Prelims

Jiří Šubrt (Charles University, Czech Republic)

The Sociological Inheritance of the 1960s: Historical Reflections on a Decade of Changing Thought

ISBN: 978-1-80382-806-0, eISBN: 978-1-80382-805-3

Publication date: 27 November 2023

Citation

Šubrt, J. (2023), "Prelims", The Sociological Inheritance of the 1960s: Historical Reflections on a Decade of Changing Thought, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-ix. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-805-320231015

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024 Jiří Šubrt


Half Title Page

The Sociological Inheritance of the 1960s

Endorsement Page

[Šubrt] skillfully situates his work in the concerns and events of historical time, geographical space and political power. Specifically, he clarifies how US, as well as Western and Eastern European, political and economic structures shaped and legitimised specific ways of thinking. Especially informative and powerful for analysing today’s historically situated social problems, Dr Šubrt’s work provides the context needed to better understand the development and use of sociological theory, as well as society itself.

Dawn Norris, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, USA

Understanding the 1960s as a decade of hope and a call for radical change, Šubrt masterfully makes astute observations outside of ideas already posited, using language that demonstrates that sociologists are not only dry repeaters of previous thinkers, but instead creative, thoughtful minds, reflecting on society and how it can move forward, even if there is no clear trajectory where that forward might take us. The Sociological Inheritance of the 1960s is a useful tool for sociologists as both a reference and as a means to better understand their field, giving credence to the value of historical sociology and placing social phenomena in its appropriate time and place along with context. This is done to the benefit of all, demonstrating that the past, present and future are all connected in a continuum, showcasing that the present state of sociology did not arise out of nowhere.

Haylee Behrends, Instructor in History, Political Science, and Sociology, Western Technical College, USA

Title Page

The Sociological Inheritance of the 1960s: Historical Reflections on a Decade of Changing Thought

BY

JIŘÍ ŠUBRT

Charles University, Czech Republic

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Emerald Publishing, Floor 5, Northspring, 21-23 Wellington Street, Leeds LS1 4DL.

First edition 2024

Copyright © 2024 Jiří Šubrt.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80382-806-0 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-805-3 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80382-807-7 (Epub)

Contents

List of Reviewers vii
Acknowledgements ix
Chapter 1: A Time When We Still Believed in Progress 1
Chapter 2: Societies of the 1960s, Sociologically Speaking 5
2.1. Late Capitalism 6
2.2. On the Issue of Industrial Society 7
2.3. Heralding a Knowledge Society 8
2.4. Modernisation Theory 10
Chapter 3: The Legacy of Positivism, or How to Make a Sociological Theory 13
3.1. Sociology Modelled on the Natural Sciences 14
3.2. Two Viennese 16
3.3. How to Make a Sociological Theory 18
3.4. Sociology from Behaviourist Positions 19
3.5. Where to Start 21
3.6. In the Footsteps of the Minotaur 22
Chapter 4: How to Focus the Systems Approach on Modern Societies 25
4.1. Peeking Beneath the Surface 26
4.2. A Conception with Universalist Ambition 29
4.3. Systems, Structures and Functions 30
4.4. Development and Change 32
4.5. Depth Sociology 34
Chapter 5: Social Classes and Stratification 35
5.1. Classifying the Population 36
5.2. Stratification and Related Issues 38
5.3. Two Interconnected Topics 40
Chapter 6: Conflicts May Not Bring Only Evil 43
6.1. The Functions and Dysfunctions of Conflicts 44
6.2. Moderating Conflicts 47
6.3. Other Perspectives 49
Chapter 7: Media and Mass Communication 51
7.1. Mass Communication in a Mass Society 52
7.2. The Medium is the Message 54
7.3. The Commencement of the Electronic Media Age 55
Chapter 8: Imagination – Creative and Sociological 57
8.1. The Need for Sociological Imagination 59
8.2. Vision and Tasks for Sociology 60
8.3. Emancipatory Cognitive Interest 61
Chapter 9: The Birth of Sociological Constructivism 63
9.1. Expectation Structures and Breaching Demonstrations 64
9.2. Life on Stage and Behind the Scenes 66
9.3. Constructing and Maintaining Social Reality 67
Chapter 10: What About Individual Human Freedom? 71
10.1. What Others Expect from Us 71
10.2. Connecting to the System 73
10.3. Life as a Theatre Performance 74
10.4. What is Under the Mask? 75
10.5. Are We Really Free? 76
Chapter 11: The Point is to Change the World 81
11.1. One-Dimensional Man and How to Emancipate Him 82
11.2. The Prague Spring 84
Chapter 12: One Thing Ends, Another Begins 87
12.1. A Crisis Announced 88
12.2. What’s Next? 89
12.3. The Future is Open 92
Bibliography 95
Index 103

List of Reviewers

Assoc Prof Dr Dawn Norris, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Dr Haylee Behrends, Western Technical College, La Crosse

Acknowledgements

The author of this book was still a child during the period it considers. Despite this – or perhaps, precisely because of it – it had a significant impact, etched in his memory, and became an important stage in the formation of his personality. Not only the memories, but everything subsequently learned about the 1960s, significantly shaped his attitudes and interests over the decades which ensued. For these reasons, certain aspects of the author’s personality and life experience are reflected in the content of this book, while its intention is primarily to be a professional text. Moreover, although the main goal is to convey the general characteristics of the sociological thinking of the 1960s, it was unthinkable to the author not to mention – albeit very briefly – what was happening in his homeland at the time, i.e. primarily the period of the so-called Prague spring and the subsequent invasion of Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968.

The sad truth remains that most of those who personally shared with the author their memories of the 1960s during his youth and university studies are no longer with us. To all of them, although not mentioned here by name, his thanks are due. Special thanks go to his longtime language advisor and editor, Ed Everett, whose assistance underpinned the finalisation of this work.