Compiled by , formerly of the University of Warwick, now holding a postdoc fellowship provided jointly by International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in Leiden and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore

Public Sociology Bibliography:

FROM THE ASA

The 1988 ASA Presidential Address by Herbert J Gans

Gans, H. (1989). “Sociology in America: The Discipline and the Public.” American Sociological Review 54(1):1-16

The 2004 ASA Presidential Address by M Burawoy

Burawoy, M. (2005). “For public sociology.” American Sociological Review 70(1): 4-28.

Burawoy, M. (2005). “2004 American sociological association presidential address: For public sociology.” British Journal of Sociology 56(2): 259-294.

ASA (2005) Public Sociology and the Roots of American Sociology: Re-Establishing Our Connection to the Public – Interim Report and Recommendations submitted by the ASA Task Force on Institutionalizing Public Sociologies to the ASA Council, July 2005.

Available at

ASA (2008). A symposium on public sociology : Looking back and forward, American Sociological Association.

BOOKS on Public Sociology

Agger, Ben (2001, 2007). Public Sociology: From Social Facts to Literary Acts. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

First published before ‘public sociology’ popularized and therefore not written with Burawoy’s conceptualization in mind. This book is a critique of the writing style of professional sociologists (under the scientific aura) which made it inaccessible to the public reader. Ironically, the book itself was criticized by its own extensive use of postmodern terminology.

Blau, J. R. and K. E. Iyall Smith (2006). Public sociologies reader. Lanham, Md., Rowman & Littlefield.

Clawson, D. (2007). Public sociology: Fifteen eminent sociologists debate politics and the profession in the twenty-first century. Berkeley, CA; London, University of California Press.

About everything commendable about the idea of Burawoy

Nichols, L. T. (2007). Public sociology: The contemporary debate. New Brunswick, N.J. ; London, Transaction Publishers.

Jeffries, V. (2009). Handbook of public sociology. Lanham, Md., Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Fatsis, L. (2014). Making sociology public: a critical analysis of an old idea and a recent debate. . 

Earlier Books Relevant to the Sociology-Public Link

Merton, R. K. (1972). Varieties of political expression in sociology. An american journal of sociology publication. Essays by robert k. Merton [and others], etc. Chicago & London, University of Chicago Press.

Carey, J. T. (1975). Sociology and public affairs : The chicago school. Beverly Hills ; London, Sage Publications.

SPECIAL JOURNAL ISSUES

Social Problem

51(1), 2004, Going Public: Scholarship in Pursuit of Social Justice

Michael Burawoy, William Gamson, Charlotte Ryan, Stephen Pfohl, Diane Vaughan, Charles Derber, Juliet Schor

Judith Stacey

Stephen R. Couch

Joel Best

Social Force

82 (4), 2004, Commentaries & Debate

Catherine Zimmer

Michael Burawoy

François Nielsen

David Brady

Charles R. Tittle

Critical Sociology

31(3), 2005

Michael Burawoy

The Critical Turn to Public Sociology
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 313-326.

Joan Acker

Comments on Burawoy on Public Sociology
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 327-331.

Stanley Aronowitz

Comments on Michael Burawoy’s “The Critical Turn to Public Sociology”
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 333-338.

Gianpaolo Baiocchi

Interrogating Connections: From Public Criticisms to Critical Publics in Burawoy’s Public Sociology
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 339-351.

Rose M. Brewer

Response to Michael Buroway’s Commentary: “The Critical Turn to Public Sociology”
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 353-359.

Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi

Can Burawoy Make Everybody Happy? Comments on Public Sociology
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 361-369.

Walda Katz-Fishman and Jerome Scott

Comments on Burawoy: A View From the Bottom-up
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 371-374.

John Urry

The Good News and the Bad News
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 375-378.

Michael Burawoy

Rejoinder: Toward a Critical Public Sociology
Critical Sociology 2005 31: 379-390.

American Sociologist

36 (3-4), 2005. A Conversation about “Public Sociology”

37(2), 2006. The Possibilities of Sociological Knowledge

38(3), 2007. Public Engagement and Hope

40 (4) Public Sociology: Problematics, Publicity and Possibilities

British Journal of Sociology

56 (2), 2005 Continuing the public sociology debate

Continuing the public sociology debate – Editor’s preface Bridget Hutter

56 (3), 2005 Continuing the public sociologies debate – replies to Michael Burawoy

Bridget M Hutter

Ulrich Beck

John Braithwaite

Craig Calhoun

Richard Ericson

Amitai Etzioni

John A Hall

Christine Inglis

Ragnvald Kalleberg

Four sociologies, multiple roles Stella R Quah

Saskia Sassen

John Scott

Diane Vaughan

Michael Burawoy

57 (2), 2006 Debate on British sociology and public intellectuals

Bryan S Turner

Replies to Bryan S Turner

Philippe Fontaine

David Frisby

Steve Fuller

Patricia Hill Collins

George Ritzer

Neil Smelser

Sociology- the BSA Journal

41 (5), 2007

John Holmwood and Sue Scott

Editorial Foreword: Sociology and its Public Face(s)
Sociology 2007 41: 779-783.

Stephen Turner

Public Sociology and Democratic Theory
Sociology 2007 41: 785-798.

Marinus Ossewaarde

Sociology Back to the Publics
Sociology 2007 41: 799-812.

Neil McLaughlin and Kerry Turcotte

The Trouble with Burawoy: An Analytic, Synthetic Alternative
Sociology 2007 41: 813-828.

E. Stina Lyon

Viola Klein: Forgotten Émigré Intellectual, Public Sociologist and Advocate of Women
Sociology 2007 41: 829-842.

Karim Murji

Sociological Engagements: Institutional Racism and Beyond
Sociology 2007 41: 843-855.

Gregor McLennan

Towards Postsecular Sociology?
Sociology 2007 41: 857-870.

Gurminder K. Bhambra

Sociology and Postcolonialism: Another `Missing’ Revolution?
Sociology 2007 41: 871-884.

Mike Savage and Roger Burrows

The Coming Crisis of Empirical Sociology
Sociology 2007 41: 885-899.

Geoff Payne

Social Divisions, Social Mobilities and Social Research: Methodological Issues after 40 Years
Sociology 2007 41: 901-915.

Stevi Jackson and Amanda Rees

The Appalling Appeal of Nature: The Popular Influence of Evolutionary Psychology as a Problem for Sociology
Sociology 2007 41: 917-930.

David Skinner

Groundhog Day? The Strange Case of Sociology, Race and `Science’
Sociology 2007 41: 931-943.

Paul Wakeling

White Faces, Black Faces: Is British Sociology a White Discipline?
Sociology 2007 41: 945-960.

Jennifer Platt

The Women’s Movement and British Journal Articles, 1950—2004
Sociology 2007 41: 961-975.

Canadian Journal of Sociology

34(3), 2009

Society in Transition- Journal of the South African Sociological Association 35(1),

Sotsiologicheskie Issledovaniya (Russuan) 35(4), 2009

Contemporary Sociology- a Journal of Reviews

37 (6), 2008 A Symposium on Public Sociology

Valerie Jenness, David A. Smith, and Judith Stepan-Norris

Editors’ Note: Public Sociology: Looking Back and Forward
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 2008 37: ix-x.

Kenneth C. Land

Whither Public Sociology?
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 2008 37: 507-511.

Pepper Schwartz

The Contested Territory of Public Sociology
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 2008 37: 512-515.

Judith Blau

A Better World. Possible? But of Course!
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 2008 37: 515-519.

J. Steven Picou

In Search of a Public Environmental Sociology: Ecological Risks in the Twenty-First Century
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 2008 37: 520-523.

Douglas Klayman

Creating Sociological Awareness: Public and Applied Sociology
Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 2008 37: 524-530.

Current Sociology 56 (3), 2008

Dennis Smith

Editorial: Beyond Greed, Fear and Anger
Current Sociology 2008 56: 347-350.

Michael Burawoy

What is to be Done?: Theses on the Degradation of Social Existence in a Globalizing World
Current Sociology 2008 56: 351-359.

Alberto Martinelli

Sociology in Political Practice and Public Discourse
Current Sociology 2008 56: 361-370.

Dennis Smith

Globalization, Degradation and the Dynamics of Humiliation
Current Sociology 2008 56: 371-379.

Michel Wieviorka

Some Considerations after Reading Michael Burawoy’s Article: `What is to be Done? Theses on the Degradation of Social Existence in a Globalizing World’
Current Sociology 2008 56: 381-388.

Adam Habib

Speaking `Truth’ to All Forms of Power: Reflections on the Role of the Public Sociologist in South Africa
Current Sociology 2008 56: 389-398.

Shen Yuan

Strong and Weak Intervention: Two Pathways for Sociological Intervention
Current Sociology 2008 56: 399-404.

Elena Zdravomyslova

`Make Way for Professional Sociology!’: Public Sociology in the Russian Context
Current Sociology 2008 56: 405-414.

Ruy Braga, Sylvia Gemignani Garcia, and Leonardo Mello e Silva

Public Sociology and Social Engagement: Considerations on Brazil
Current Sociology 2008 56: 415-424.

Amita Baviskar

Pedagogy, Public Sociology and Politics in India: What is to be Done?
Current Sociology 2008 56: 425-433.

Michael Burawoy

Rejoinder: For a Subaltern Global Sociology?
Current Sociology 2008 56: 435-444.

Labour & Industry 19(1-2), 2008

Work and Occupation 36 (2), 2009

Michael Burawoy

The Global Turn: Lessons From Southern Labor Scholars and Their Labor Movements
Work and Occupations 2009 36: 87-95.

Marco Aurélio Santana and Ruy Braga

Brazil: The Swinging Pendulum Between Labor Sociology and Labor Movement
Work and Occupations 2009 36: 96-109.

Ching Kwan Lee and Yuan Shen

China: The Paradox and Possibility of a Public Sociology of Labor
Work and Occupations 2009 36: 110-125.

Sharit K. Bhowmik

India: Labor Sociology Searching for a Direction
Work and Occupations 2009 36: 126-144.

Sakhela Buhlungu

South Africa: The Decline of Labor Studies and the Democratic Transition
Work and Occupations 2009 36: 145-161.

Soon-Kyoung Cho

South Korea: Toward a Collective Public Sociology of Labor
Work and Occupations 2009 36: 162-176.

Other notable Journal articles

Vaughan, D. (2006). “NASA revisited: Theory, analogy, and public sociology.” American Journal of Sociology 112(2): 353-393. – an interesting case study of how sociological expertise is negotiated in the process of being communicated via wider readers

Keith, M. (2008). “Public sociology? Between heroic immersion and critical distance: Personal reflections on academic engagement with political life.” Critical Social Policy 28(3): 320-334.

Gans, H. J. (2010). “Public ethnography; ethnography as public sociology.” Qualitative Sociology 33(1): 97-104.

WEBSITE of INTEREST

Entry ‘Public Sociology’ on Wikipedia