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Volume 57 (2006 - 200･･･
- Issue 4 Pages 662-
- Issue 3 Pages 456-
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- Issue 1 Pages 2-
Volume 57, Issue 1
Displaying 1-14 of 14 articles from this issue
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[in Japanese], [in Japanese]2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 2-3
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (222K) -
Harutoshi FUNABASHI2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 4-24
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSHow can we create sociological theories? In order to approach this difficult problem, we must, at first, clarify the role of sociological theories and identify their different types. Next, corresponding to each type of theory, we must develop an appropriate study method that will enable us to create an original theory. The first role of a sociological theory is to discover and explain various regularities that appear in a given society. The second role of the theory is interpretation-explaining the meaning of various social phenomena. We admit that sociological theory can cover the sphere of a normative problem, and in this context, its third role is to invent various normative principles and provide the rationales behind them. With regard to the purpose of this paper, sociological theories can be classified into the following five types : fundamental theories of sociology, basic theories, middle-range theories, meta-theories, and normative theories. For each type of theory, appropriate and unique methods for theory creation should be developed, and evaluation criteria should be chosen. Theory creation should be distinguished from the study of precedent theories. In the case of middle-range and basic theories concerning a specific sphere, I propose “a study strategy in the shape of an upper-case T.” The study of precedent theories can play a major role with regard to the fundamentals of sociology and the basic theories covering multiple spheres. For example, the formation of the “genetic objectivation theory” was based on the systematic study of precedent theories conducted on the subject of reification. In addition, new social problems can work to produce new viewpoints, new values, and a critical mind. These factors stimulate theoretical innovation at the level of fundamental or basic theories. Such innovation is often accompanied by difficulties concerning the redefinition of the researcher's identity as in the case of the sociology of gender.View full abstractDownload PDF (2327K) -
The Need of the HourKenji KOSAKA2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 25-40
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThere is an urgent need for sociological inspiration and intellect to construct original sociological theories. However, even more pressing is the need for scientific “formulae” or norms to be followed. The author pointed out in an earlier study that there are three types of theories in sociology: general theory, historical theory, and normative theory. The present paper claims the necessity of the following aspects that are common to the abovementioned types of sociological theories: truth, justice, beauty, coherence, pragmatic norms, and explication. It examines a “T-shaped strategy of research” suggested by Funabashi, in determining the problems of “middle range theories” (MRT). The following three fallacies appear to be involved in the Mertonian concept of MRT: the fallacies of misplaced “consolidation” of theory and research, misplaced abstraction, and misplaced object system of a study. It is concluded that these aspects should be accompanied by an additional two features: the spirit of unification of the previous theoretical frameworks and the spirit of the interpenetration of the three types of theories.View full abstractDownload PDF (1799K) -
Hiroshi TAROHMARU2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 41-57
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe methodology of “theory construction” developed in the U.S. around 1970 established an approach for the development of sociological theories. However, this methodology underestimates the value of studies conducted on classical sociological theories. According to Laudan's philosophy of science, the studies on the classical theories can develop current sociological theories by solving conceptual problems, identifying anomalies, and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of several sociological research traditions. By studying these classical sociological theories, we can find problems that require a solution and clues to solve these problems. However, it is very difficult to develop a theory only through studies on these classical theories because conceptual and empirical problems are closely connected to each other. In order to solve an empirical problem, we must gather and analyze data. Therefore, we must solve both conceptual and empirical problems simultaneously in order to develop sociological theories. This can be achieved through derivation and by joining a “good” research group.View full abstractDownload PDF (1688K) -
Yasuhito KINOSHITA2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 58-73
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSGrounded theory approach (GTA) is a qualitative research method that generates a theory based on the grounded-on-data analysis. From the onset, this approach, which is widely known in human service areas and internationally, has inherent ambiguities with regard to coding ; this reflects the contrasting educational backgrounds of Glaser and Strauss who studied at Columbia and Chicago, respectively. This paper discusses the actual collaboration process of the two sociologists in developing the GTA. In addition, the main characteristics of the GTA-the concurrent processes of data collection and analysis, theoretical uniqueness of the grounded theory, and theorization of everyday practices in human services-are critically examined.
GTA is an exceptional sociological research method that has attracted a wide interest not in sociology but in applied areas. An important question that arises is with reference to the implications of this phenomenon for contemporary sociology. Sociology, which conventionally crosses the boundaries of other disciplines, is now itself being studied by researchers in human service areas. Partly due to the GTA, research conducted on sociology and human services are to be compared and examined, and thereby new possibilities of interdisciplinary dialogue emerge.View full abstractDownload PDF (1705K) -
Yumiko EHARA2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 74-91
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: January 29, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis paper aims to analyze the influence of the sociology of gender on everyday life in the framework of Schutz's social action theory. The act of theorizing is defined in practical terms in my paper. Every social member theorizes on a daily basis in order to adapt to social life. Gender constitutes a theory that is developed based on each social member's theory formation. Therefore, gender structures people's perceptions and has led to communication difficulties between men and women. The sociology of gender has contributed to regaining the mutual trust between men and women by clarifying the reasons for the difficulties they face in communication. Gender bashing in contemporary Japanese society destroys any attempt to establish such mutual understanding.View full abstractDownload PDF (1951K) -
Kazuo SEIYAMA2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 92-108
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSRecently, fervent discussions regarding Burawoy's For Public Sociology (2004) have been carried out among sociologists worldwide. This is merely an indication of their anxiety with regard to the contemporary situation of sociology. With regard to Burawoy' s paper, most of the reviewers of the paper express their sympathy by stating that sociology should be more public, instead of professional. In other words, sociologists should address and communicate with public audiences. However, the real problem of contemporary sociology is not its lack of public communication but the lack of theoretical knowledge that needs to be communicated to public audiences. Since the 1970s, there has been a deep distrust with reference to the general theories in sociology, deploring the ethnocentrism of theories that had existed thus far such as the theory proposed by Parsons. Many different attempts have been made to base sociological inquiries upon concrete solid objective grounds. However, this resulted in a Babel in the world of sociology. The defect in Burawoy' s conceptualization of public sociology is that it is not founded on a substantial comprehension regarding the peculiar nature of the social world, which is the objective of sociology. The peculiarity of the social world, which is the main source of contemporary problems of sociology, is that the social world is a meaning world to which the classical concept of objective truth may not fully apply. The inquiries should be in terms of interpretations, and there are no established ways of conceiving the basis of the validity of an interpretation. In any case, sociology cannot only be interpretative, and yet we require certain communalities among sociological inquiries. In this paper, I suggest that the concept of public sociology should represent those sociological explorations that are oriented toward 'better' interpretation, which is inherently related to the construction of a 'better' meaning world for people in that social world. Such an exploration is not only empirical but also normative and at the same time theoretical as well as professional.View full abstractDownload PDF (1800K) -
Daisaburo HASHIZUME2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 109-124
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDuality of action, that is, the relation between the two facts-action is an event in the real world and action becomes effective through an understanding of its meaning-has never been appropriately argued in past sociological theories. Structuralism indicated that the level of signs is detached from the real world (the principle of arbitrariness) and refuted the assumptions of Marxism. The language game is a concept proposed by Wittgenstein who surpassed the assumed duality through structuralism and adhered to the notion of singleness of this world. Action is meaningful in terms of peoples' behaviors or the language game. Its meaning is revealed as the finite sequence of individual items in the real world.
Language is an intercorporal form that is transferred between scattered bodies in the real world. Linguistic sociology assumes language, sex, and power to be the three fundamental operators in the social space. Various social figures are derived from these three operators, and some are selected as institutional premises for establishing the actual social systems. In this manner, linguistic sociology can formulate a comprehensive theoretical construction comprising both universal principles of society and an empirical investigation of social systems.View full abstractDownload PDF (1558K) -
An 'Esquisse' for Theory FormationKiyomitsu YUI2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 125-142
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis paper attempts to explore the common theme of the issue “How is theory formation possible?” in terms of the case study of the articulation of comparative modernization theory and glocalization theory. One can grasp comparative modernization theory and, as its fundamental principle, functionalism from the view-point of the theory classification proposed by Funabashi (1982) and Kosaka (1998). Recently, however, it is said that the combination has been destructed (Sato 1998).
It has been a long while since sociologists have discussed the multiplicity of the fundamental principles of sociological theory. To a certain extent, however, multiplicity is a built-in component of the discipline. Meanwhile, as a de facto phenomenon, new and attractive “guidance (sensitizing) ideas” (such as globalization, risk society, and so on) have been successively studied by many sociologists. This paper attempts to delineate the process of the theory formation in terms of actual esquisse or exercise in the articulation or combination of comparative modernization theory with glocalization theory as an attractive “guidance idea.” The following points summarize the core conclusions of this paper. (1) Regardless of the fundamental principles involved, it is advisable to suppose the existence of reciprocal movements between theory and empirical research and that these movements involve a helical development. It is significant for glocalization theory to be articulated with comparative modernization theory, which is a foundational proposition (or a middle-range theory) that is considerably more grounded in empirical studies. (2) The articulation process involves the internal transformation of both theories (the reconstruction of both comparative modernization theory and glocalization theory). (3) This articulation can sometimes prompt the reconstruction of theoretical tradition (which, in this paper, refers to human rights that go beyond citizenship in the glocalized world).View full abstractDownload PDF (1910K) -
Yuki OOI2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 143-156
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: April 23, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe national state has posited migrants as its “other.” This recognition is becoming increasingly problematic, particularly at present, with the rise of nationalism in response to globalization. Such nationalism has nurtured hostilities against migrants because of their “otherness.” Thus, it is critical to reconsider how non-exclusion of the other in society can be made possible in order to promote democracy in contemporary society. In other words, this question pertains to the construction of the publicness of migrants or a public sphere involving migrants. With regard to the migrants, as the other, it is difficult for them to be involved in the public sphere in light of the Westphalian nationalstate system. This framework acknowledges the national state's response toward migrants as an exercise of sovereignty, even in the case of exclusion (particularly if it is relevant to its people's security). Thus, it is necessary to reexamine the relation between the migrants and the national state. This paper attempts to explore this issue with regard to the Asian migrants in the United States.
Based on such interests, this paper focuses on the transition of the methodology from nationalism to transnationalism. This shift is historic in that it contributed to transforming the relations between the Asian migrants/Americans and the United States. Subsequently, in this paper, I will reveal that the earlier studies that employed transnationalism were partially based on methodological nationalism, where migrants were considered as nothing but the other of the national state. I will then present a solution to overcome this by examining the manner in which the United States was built into a sovereign national state in the late nineteenth century in response to the international migration of the Chinese people.View full abstractDownload PDF (1453K) -
Restructuring Strategies of the Meatpacking IndustryYusuke MAZUMI2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 157-173
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis paper attempts to elucidate the cause of the Mexican migrant influx to the rural Midwest in the U.S. in the 1990s by focusing on the restructuring strategies of the meatpacking industry, which is currently a major employer of migrants in this region. Their influx into this region indicates an increase in their population in regions that have radically different cultural and socioeconomic contexts compared to those of their traditional settlements such as large metropolitan cities and the Southwest. While this raises questions pertaining to their adaptation to this region, it is an integral premise of this issue to shed light on the reasons of their influx in these nontraditional destinations. This paper explores the restructuring experienced by the meatpacking industry and why that restructuring resulted in the influx of Mexican migrants to this region.
In order to overcome the shortcomings in the existing macrolevel approaches of immigration, which explain the causes of immigration in terms of the demand of migrant labor created by industrial restructuring, the analysis is conducted from the following perspectives. Firstly, the restructuring of basic industries is not a unilinear process but one in which appropriate strategies are selected under external influence. This affects the choice of strategies in other strategic sectors, and in general, mutually suitable strategies.are chosen from among strategic sectors. Secondly, the strategy of using migrants is employed not only to reduce labor costs but also as a suitable strategy in combination with other strategies. This paper focuses on the influences of product characteristics. Thereby, it explores how these characteristics have induced the combination of strategies specific to this industry and led to the development of unique restructuring processes. Further, it examines why this restructuring process has necessitated the strategy of using Mexican migrants in the rural Midwest during this period.View full abstractDownload PDF (1864K) -
Case Study of a Kaga Marquetry CraftsmanHideo AOKI2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 174-189
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: April 23, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThis essay aims to construct a new image of modern people by focusing on the structure of self-reliance in life. First, it reviews the academic controversy concerning the fundamental characteristics of modern people in relation to the power held by the social historians in the 1960s and 1970s. It explores the hypothetical idea that modern people practiced some unique and important life ethics in order to realize self-reliance in life, and based on this, two types of people are constructed : people who directly struggled against the social contradiction, which prevented them from achieving self-reliance in life, and people who strived to achieve gradual improvement in the living conditions with an industrious and stoic attitude to life.
Second, this essay aims to explain the method of diary analysis as life-history method. Further, it also aims to prove the above mentioned hypotheses by analyzing the structure of self-reliance in the case of the latter type of modem people by using a diary written by Hiroyasu Yonezawa, a marquetry craftsman who lived in Kaga (Kanazawa) from the Meiji to the Showa Eras. Yonezawa's daily life ethics is analyzed in terms of the following : his responsibility with regard to the family's survival, industrious and stoic attitude to life, innovation of marquetry techniques in order to earn a better livelihood, harmony with people from his workplace and his neighborhood with whom he shared an intimate relationship, and pity and disdain for the unfortunate. Moreover, it has been insisted that the modern people had three ethical practices : industry and innovation for self-reliance in life, harmony with the kindred, and dissimilation of the unfortunate. Further, it also insisted that harmony with the kindred and dissimilation of the unfortunate were attitudes that were inevitably inherent in the origins of modem people. Thus, a new image of modern people is constructed.View full abstractDownload PDF (1710K) -
[in Japanese]2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 190-203
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (1535K) -
[in Japanese]2006 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 204-217
Published: June 30, 2006
Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2009
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSDownload PDF (1527K)
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