Generally Speaking: An Invitation to Concept-Driven Sociology

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Eviatar Zerubavel (Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University)

Generally Speaking

An Invitation to Concept-Driven Sociology

Eviatar Zerubavel (Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Rutgers University)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
14 January 2021

Research methods: general; Social interaction; Social research & statistics

"In this invitation to ""concept-driven"" sociology, defying the conventional split between ""theory"" and ""methodology"" (as well as between ""quantitative"" and ""qualitative"" research), Eviatar Zerubavel introduces a yet unarticulated ""Simmelian"" method of theorizing specifically designed to reveal fundamental, often hidden social patterns. Insisting that it can actually be taught, he examines the theoretico-methodological process (revolving around the epistemic and analytical acts of focusing, generalizing, ""exampling,"" and analogizing) by which concept-driven researchers can distill generic social patterns from the culturally, historically, and domain-specific contexts in which they encounter them empirically. Disregarding conventionally noted substantive variability in order to uncover conventionally disregarded formal commonalities, Generally Speaking draws on cross-cultural, cross-historical, cross-domain, and cross-level analogies in an effort to reveal formal parallels across disparate contexts. Using numerous examples from culturally and historically diverse contexts and a wide range of social domains while also disregarding scale, Zerubavel thus introduces a pronouncedly transcontextual ""generic"" sociology."

By: Eviatar Zerubavel (Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology Rutgers University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 137mm, Width: 206mm, Spine: 10mm
Weight: 154g
ISBN: 9780197519288
ISBN 10: 0197519288
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 14 January 2021
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

"Eviatar Zerubavel is Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University. His publications include The Elephant in the Room: Silence and Denial in Everyday Life (Oxford University Press, 2006); Ancestors and Relatives: Genealogy, Identity, and Community (Oxford University Press, 2011. Awarded Honorable mention in the 2012 PROSE Award ""Sociology and Social Work"" category); Hidden in Plain Sight: The Social Structure of Irrelevance (Oxford University Press, 2015); and Taken for Granted: The Remarkable Power of the Unremarkable (2018)."

Reviews for Generally Speaking: An Invitation to Concept-Driven Sociology

Equal parts manifesto and retrospective, Generally Speaking provides a peek into the thought process of one of sociology's most original practitioners. Throughout the book, Zerubavel pushes sociology to think both more boldly and more playfully. Sociology would be a better place if we heeded this call. -Iddo Tavory, Associate Professor of Sociology, New York University Drawing from his brilliant half-century opus and a virtuoso talent for recognizing profound patterns in social life, Eviatar Zerubavel gifts us with a novel guide on how to conduct concept-driven research. With great style and captivating examples, Generally Speaking will inspire social scientists but also fascinate general readers. -Viviana A. Zelizer, Lloyd Cotsen '50 Professor of Sociology, Princeton University, and author of Economic Lives: How Culture Shapes the Economy A much welcomed methodological capstone to Eviatar Zerubavel's nearly 50 years of concept-driven research creatively illuminating many of the filaments of social cognition and interaction that would have remained less discernible via more traditional methodologies. -David A. Snow, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine