Prelims
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.
- Prelims
- Chapter 1: A Time When We Still Believed in Progress
- Chapter 2: Societies of the 1960s, Sociologically Speaking
- Chapter 3: The Legacy of Positivism, or How to Make a Sociological Theory
- Chapter 4: How to Focus the Systems Approach on Modern Societies
- Chapter 5: Social Classes and Stratification
- Chapter 6: Conflicts May Not Bring Only Evil
- Chapter 7: Media and Mass Communication
- Chapter 8: Imagination – Creative and Sociological
- Chapter 9: The Birth of Sociological Constructivism
- Chapter 10: What About Individual Human Freedom?
- Chapter 11: The Point is to Change the World
- Chapter 12: One Thing Ends, Another Begins
- Bibliography
- Index