Sociology in the impact agenda: is there room for public sociology?

Silje Maria Tellmann and Reetta Muhonen

Chapter 8 in Handbook of Meta-Research, 2024, pp 73-87 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: When Michael Burawoy made his famous plea for public sociology in 2005, he formed part of a broader trend calling for closer interactions between science and society. Opening academia to the public has also been promoted as a driver of the impact agenda - the quest for evaluating the value of research beyond academia. In this chapter, we ask whether, and if so how, the impact agenda brings about recognition and visibility to public sociology. Based on a textual analysis of impact case studies in sociology from Norway and the UK, the study demonstrates how public engagement with civil society is presented as a means to support subsequent impacts on policy rather than being an aim in itself. The impact agenda favours above all policy sociology, where sociologists solve problems defined by others. This is particularly visible in Norway, where sociologists frequently demonstrate direct contact with policymakers. Sociologists in the UK, on the other hand, demonstrated more commonly a critical voice by speaking for marginalised groups.

Keywords: Asian Studies; Business and Management; Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Education; Environment; Geography; Innovations and Technology; Law - Academic; Politics and Public Policy Research Methods; Sociology and Social Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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