Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003 12:36:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: Neil McLaughlin <nmclaugh-AT-mcmail.CIS.McMaster.CA>
Subject: Re: Articles/books on Adorno and (empirical) sociology





I have to admit some scepticism regarding the possibilities of creating an
Adorno inspired empirical sociology. But I would be interested in hearing
here on this list, an argument for what might come out of such an effort.
There has been, it seems to me, enourmous progress in sociology over the
decades since Adorno came on the scene specifically around the issue of
methods (advances in quantitative methods, important work in
historical/comparative methods and increasing sophistication in
qualitative methods) and the theory/method connection. I am going to try
to put aside my relative disinterest in Adorno's empirical contributions,
since (putting aside the Lazarsfeld/Adorno issue) it hardly seems like he
made many important empirical contributions in the past. I would try to
learn to
take free kicks from Beckham in soccer, since trying to bend it like
Beckham makes sense, since he did does it so well.
But trying to study things empirically like Adorno? Seems a stretch...
But I would be interested in hearing the core of the argument for trying
to build on Adorno's empirical approach, hopefully from someone up to date
with recent developments in sociology regarding thinking about the
relationship between theory and methods.


Neil G. McLaughlin     			KTH-620
Associate Professor			McMaster University
Department of Sociology			Hamilton, Ontario
E-mail: nmclaugh-AT-mcmaster.ca		L8S 4M4
Phone (905) 525-9140 Ext. 23611		Canada

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003, Claus Hansen wrote:

> Dear list,
>
> I was wondering if any of you knew any articles dealing with Adorno's
> sociological works and especially his visions on how to conduct empirical
> sociology. I would also be glad if anyone knew if anyone had tried to
> elaborate a bit on his 'epistemology' and how it could be utilised for
> sociology. So far I have found the following:
>
> Stefan Mller-Doohm has published a book called - Die Soziologie Theodor W.
> Adorno's (1996, Campus Verlag) that sketches both some substantial issues
> in Adorno's 'sociological theory' and some answers as to how one should
> 'conduct' Adornian inspired empirical sociology. He has also published a
> few articles dealing with the same issue. Then there is the part of the
> 'Adorno-Konferenz 1983' (1983, Suhrkamp)  that deals on his methodology -
> all in all three articles by Wolfgang Bonss, Jrgen Risert and Ulrich
> Oevermann. There is also a single English article by Ryan Drake called
> 'Objectivity and Insecurity. Adorno and Empirical Social Research'
> (Philosophy Today, Summer 2000). There are of course also a chapter in
> Rose's, Melancholy Science and Buck-Morss', The Origin of Negative Dialectics.
>
> Does anyone know of any other articles in English, German or any
> Scandinavian language?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Claus
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> "Hos mange mennesker er det allerede en uforskammethed, nr de siger 'jeg'"
> (T.W. Adorno)
>
>
>