E-Book Overview
This edited volume focuses on the problematic engendering of classical and contemporary sociological theory, addressing questions such as: How were the foundations of sociological theory shaped by an implicit masculinity? Did classical sociology simply reflect or actively construct theories of sexual difference? How were alternative accounts of the social suppressed in sociology's founding moments? Feminist interventions in sociology are still seen as marginal to sociological theorizing. This collection challenges this truncated vision of sociological theory. In part one, contributors interrogate the classical canon, exposing the masculinist assumptions that saturate the conceptual scaffolding of sociology. In part two, contributors consider the long-standing and problematic relationship between sociology and feminism, retrieving voices marginalized within or excluded from canonical constructions of sociological theory. In part three, contributors engage with key contemporary debates, explicitly engendering accounts of the social. Engendering the Social is unique in that it not only critically interrogates sociological theory from a feminist perspective, but also embarks on a politics of reconstruction, working creatively at the interface of feminist and sociological theory to induce a more adequate conceptualisation of the social. This is a key text for undergraduate and postgraduate students in sociology, social theory and feminist theory.
E-Book Content
This edited volume focuses on the problematic engendering of classical and contemporary sociological theory, addressing questions such as: • How were the foundations of sociological theory shaped by an implicit masculinity? • Did classical sociology simply reflect or actively construct theories of sexual difference? • How were alternative accounts of the social suppressed in sociology’s founding moments? Feminist interventions in sociology are still seen as marginal to sociological theorizing. This collection challenges this truncated vision of sociological theory. In part one, contributors interrogate the classical canon, exposing the masculinist assumptions that saturate the conceptual scaffolding of sociology. In part two, contributors consider the long-standing and problematic relationship between sociology and feminism, retrieving voices marginalized within or excluded from canonical constructions of sociological theory. In part three, contributors engage with key contemporary debates, explicitly engendering accounts of the social. Engendering the Social is unique in that it not only critically interrogates sociological theory from a feminist perspective, but also embarks on a politics of reconstruction, working creatively at the interface of feminist and sociological theory to induce a more adequate conceptualization of the social. This is a key text for undergraduate and postgraduate students in sociology, social theory and feminist theory.
Anne Witz is Reader in Sociology at the University of Leicester. Her previous publications include Professions and Patriarchy (1992), Gender and Bureaucracy (1992), Gender, Careers and Organisations (1997) and For Sociology: Legacies and Prospects (2000). Salvador Dali, Anthropomorphic Tower (The Red Tower), 1930 Pastel on paper, 64.8x50.2 cm The Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection, image © The Art Institute of Chicago Cover Design: Grosvenor (Northampton) Ltd
MARSHALL and WITZ
Barbara L. Marshall is Professor of Sociology at Trent University, Peterborough in Canada. Her previous publications include Engendering Modernity (1994) and Configuring Gender (2000).
ENGENDERING THE SOCIAL FEMINIST ENCOUNTERS WITH SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
ENGENDERING THE SOCIAL Feminist Encounters with Sociological Theory
ENGENDERING THE
social FEMINIST ENCOUNTERS WITH SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
BARBARA