Lawrence T. Nichols

Social Problems as Landmark Narratives: Bank of Boston, Mass Media and “Money Laundering”

The paper examines how claimsmakers selectively construct instances of alleged problems as “landmark narratives,” with particular attention to the rhetorical practices of mass print media. The analysis shows how currency reporting violations at the Bank of Boston became synonymous with “money laundering,” and how official claimsmakers exploited the case to produce a wave of similar violations, thereby creating a warrant for new policies.

Science, politics, and moral activism: Sorokin's integralism reconsidered

This paper uses previously untranslated excerpts from P. A. Sorokins revolutionary journalism to reexamine the relationship between his scientific and nonscientific activities. Columns written in 1917 for the political daily Volya Naroda (The Peoples Will) provide insight into Sorokins early Russian period and also prefigure the later synthesis that he called Integralism. This article explains Sorokins competing commitments to science and reformism in terms of the Russian intelligentsias social role and concludes that Sorokin in America remained a more Russian figure than has been generally recognized.

North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address. Renewing Sociology: Integral Science, Solidarity, and Loving Kindness

The field of sociology is an ongoing creative process that always requires new energy and new insights. At the same time, in order to remain a collective project, sociology requires solidarity among its practitioners. This article offers reflections on how the discipline might be renewed and revitalized in the context of the still relatively young twenty-first century. Specifically, it calls for an Integral approach to science, for increased bonds among sociological colleagues, and for the development of an explicitly spiritual dimension in teaching, research and service. The discussion also touches on dangers to the sociological enterprise as here conceived, including excesses in both qualitative and quantitative work, segregationist and separatist tendencies, false and misleading dichotomies and an “enemies” mentality. Its overall vision is that of a field characterized by freshness, intellectual excellence, artistry, social relevance, comaraderie, compassion and joyfulness.

VOICES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS: A DIALOGICAL CONSTRUCTIONIST MODEL

What I refer to as a “monological” tendency is clearly seen in Spector and Kitsuse’s definition of their central term: …we define social problems as the actions of individuals or groups making assertions of grievances and claims with respect to some putative conditions (2001, p. 75).There is no mention here of audiences who hear such claims and grievances. The definition suggests that social problems are spoken into existence unilaterally by those who are especially aggrieved by perceived conditions of group life. Speakers are thus of primary importance, while listeners are not. There is likewise no reference to interactions between speakers and their audiences.

Modern Roots of the Sociology of Love: Tolstoy, Addams, Gandhi, and Sorokin

New academic fields of study emerge in diverse ways. Some, following Kuhn’s (1962) well-known model of “scientific revolutions,” are created when members of a scholarly community notice an accumulation of lacunae in established paradigms. Others differentiate gradually from ongoing fields, as when sociology branched off from economics (Young 2009). In still other cases, a “founder-leader” and a network of followers collaborate to generate a new “school” (Tiryakian 1979). Fields and subfields also appear in response to events in other scholarly domains, as when Darwinist biology became Social Darwinism in sociology, or when work in post-World War II cybernetics inspired sociological “systems theory.” It is also important to recognize that nonprofessionals and nonacademics have often played significant roles in the development of science, including both natural science (e.g., the measurement of longitude) and social disciplines (e.g., nineteenth-century anthropology). With regard to the focus of this chapter, namely, the emergence of a sociology of love, all of the above modalities seem to have played a role. The discussion, however, will focus on the thought and personal practice of four charismatic figures who spanned the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, namely, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Jane Addams, Mohandas K. Gandhi, and Pitirim A. Sorokin. All are well-known individually, but they have not previously been considered as a set—indeed as a group that may in the near future be regarded as predecessors and founder-leaders of a field of altruism, morality, and social solidarity.

Collective Identity Narratives: Historical and Emergent Stories of Selfhood in a Deindustrializing Community

Purpose – The chapter seeks to broaden the literature on narrative identity by focusing on the processes by which collective, or group, identity narratives develop over time. Methodology/approach – The chapter combines a “netnography” approach (i.e., ethnography using the Internet) with traditional ethnographic procedures in order to develop an in-depth case study of the collective identity narratives of a selected community that is undergoing rapid economic change. Findings – Over the course of approximately one century, there have been six distinguishable identity narratives in the selected community. We show that three of these, covering most of the period under investigation, have historical value, while three others are currently competing to become a new narrative identity adapted to the communitys altered situation. Research limitations/implications – The online survey used in the research elicited responses from a broad range of persons nationwide, including both current and former residents. The total number of responses, however, was relatively limited, and we cannot be certain to what degree they represent the views of all current members of the community. Practical implications – The findings of the chapter may prove useful to local citizens, as well as elected officials and business leaders, as they seek to develop strategic plans for the communitys future. Social implications – The research reveals significant differences in attitudes among older and younger residents, as well as between those who had some association with the communitys steel mill and those who did not. Originality/value of paper – The chapter seeks to make theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions. On the conceptual level, the discussion raises the seldom explored issue of collective narratives. Methodologically, the analysis adds to the literature on “netnography,” which has thus far been largely dominated by scholars in management. Empirically, the chapter identifies specific stories emerging in a deindustrializing community.

Scorekeeping versus storytelling: Representational practices in the construction of “hate crime”

The paper addresses the issue of contrasting constructions of social problems. Using “hate crime” as an example, we focus on portraits of the problem in the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports and in the New York Times. The analysis illumines how fundamental contrasts in representations of hate arise from differences in the underlying, and institutionalized, sense-making practices of scorekeeping and storytelling. We conclude by discussing the larger implications of the findings for further development of the theoretical model of “dialogical constructionism.”

Toward an American Sociology: Questioning the European Construct.

Foreword A New Sociology Needed The Hold of Feudalism Upon Modern Sociology The Structure of Sociological Revolutions The Lingering Influence of Greece European Outposts Versus Indigenous Sociology Weber: Some Unanswered Questions Questioning Durkheim Contradictions in Mertons Anomie and Science Models Collapse of the Old Sociology Americanizing Sociology Eastern Rites Sociology Natural, Old Sociology and Post Structuralism The Continuity of Paradigms Modernism and Postmodernism in Sociology Technicism, Conservatism, and the Curriculum: The Loser Sociology Dethroning the Old Gods Vernacular Sociology European Sociology in the American Context The Decline of Victorianism: A Walk Through the Twentieth Century Twenty-First Century Sociology Sociography Afterword Bibliography Subject Index Name Index