Fruitless divisions

Among the variety of subjects encroaching on the borders of sociology, the most intriguing challenge comes from cultural studies, which appears to offer the kind of exciting "activism" in its student curriculum once associated with sociology.

Where sociologists are relatively comfortable in their professional self-image, cultural studies advocates would rather be on the streets or in clubs than in the common room. Where sociology wants to be "relevant" to policy and politics, cultural studies wants to be politically engaged. Sociologists take a retrospective and reductionist approach to socio-cultural phenomena, whereas cultural studies thinkers favour open-ended thick description in pursuit of a pressing question. Sociology is masculinist and mainstream in "voice", cultural studies appeals to women and minorities.

There is undoubtedly something in this stereotypical snapshot, but how much? Even in postmodernist vein - and lots of sociologists are postmodern-ish too - cultural studies still aspires to some kind of structural understanding of "the logic of the social", and this draws it back on to the territory of large-scale sociological theory.

Arguments concerning the antagonism between sociology and cultural studies are certainly interesting, especially the one that posits sociology as mainly explanatory and cultural studies as descriptive and engaged.

Even so, the "anthropomorphic" staging of a sectarian battle between disciplinary identities is ultimately unproductive, when the main responsibility right across the human sciences is to develop substantive insights and ideological bearings. As it happens, many serious contributions to that task could be labelled "sociological cultural studies", but that should be a secondary matter.

Gregor McLennan

professor of sociology, University of Bristol.