Doing Public Sociology: Knowledge Exchange, the Third Mission, and Critical Research Agendas

1. Doing Public Sociology: Knowledge Exchange, the Third Mission, and Critical Research Agendas Dr Richard A Courtney School of Historical Studies, University of Leicester

2. Introduction • Third Mission & Knowledge Exchange • Public Sociology and the definition of the discipline • Methodological Issues • Ethnicity & Englishness Research • Conclusions: The Entrepreneurial Academic

3. Real world problems of jargon and buzz • What exactly is knowledge exchange and the third mission? • Traditional examples are found in environmental sciences – where universities work with third partners, exchange perspectives and knowledge to solve problems • Are there any examples in social sciences? • There are numerous examples. E.g. social capital and the IMF • Social Science concepts have always crossed over into the public domain in narrative and prescriptive ways, e.g. feminism, social class, ethnicity • The Third Mission is simply an institutional consolidation of these activities • Measured by ‘Impact’ – this is intangible as well as tangible • Puts sociology into the market place, where the fear is that the professionalism/critical edge of the discipline will be diluted • How can sociology continue critical research agendas in a commercialised environment, which promote rigour and professionalism?

4. Is Public Sociology a Buzzword? • …Well, yes, it probably is! • Burawoy – The object of Public Sociology is Civil Society • Critical Vs. Policy • Professional Vs. Public • In reality not categories but phases of practice • British (professional + policy) sociology has traditionally worked closely with the state • Mostly through an underwritten Fabianism • Funding opportunities mostly from the state (or the public purse as it is now called!) • No longer sustainable with the state’s fiscal ‘crisis’ – shift in public/private boundaries • Public Sociology should be about severing this link (critical) • Generating and formalising links with outside interests, e.g. Pressure groups, charities, civil society groups, and businesses…

5. What it means for research process • The argument against public sociology is about methodological and technical professionalism • The strength of quantitative methods the ability to provide reliability, but from reliable settings, i.e. instances where you have a priori knowledge of the whole [solid ground] • E.g. in education or epidemiology • Limited as they inhibit wider discovery of ‘unknown unknowns’ • Change in public and private boundaries affects the ability to conduct these techniques properly • Public Sociology goes beyond the known public realm to find unexplored domains of social life [shaky ground] • Not premised upon reliability, but validity • Its premise is civil society, which is self-defining • Creates exchange of perspectives - dialogue not prescription, Feyerabend’s democratic model of science • Old debates over methods and professionalism are now practical considerations • methodological pluralism is reality not philosophy • Methodology is not the only standard of professionalism – argumentative style and perspective is conducted in rigorous and reflexive fashion

6. Doctoral Research • Social class and ‘race’ relations in non-metropolitan settings • Thurrock, Essex • Community study exploring associations and organisations working in and with local communities • Assemblage of the concepts was not a priori • E.g. social class, whiteness, and national identity • Ethnicity, blackness, and political involvement • A priori knowledge came from content analysis of local newspapers’ representation of the locality • Significance of concepts discovered along the way • Shaky to solid ground through investigation

7. Public Sociology in Action: Englishness & Ethnicity • Most research starts with the census classifications • Their shortcoming is that they only count what the state has come to be interested in counting (influence of Professional Sociology) • Englishness and the minutia of ethnic identification cannot be found in them • So it needs a public sociology to explore these issues • British-Nigerians in Essex – the non-existent population • Exploring myths and narratives of changing ethnic difference in local civic life • The hairdresser myth • The Africans for Essex myth • The deprivation = racist myth • Research findings fill the knowledge vacuum on the identity of others…[research impact] • Outcome of Public Sociology is that it increases the scope of public knowledge, not in terms of explanation, but in terms of awareness • Public sociology is not solely about civil society, but bringing the substance beyond the civil into public discourse [the sociological imagination]

8. Beyond Burawoy’s Public Sociology: Entrepreneurial Academic • Key PhD finding: Englishness was used as a heritage narrative distinct to whiteness and differential by social class and micro-geographic location • In what other contexts can I study these ideas, without simply doing another community study? • Look for contexts where the ideas of Englishness are being used for social and economic regeneration and to employ critical insights • The Canals – central role in social and economic regeneration, where English heritage is a key commercial resource • Inter-disciplinary & Methodologically plural, sociology, history, geography, politics, etc… • Multiple funding routes from public, private, and third sector organisations • Building a scene to generate interest [intangibles] to generate research funds in difficult times [tangibles] • Building your own buzz – give substance to the benign! • Professionalism of Sociology is not reducible to methods, but is an aspect of entrepreneurial practice. • Founded upon research that treads new ground • Founded upon the publication of research • Founded upon the co-ordination of research interests, partnerships, and knowledge exchange • Public Sociology will generate ownership of The Third Mission