touraine, z angličtiny přeložila Jana Kupková., Tento text byl poprvé uveřejněn v European Journal of Social Theory 2007: 10 (2), str. 184-193, and Obsahuje bibliografii
The article surveys the ways science was thematized as a sociological subject. It starts with the reflections on knowledge and science in the Enlightenment, further reviews the main contributions of Comtean philosophy and sociology of science, stresses Merton’s role in making the traditional sociology of knowledge open to empirical research, and traces the subsequent development of the field: the progress of quantitative analyses and ethnographic researches of science, the Kuhnian turn towards historicizing and Foucaultian turn towards the politics of science, the evolution of cognitive sociology of science, as well as the inspirations drawn from works of Bloor, Barnes, and Latour., Miloslav Petrusek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
From the temporal perspective, this article examines shifts in the production of sociological knowledge. It identifies two kinds of rhythms of sociology: 1) that of sociological standpoints and techniques of investigation and 2) that of contemporary academic life and culture. The article begins by discussing some of the existing research strategies designed to “chase” high-speed society. Some, predominantly methodological, currents are explored and contrasted with the “slow(er)” instruments of sociological analysis composed of different, yet complementary, modes of inquiry. Against this background, the article stresses that it is through the tension between fast and slow modes of inquiry that sociology reproduces itself. The subsequent part explores the subjective temporal experience in contemporary academia. It is argued that increasing administration and auditing of intellectual work signifi cantly coshapes sociological knowledge production not only by requiring academics to work faster due to an increasing volume of tasks, but also by normalizing time-pressure. The article concludes by considering the problem as to whether the increasing pace of contemporary academic life has detrimental consequences for the more organic reproductive rhythms of sociology., Tento článek zkoumá proměny produkce sociologického vědění, a to z perspektivy temporality (časovosti). Odlišuje dva druhy sociologických rytmů: první souvisí se sociologickými hledisky and technikami zkoumání, druhý potom se současnou podobou akademické kultury. Článek se nejprve zabývá několika existujícími výzkumnými strategiemi určenými ke „stíhání“ vysokorychlostní společnosti. Některé, především metodologické proudy jsou podrobeny diskuzi a porovnány s „pomalými/pomalejšími“ nástroji sociologické analýzy, sestávajících se z odlišných, avšak komplementárních způsobů šetření. V této souvislosti článek zdůrazňuje, že napětí mezi rychlými a pomalými způsoby šetření tvoří reprodukční předpoklady sociologie. Následující část se zabývá subjektivní časovou zkušeností v podmínkách soudobého akademického světa. Článek tvrdí, že zvyšující se adp ministrativa a auditování intelektuální práce značně spoluutváří výrobu sociologického vědění; a to nejen proto, že akademičtí pracovníci jsou díky vzrůstajícímu počtu úkolů nuceni pracovat rychleji, ale také kvůli normalizaci časového tlaku. Závěrem je pojednáno o tom, do jaké míry lze tvrdit, že tempo současného akademického života má neblahé důsledky pro organické reprodukční rytmy sociologie., and Filip Vostal.
The moderate interpretation of the Thomas´Theorem suggests little more than a failure at the assessment of objective situation. Its radical interpretation allows thinking the existence of new social reality. The postmodern condition facilitates this understanding. The underlying idea is not recent; Marx´s theory is a precurson to the constructionist approach. The canonical foundations of social constructionism were laid by Berger and Luckmann, who sought to reconcile Weberian and Durkheimian traditions in their concept of the social construction of reality. Phenomena like gender or consumerism appear to be suitable objects for such an approach. Attribution of meaning in culture nonetheless offers to expand the principle to any domain and, in some cases, such as the labeling theory of deviation, its tries its own limits. Applied to science itself, the pricniple raises questions about the status of scientific knowledge that circumvent epistemological issues. Social consturctionism is itself surpassed by the linguistic turn and discursive theories of soicety. The notion of society as text may challenge realist and objectivist positions. In order to remain productive, however, the notion must retain the presupposition of order and rules of reading and thus admit that, actually, society is not merely a text., Miloslav Petrusek., and Obsahuje použitou literaturu
William Foote Whyte’s Street Corner Society is a classic study in which research was carried out on an Italian slum in a large US city. The methodology and conclusions of the study, however, depart from the standard typology. It was not community research, or a case study, and it did not even fit the narrative model of qualitative research. Whyte’s study did not use quantitative methods and yet reached analytical conclusions. Interpersonal relations are its primary focus. It tries to reveal the patterns of recurring group activities with the objective of capturing the hierarchy in small groups and the rules these groups are guided by. This article examines the motivations of Whyte’s influential study, his research strategy and his main method - participant observation. In the concluding section of this article there is a discussion of the basic paradigmatic debate in which , Norman K. Denzin, Laurel Richardson and others criticised the methodology of the Street Corner Society while Arthur J. Vidich and other scholars praised this study’s innovative approach., Hynek Jeřábek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Media Tenor tracked media coverage of political parties in periods of three months prior to elections to the Chamber of Deputies in 2006 and 2010. Czech Social Democratic Party enjoyed overwhelming media prevalence in a first analyzed period, Civic Democratic Party prevailed in 2010. Neither of instances resulted in a highest voting outcome for the most covered party. The research confirmed private news services to be keeping conservative approaches while (not) presenting new and not well-known political groups. They covered TOP 09 Party and Public Affairs Party (Věci veřejné) rather marginally in 2010. Researchers focused also on a coverage of chairmen of main parties and air-time enjoyed by politicians to quote own party or co-party members., Štěpán Sedláček, Pavel Herot., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The paper analyses the fact that the Czech communist party (KSČM) can rely on substantial and stable (occasi- onally even rising) electoral support. The phenomenon has been discussed extensively in academic as well as social and political discourses. On the basis of available empirical data, sociological analyses and statistical information, the paper categorizes some basic socio-political conditions and predispositions which may help explain the fact that the political party once considered to be the anti-system heir of the non-democratic regime is now one of the most stable elements of Czech politics., Daniel Kunštát., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Parliamentary elections in May 2010 ended with unexpected and somewhat revolutionary results: they brought heavy losses to all traditional established parties within the Czech party system, which appeared to be relatively stable since the second half of 1990s, two lesser parliamentary parties were eliminated from the Chamber of Deputies, and two new political parties emerged among successful subjects surpassing quite easily the existing electoral clause of five percent. The text analyzes these results, as well as some attitudes of Czech public identified by exit poll and other sociological surveys and post-election development, and it tries to answer the question, whether the elections in 2010 meant any deep and lasting shift in long-term development of the party system in the Czech Republic or whether it was rather an incidental anomaly without persistent impact on the party system, which will gradually restore itself more or less in the shape that characterized it for one and half of decade before the elections in 2010., Jan Červenka., and Obsahuje seznam literatury