Explorations in the Sociology of Knowledge, Professor Fran Collyer, Karlstad University
Explorations in the Sociology of Knowledge, Professor Fran Collyer, Karlstad University
Higher Research Seminar, Sociology, 28th September 2022, 13.15-15.00, room 5A 415
For many sociologists and social theorists, the Sociology of Knowledge may be regarded as an obscure speciality far removed from the work they do with general social theory, or the applied and empirical methods of social research they engage with when investigating social problems. Yet for those who have somehow stumbled, or otherwise serendipitously found their way into the speciality, the Sociology of Knowledge is the framework which makes all sociological knowledge 'make sense': a kind of master key that opens doors into a vast field of discovery and forces an altogether new perspective on one's sociological work. Novices may find it difficult to find their way into the speciality for a number of reasons. One, given that the speciality is conceptually as old as sociology itself, many of the published and 'core' texts were written in very different historical contexts, making them rather difficult for contemporary readers to understand; and two, because these texts were produced by scholars working within a variety of schools and traditions of sociology – without ever making this explicit – and as a result, seem to be unrelated and lack coherence. This paper will not offer a comprehensive overview of the field, but briefly offer an historical sketch of the sub-discipline and discuss some of the contemporary research in the sociology of knowledge. The primary aim will be to provide a guide through the key parts of the literature. To assist with this task, a case study of the privatisation of healthcare services will be introduced to identify some of the benefits of engaing with the sociology of knowledge.
The seminar will be held in hybrid form. Please email Anna Pechurina anna.pechurina@kau.se to receive a Zoom-link