This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Shen Yuan Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Strong and Weak Intervention

Two Pathways for Sociological Intervention

Tsinghua University, yuanshen{at}mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

The most important mission of sociology is perhaps to push forward the production of society. Sociologists should not only in its theory, but also in its practice, help resist the pressure from the state and the market, on the one hand, and assist society to emerge and grow, on the other. In facing the problem of the production of society, sociologists must strive for a transition from a sociology of structure to a sociology of action. Faced with a society in which development is unbalanced, we might divide sociological intervention into two types: strong and weak strategies. By incorporating the notions of `public sociology' and `liberation sociology', we have gone beyond Touraine's school in several aspects. Our most important task from now on is to combine social practice and social knowledge effectively.

Key Words: action • intervention • production of society • structure • Touraine

Current Sociology, Vol. 56, No. 3, 399-404 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0011392107088233


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?