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    Reframing the public sociology debate: Towards collaborative and decolonial praxis


    Lozano, Alberto Arribas (2018) Reframing the public sociology debate: Towards collaborative and decolonial praxis. Current Sociology, 66 (1). pp. 92-109. ISSN 0011-3921

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    Abstract

    This article presents a critical analysis of Michael Burawoy’s model of public sociology, discussing several of its epistemic and methodological limitations. First, the author focuses on the ambiguity of Burawoy’s proposal, problematizing the absence of a clear delimitation of the concept of ‘public sociology’. Second, the author links the academic success of the category of public sociology to the global division of sociological labour, emphasizing the ‘geopolitics of knowledge’ involved in Burawoy’s work and calling for the decolonization of social science. Then, the author expounds his concerns regarding the hierarchy of the different types of sociology proposed by Burawoy, who privileges professional sociology over other types of sociological praxis. Reflecting upon these elements will provide a good opportunity to observe how our discipline works, advancing also suggestions for its transformation. Along these lines, in the last section of the article the author elaborates on the need to go beyond a dissemination model of public sociology – the unidirectional diffusion of ‘expert knowledge’ to extra-academic audiences – and towards a more collaborative understanding of knowledge production.

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Collaborative research; decolonization of social science; epistemic violence; geopolitics of knowledge; public sociology;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
    Item ID: 13281
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392117715897
    Depositing User: Alberto Arribas Lozano
    Date Deposited: 24 Sep 2020 15:55
    Journal or Publication Title: Current Sociology
    Publisher: SAGE Publications
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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