SAANZ Conference 2019

Sociology for All

This keynote will discuss some ambitious questions about our discipline. Why do we want a science of society? Since the idea was proposed by Comte, answers have changed several times; most pertinent is that society needs self-knowledge, and a 'diagnosis of our time' is possible through sociology. Then, what is 'our time'? Sociologists have been wrestling with vast changes in technologies and economies, yielding ideas such as globalization and neoliberalism; we now confront the rise of racist and authoritarian politics and massive environmental destruction. Is current sociology adequate to this? I give some reasons to think it is not, and consider some dismal futures for the discipline: disappearance; corporatisation; residualisation. Where could renewal come from? Here the picture is more hopeful. There are important forms of subaltern knowledge production, and notable theorists from the global South. Cooperation and creativity are still found in academic work, new knowledge workforces are emerging, and multiple perspectives can circulate. What are the resources of hope? They include the concept of the right to knowledge, and the continuing support for public education. Making a 'sociology for all' is not simple, but we have some idea how to do it; in the current atmosphere of crisis, creative action remains possible.