An epistemology of empathy and modern methods of social research: Intimations of the mind and early Chicago sociology.

Empathic qualitative methods have become emblematic of early Chicago sociology. Yet methods were not formalized through the early 20th century and empathy was not in usage as a term. Only at mid-20th century did methodological formalization in sociology begin to occur, and an additional quarter-century passed before writing about empathy in sociological methods began to crystallize. Nevertheless, a portion of early Chicago sociologists, assimilating pragmatist thought, established a framework for the deployment of empathic acumen. Because empathy involves understanding others, it is argued that it is central to the study of social life. The article contends that understanding empathy must be as central to the social scientist's knowledge as it is to the effective deployment of research methods: a competent quest to generate knowledge about social life is premised on empathy. To heighten awareness of empathy, an epistemology is necessary. To this end, the article examines empathy as situated by a set of organizational and historical conditions that account for its origin and ascendance as a prescriptive characteristic of sociological work. The author draws attention to the significance of suffering and suggests that its religious precepts are transmuted for the conditions under which sociology develops in turn-of-the-century Chicago.

The practices of artist-entrepreneurs located outside Canada's creative hubs viewed through the lens of the pragmatic sociology of critique.

Artists-entrepreneurs struggle with the tension between their artistic and entrepreneurial values. Previous research on this tension focuses on urban creative hubs and shows the presence of politicians to create, with the artists, a structure constituted of investment formulas to ease this tension. Based on Boltanski and Thévenot's On Justification theory, our research focuses on the case of artist-entrepreneurs located outside Canada's creative hubs. The tension between artistic and entrepreneurial values is expressed as a tension between the inspired and market worlds, which is managed through the civic world in Canadian creative hubs. The results of 50 semi-structured interviews with non-urban Canadian artist-entrepreneurs reveal that politicians are less implicated in these regional cultural industries. In order to manage the tension between artistic and entrepreneurial values, artists themselves are developing individual and collective investment formulas to create structure in the cultural industries that compensates for the low-level of involvement by politicians. Thus, we identify that the tension between the inspired and market worlds is managed through the presence of the projective world in the case of Canada's non-urban artist-entrepreneurs.

Les artistes­entrepreneurs sont aux prises avec une tension entre leurs valeurs artistiques et entrepreneuriales. Les recherches étudiant cette tension se concentrent sur les pôles de créativité et montrent la présence du politique pour créer, conjointement avec les artistes, une structure mettant en place des formules d'investissement permettant d'apaiser ladite tension. En prenant appui sur la théorie de la justification de Boltanski et Thévenot, cette recherche s'intéresse au cas des artistes­entrepreneurs situés hors des pôles canadiens de la créativité. La tension entre les valeurs artistiques et entrepreneuriales se décline comme une tension entre les mondes de l'inspiration et marchand et celle­ci est gérée grâce au monde civique dans les pôles canadiens de la créativité. Les résultats de 50 entrevues semi­structurées avec des artistes­entrepreneurs hors des pôles canadiens de la créativité pointent vers une implication moindre du politique dans les industries culturelles. Afin de gérer la tension entre les valeurs artistiques et entrepreneuriales, ces artistes se dotent de formules d'investissement individuelles et collectives palliant ainsi la faible implication du politique dans l'élaboration d'une structure pour les industries culturelles. Ainsi, afin de permettre la gestion de la tension entre les mondes de l'inspiration et marchand, on relève la présence du monde des projets dans le cas des artistes­entrepreneurs hors des pôles canadiens de la créativité.

"Successful" ageing in later older age: A sociology of class and ageing in place.

Supporting people to 'age in place' - to live independently at home and remain connected to the community - is an international policy priority. But the process of ageing in place is mediated in a socio-cultural context where neoliberal tropes of successful ageing reproduce a pervasive model about 'ageing well' by elevating ideals of individualised choice and self-governance. Based on two waves of qualitative interviews and interim observations, we employ a Bourdieusian logic to explore the ramifications of this context on the experiences of 46 people in later older age (80+) ageing in place in North East England. All participants enacted everyday improvisatory practices to render their homes habitable. But our participants - most of whom were located in middle-class social positions - supplemented such improvisions with a strategic disposition to plan for and actively shape their ageing-in-place futures. Our participants conveyed a distinct sense of agency over their ageing futures. Underpinning their orientations to practice was an awareness of the value attached to individually 'ageing well' and a distancing from the agedness associated with the fourth age. Our analysis demonstrates the role of capital, accrued throughout the life course, in bringing such future trajectories into effect. The central argument of this paper therefore is that the embodiment of (neoliberal) ideals of successful ageing in place requires the deployment of classed capital. In sum, contrary to the individualising narratives ubiquitous in policy pertaining to ageing well, we show the importance of classed structural moorings in this process.

[A body is born: contemporary transformations in the knowledge produced between Sociology and Health]. / Nasce um corpo: transformações contemporâneas no conhecimento produzido entre a Sociologia e a Saúde.

In what ways have the social phenomena understood as belonging to the sphere of "health" provoked Sociology in recent decades? This essay takes this question as a starting point for linking Sociology and Health, proposing a reflection on how knowledge can advance at the intersection between these two fields of knowledge. The article is structured in three sections: in the first, a brief reflection on the notion of "contemporary sociological problems" will be presented, indicating the questions of the Sociology of Health that can be taken as a vector for this inquiry; in the second, it examines some contributions of the Sociology of Health, especially from the late 20th century, indicating how this area has had to organize solutions and reconfigure sociological problems to deal with contemporary phenomena; and in the last section, it proposes new questions for thinking about health as a sociological problem in the contemporary political context.

De que modo os fenômenos sociais entendidos como pertencentes à esfera da saúde provocaram a Sociologia nas últimas décadas? Este estudo parte dessa pergunta para articular Sociologia e Saúde, propondo uma reflexão sobre a maneira como o conhecimento pode avançar na interseção entre essas duas áreas. O texto é organizado em três seções: na primeira, oferece uma breve reflexão sobre a noção de "problema sociológico contemporâneo", indicando as questões da Sociologia da Saúde que podem ser tomadas como vetores para essa indagação; na segunda, examina algumas contribuições da Sociologia da Saúde, sobretudo a partir da segunda metade do século XX, pontuando a maneira como essa área precisou organizar soluções e reconfigurar problemas sociológicos para dar conta de fenômenos contemporâneos; e por fim, na terceira seção, o texto propõe novas perguntas para pensar a saúde como problema sociológico contemporâneo no contexto político atual.

¿De qué manera los fenómenos sociales entendidos como pertenecientes al campo de la "salud" han provocado la Sociología en las últimas décadas? Este ensayo parte de este interrogante para articular Sociología y Salud en una reflexión sobre cómo el conocimiento puede avanzar en la intersección entre estas dos áreas del conocimiento. Este texto se organiza en tres apartados. En el primer apartado se reflexiona brevemente sobre la noción de "problema sociológico contemporáneo" indicando las cuestiones de la Sociología de la Salud que pueden considerarse como motor para esta cuestión; en el segundo, se examinan algunas aportaciones de la Sociología de la Salud, especialmente de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, en las cuales señala cómo el área necesitaba organizar soluciones y reconfigurar los problemas sociológicos para abarcar los fenómenos contemporáneos; y, en el tercer apartado, se plantean nuevos interrogantes para pensar la salud como un problema sociológico contemporáneo en el contexto político actual.

Engram Studies: A Call for Historical, Philosophical, and Sociological Approaches.

In this chapter, we identify three distinct avenues of research on the philosophical, historical, and sociopolitical dimensions of engram research. First, we single out the need to refine philosophical understandings of memory within neuroscientific research on the engram. Specifically, we question the place of constructivist and preservationist philosophical claims on memory in the formulation of the engram concept and its operationalization in contemporary neuroscience research. Second, we delve into the received historiography of the engram claiming its disappearance after Richard Semon's (1859-1918) coinage of the concept. Differently from this view, we underline that Semon's legacy is still largely undocumented: Unknown are the ways the engram circulated within studies of organic memory as well as the role Semon's ideas had in specific national contexts of research in neurosciences. Finally, another research gap on the engram concerns a socio-anthropological documentation of the factual and normative resources this research offers to think about memory in healthcare and society. Representations of memory in this research, experimental strategies of intervention into the engram, as well as their translational potential for neurodegenerative (e.g., Alzheimer's disease) and psychiatric (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder) conditions have not yet received scrutiny notwithstanding their obvious social and political relevance.All these knowledge gaps combined call for a strong commitment towards interdisciplinarity to align the ambitions of a foundational neuroscience of the engram with a socially responsible circulation of this knowledge. What role can the facts, metaphors, and interventional strategies of engram research play in the wider society? With what implications for philosophical questions at the foundation of memory, which have accompanied its study from antiquity? And what can neuro- and social scientists do jointly to shape the social and political framings of engram research?

Race, community, and doing sociology.

What further evidence is needed to effectively address the unsatisfactory schooling experiences and educational trajectory of Black youth to help shape their path toward more successful social outcomes? I return to this persistent question in my research to reflect on how I have used sociological research in prior observations, and to build on earlier studies. I show how following research participants over a period of time, and with attention to how they relate to and are nested in community, family and peers, has enabled me to more effectively document their experiences, imaginations, and ambitions from adolescence to adulthood. I contend that longitudinal studies, framed by a community referenced approach, best ensure that we attend to the complex, diverse, and transitional lives of Black youth, and the social, cultural, educational, economic, and political contexts they navigate. At this time of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives, sociology could help to advance education about, and initiate action for, Black people so that the equity promised by Canadian multiculturalism might be realized.

Quelles sont les preuves supplémentaires nécessaires pour traiter efficacement les expériences scolaires insatisfaisantes et la trajectoire éducative des jeunes Noirs afin de les aider à s'orienter vers des résultats sociaux plus satisfaisants? Je reviens sur cette question persistante dans mes recherches pour réfléchir à la manière dont j'ai utilisé la recherche sociologique dans des observations antérieures et pour m'appuyer sur des études antérieures. Je montre comment le fait de suivre les participants à la recherche sur une certaine période, en prêtant attention à la manière dont ils sont liés et imbriqués dans la communauté, la famille et les pairs, m'a permis de documenter plus efficacement leurs expériences, leurs imaginations et leurs ambitions, de l'adolescence à l'âge adulte. Je soutiens que les études longitudinales, encadrées par une approche référencée par la communauté, sont le meilleur moyen de s'assurer que nous prenons en compte les vies complexes, diverses et transitoires des jeunes Noirs, ainsi que les contextes sociaux, culturels, éducatifs, économiques et politiques dans lesquels ils évoluent. À l'heure des initiatives d'EDI, la sociologie pourrait contribuer à faire progresser l'éducation sur les Noirs et à lancer des actions en leur faveur, afin que l'équité promise par le multiculturalisme canadien puisse se réaliser.

Proxy failures in practice: Examples from the sociology of science.

Following John et al., we provide examples of failing proxies that might help to contextualize the role of proxy failures in applied research. We focus on examples from the sociology of science and illustrate how the notion of proxy failure can sharpen applied analysis, if used in a way that does not obscure other dysfunctional effects of proxies.

The problem of context revisited: Moving beyond the resources model.

The problem of context, which explores relations between societal conditions and science, has a long and contentious tradition in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science. While the problem has received little explicit attention in recent years, two contemporary positions remain evident. First is the resources model, which seeks to maintain the autonomy of scientists by denying contextual influence, restricting the role of contexts to providing a pool of 'novel inputs'. Second is the contextual shaping position which recognizes that societal conditions influence science but remains conceptually vague and theoretically undeveloped. This paper argues, given current disciplinary conditions, the problem of context deserves renewed attention. In this paper I first review the history of the debate from the 1930s, highlighting several anxieties that continue to hamper the open study of the problem. After this historical review, I provide a critique of the resources model and assess the possibilities and shortfalls of the contextual shaping position. By addressing past and present perspectives, my goal is to move firmly beyond narrow accounts of context, as exemplified by the resources model. Instead, I propose a renewed program of research in which rich empirical studies are combined with equally rich theoretical work directed toward developing conceptual tools better able to capture the multiple intricacies evident in context-science relations.

[United in difference: on the vocation of Brazilian sociology at the Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro, 1973-1977]. / Unidos na diferença: sobre a vocação da sociologia brasileira no Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro, 1973-1977.

This article investigates the first generation (1973-1977) of researchers trained in the Graduate Program in Sociology at the Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro (IUPERJ). While IUPERJ is known as the birthplace of modern Brazilian political science, sociology there is less well known. Using documentary resources, interviews, and the secondary literature, we take a nuanced look at this generation, which has been described as both excessively heterogeneous and less original in comparison to political science at IUPERJ. For them, theoretical and methodological specialization was seen as central to a political sociology that sought responses to the demands of a society at the crossroads between modernization and redemocratization.

Este artigo busca compreender a vocação científica consagrada pela primeira geração (1973-1977) de pesquisadores do Programa de Pós-graduação em Sociologia do Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro (Iuperj). Embora o Iuperj seja visto como berço da moderna ciência política brasileira, pouco se sabe sobre sua sociologia. Para tal, baseamo-nos em documentos, entrevistas e bibliografia secundária. Queremos nuançar diagnósticos sobre essa geração, ora vista como excessivamente heterogênea, ora como pouco original se comparada à ciência política iuperjiana. Na vocação daquela geração, o elogio à especialização teórico-metodológica era parte central de uma sociologia política que buscava dar respostas às demandas de uma sociedade na encruzilhada entre modernização e redemocratização.