The Social Theory Research Network is one of 31 research networks of the European Sociological Association. It has approximately 200 active members. Whereas the other research networks’ task is to deal with specialized subfields of sociology, the mission of the Social Theory Network is to develop “concepts of orientation and outlining what can be called ‘conditional ontologies’ giving social research conceptual background”.
The research network’s Social Theory Conference on “Social Theory and the Sociological Discipline(s)” took place at the Innsbruck School of Political Science and Sociology on September 11-13, 2008. Organizer Frank Welz formulated the basic questions of the conference in the opening session: What is the role of transdisciplinarity in sociology? Is there still a general framework or discourse in sociology? Is a common or unified sociology possible? Is a common vocabulary possible or can it be developed?
Roland Robertson gave the main plenary talk, which covered the topic “Glocality and the Transdisciplinarity of Sociology”. Robertson is one of the sociologists that have coined the term globalization. His specific interpretation is that globalization processes are always accompanied by local adaptations and changes (localization). Therefore he speaks of glocalization. Robertson argued that sociology in a way has always been transdisciplinary and a meta-discipline because it covers various issues, which are subject of other disciplines, in their societal context. The intensified glocalization of the world would have brought about a need to overcome disciplinary fragmentation and to enter into a transdisciplinary dialogue in order to understand global society.
Besides Robertson’s call for a transdisciplinary sociology and the overall task of the conference, most of the presented papers dealt with very specialized topics that are relevant for subfields of sociology and social theory, but ignored the larger context of sociology and society as a whole and the academic world as a whole. Therefore the impression one could get was that many of the participants aim at a fragmentation of sociology into many different subfields such as gender sociology, economic sociology, sociology of education, sociology of law, urban sociology, political sociology, sociology of health, sociology of ethnic relations, racism and anti-Semitism, etc. Although specialization clearly is necessary in order to explain society, the question of how all these phenomena have become connected and are united on a meta-level, which is important for explaining what many now see as a global society, in which all phenomena have become networked and influence each other, should not be ignored. Social theory is a terrain that can deal with these questions.
The study of ICTs and society might be a paradigmatic case for the emergence of and the need for transdisciplines in the “global network society”. In my talk on “Critical Social Theory in the Age of the Internet”, I pointed out that the very topic of ICT&S research, the interrelationship of ICTs and society, social groups, and individuals, is one that cannot be studied by one discipline alone, but that requires the engagement of scholars from at least sociology, philosophy, media and communication science, and computer science. The subject matter of ICT&S is transdisciplinary in itself, it transcends the boundaries between the social and the engineering sciences.
Why is social theory important? Social theory produces a constitutive knowledge of the world that allows asking basic questions about the state of society and about the directions it could develop. The immanent diversity of social theory allows researchers and citizens to develop different understandings and different issues of society and to see how not only knowledge, but also interests are differing. Social theory allows us to ask new questions about the world and to use basic categories for developing understandings of the world. Social theory offers understandings and interpretations of society, social change, and societal causality. Social theory directs attention to certain issues and can help people organizing their experiences of the world and enabling useful responses to the world. Social theory in a transdisciplinary field like ICT&S allows making use of a contextual meta-knowledge about the relation of ICTs and society. People are trying to find ways of thinking about the world and its changes (such as the emergence of the Internet, globalization, etc) and ways of how to build the future of the world. Social theory can guide us in asking questions and trying to find potential answers about the state of the world.
Two sessions at the Innsbruck conference dealt with the role of critical theory in contemporary society. In my opinion critical social theory is necessary today in order to not remain fixed on knowledge that shows how society is, but deals with potential alternatives and how society could be. Critical theory therefore would be inherently normative, political, and would deal with basic questions of domination and power in society. In a transdisciplinary field like ICT&S, critical theory would be needed as complement and correction to empirical research, engineering, and design studies, because the latter three would typically operate in an instrumental way that is corrupted by dominant interests so that the focus is on technological rationality, technological fixes to societal problems, uncritical optimism about the potentials of technology for society, and economic and dominant political interests. Critical theory would remind us that there are huge problems in contemporary society, that technology alone is no solution, but frequently part of the problems, and that there is a need for imagining alternative futures, which requires a more philosophical meta-knowledge that engages with political questions.
Overall, the Innsbruck conference has shown that critical thinking and transdisciplinarity are important issues of contemporary sociology. But these issues are facing problems in their realization, talking about transdisciplinarity is in most cases easier than practicing it. Nonetheless a first starting point for alternative futures, also in academia, is a reflexive discussion about issues, which has taken place in Innsbruck.
Links:
ESA Social Theory Conference Innsbruck
European Sociological Association
