Reconsidering Howard S. Becker's “Underdog Sociology”

Abstract

This article reconsiders the sociological significance of sociologist Howard S. Becker’s liberalist stance. In 1966, Becker presented a lecture entitled “Whose side are we on?” in which he discussed his support for liberalism. However, his stance has been strongly criticized and called “underdog sociology” by Alvin Gouldner and others. Although, these criticisms have insisted that sociologists should be either neutral or a reflection of ourselves, Becker paid attention to the construction of the self as a sociologist within a social organization. Interpreting his ideas in this way provides a perspective from which we can empirically analyze political debates.