Читать книгу Contemporary Sociological Theory - Группа авторов - Страница 30

All the different approaches to micro-sociological analysis presented here remain active in contemporary sociology. They are sometimes joined together with each other or with various macro-sociological theories. For example, Jürgen Habermas relies significantly on symbolic interactionism in his theory of communicative action and how it shapes modern law and politics (see Part VIII of this volume). Pierre Bourdieu has drawn on ethnomethodology and especially the work of Erving Goffman in his theory of social practice (Part VI). The various micro-analytic approaches have also influenced theories that are not specifically either macro or micro. For example, feminism and gender studies have benefited from symbolic interactionism and especially the analysis of “otherness” developed in that tradition (Part VII).

Micro-sociological theories are especially influential in the tradition of qualitative sociology. This refers mainly to methodological approaches that emphasize direct communication with social actors and observation of everyday social life. Ethnography, participant observation, interviews, and other methodological strategies are all examples. A key link to the micro-sociological theories presented in this Part is that these methods are used most often when sociologists want to develop analyses that make sense of the ways in which ordinary people understand their lives and the social world. This need not mean claiming that everyone already understands social interaction adequately or that everyday concepts can serve without modification as scientific ones. However, it does mean trying to grasp how everyday understanding and concepts work and how actors help to shape the reality in which they act.