Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

A diagnosis of society and Nordic sociology

Ahlstrand, Rasmus LU and Sausdal, David LU (2023) In Acta Sociologica
Abstract
Why are Nordic sociologists not providing diagnoses of society these days? What has happened to our desire to describe the wider sociocultural currents of the world we live in? Where indeed are the present-day Danish Sennett, the Finnish Rosa, or the Swedish Bauman? These questions resurface now and again, yet without gaining substantial traction. Even so, present-day Nordic sociology is in many ways flourishing through a growing specialization, mirroring how sociology should be the home of the many and manifold. This comment is therefore not about decrying what is currently being done in Nordic sociology. Rather, it is about – yet again – reminding us of the worth of a diagnosis of the times kind of sociology and to push for its... (More)
Why are Nordic sociologists not providing diagnoses of society these days? What has happened to our desire to describe the wider sociocultural currents of the world we live in? Where indeed are the present-day Danish Sennett, the Finnish Rosa, or the Swedish Bauman? These questions resurface now and again, yet without gaining substantial traction. Even so, present-day Nordic sociology is in many ways flourishing through a growing specialization, mirroring how sociology should be the home of the many and manifold. This comment is therefore not about decrying what is currently being done in Nordic sociology. Rather, it is about – yet again – reminding us of the worth of a diagnosis of the times kind of sociology and to push for its reinstatement. More will be lost than gained if we don’t. To be sure, if we sociologists are not also interested in and capable of providing a broader-scale analysis of societal trends and tendencies, there is a risk of us curbing the wider scientific and societal relevance of sociology. Instead of being a discipline capable of the larger perspective, sociology may ‘simply’ become a less influential and fragmented smorgasbord of subdisciplines. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Nordic sociology, diagnoses of the times, societal diagnosis, theory, impact
in
Acta Sociologica
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85177861272
ISSN
0001-6993
DOI
10.1177/00016993231217598
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5202b2af-631f-4c3a-a5ff-11ba75dc2e77
date added to LUP
2023-12-02 08:49:59
date last changed
2024-01-09 16:09:06
@article{5202b2af-631f-4c3a-a5ff-11ba75dc2e77,
  abstract     = {{Why are Nordic sociologists not providing diagnoses of society these days? What has happened to our desire to describe the wider sociocultural currents of the world we live in? Where indeed are the present-day Danish Sennett, the Finnish Rosa, or the Swedish Bauman? These questions resurface now and again, yet without gaining substantial traction. Even so, present-day Nordic sociology is in many ways flourishing through a growing specialization, mirroring how sociology should be the home of the many and manifold. This comment is therefore not about decrying what is currently being done in Nordic sociology. Rather, it is about – yet again – reminding us of the worth of a diagnosis of the times kind of sociology and to push for its reinstatement. More will be lost than gained if we don’t. To be sure, if we sociologists are not also interested in and capable of providing a broader-scale analysis of societal trends and tendencies, there is a risk of us curbing the wider scientific and societal relevance of sociology. Instead of being a discipline capable of the larger perspective, sociology may ‘simply’ become a less influential and fragmented smorgasbord of subdisciplines.}},
  author       = {{Ahlstrand, Rasmus and Sausdal, David}},
  issn         = {{0001-6993}},
  keywords     = {{Nordic sociology; diagnoses of the times; societal diagnosis; theory; impact}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Acta Sociologica}},
  title        = {{A diagnosis of society and Nordic sociology}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00016993231217598}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/00016993231217598}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}