DOING PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY: KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE, THE THIRD MISSION, AND CRITICAL RESEARCH

DOING PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY:
KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE,
THE THIRD MISSION, AND
CRITICAL RESEARCH
AGENDAS
Dr Richard A Courtney
School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester
Introduction
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Third Mission & Knowledge Exchange
Public Sociology and the definition of the discipline
Methodological Issues
Ethnicity & Englishness Research
Conclusions: The Entrepreneurial Academic
Real world problems of jargon and
buzz
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What exactly is knowledge exchange and the third mission?
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Traditional examples are found in environmental sciences – where universities
work with third partners, exchange perspectives and knowledge to solve
problems
Are there any examples in social sciences?
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The Third Mission is simply an institutional consolidation of these activities
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There are numerous examples. E.g. social capital and the IMF
Social Science concepts have always crossed over into the public domain in narrative
and prescriptive ways, e.g. feminism, social class, ethnicity
Measured by ‘Impact’ – this is intangible as well as tangible
Puts sociology into the market place, where the fear is that the
professionalism/critical edge of the discipline will be diluted
How can sociology continue critical research agendas in a commercialised
environment, which promote rigour and professionalism?
Is Public Sociology a Buzzword?
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…Well, yes, it probably is!
Burawoy – The object of Public Sociology is Civil Society
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British (professional + policy) sociology has traditionally worked closely
with the state
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Critical Vs. Policy
Professional Vs. Public
In reality not categories but phases of practice
Mostly through an underwritten Fabianism
Funding opportunities mostly from the state (or the public purse as it is now
called!)
No longer sustainable with the state’s fiscal ‘crisis’ – shift in public/private
boundaries
Public Sociology should be about severing this link (critical)
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Generating and formalising links with outside interests, e.g. Pressure groups,
charities, civil society groups, and businesses…
What it means for research process
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The argument against public sociology is about methodological and technical professionalism
The strength of quantitative methods the ability to provide reliability, but from reliable
settings, i.e. instances where you have a priori knowledge of the whole [solid ground]
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Change in public and private boundaries affects the ability to conduct these techniques
properly
Public Sociology goes beyond the known public realm to find unexplored domains of social life
[shaky ground]
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E.g. in education or epidemiology
Limited as they inhibit wider discovery of ‘unknown unknowns’
Not premised upon reliability, but validity
Its premise is civil society, which is self-defining
Creates exchange of perspectives - dialogue not prescription, Feyerabend’s democratic model of
science
Old debates over methods and professionalism are now practical considerations
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methodological pluralism is reality not philosophy
Methodology is not the only standard of professionalism – argumentative style and perspective is
conducted in rigorous and reflexive fashion
Doctoral Research
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Social class and ‘race’ relations in non-metropolitan
settings
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Thurrock, Essex
Community study exploring associations and
organisations working in and with local communities
Assemblage of the concepts was not a priori
E.g. social class, whiteness, and national identity
 Ethnicity, blackness, and political involvement
 A priori knowledge came from content analysis of local
newspapers’ representation of the locality
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Significance of concepts discovered along the way
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Shaky to solid ground through investigation
Public Sociology in Action: Englishness
& Ethnicity
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Most research starts with the census classifications
Their shortcoming is that they only count what the state has come to be interested in
counting (influence of Professional Sociology)
Englishness and the minutia of ethnic identification cannot be found in them
So it needs a public sociology to explore these issues
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Exploring myths and narratives of changing ethnic difference in local civic life
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British-Nigerians in Essex – the non-existent population
The hairdresser myth
The Africans for Essex myth
The deprivation = racist myth
Research findings fill the knowledge vacuum on the identity of others…[research
impact]
Outcome of Public Sociology is that it increases the scope of public knowledge, not
in terms of explanation, but in terms of awareness
Public sociology is not solely about civil society, but bringing the substance beyond
the civil into public discourse [the sociological imagination]
Beyond Burawoy’s Public Sociology:
Entrepreneurial Academic
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Key PhD finding: Englishness was used as a heritage narrative distinct to whiteness and
differential by social class and micro-geographic location
In what other contexts can I study these ideas, without simply doing another community study?
Look for contexts where the ideas of Englishness are being used for social and economic
regeneration and to employ critical insights
The Canals – central role in social and economic regeneration, where English heritage is a key
commercial resource
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Building a scene to generate interest [intangibles] to generate research funds in difficult times
[tangibles]
Building your own buzz – give substance to the benign!
Professionalism of Sociology is not reducible to methods, but is an aspect of entrepreneurial
practice.
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Inter-disciplinary & Methodologically plural, sociology, history, geography, politics, etc…
Multiple funding routes from public, private, and third sector organisations
Founded upon research that treads new ground
Founded upon the publication of research
Founded upon the co-ordination of research interests, partnerships, and knowledge exchange
Public Sociology will generate ownership of The Third Mission