Abstract
Although targeting introductory students, The Promise of Sociology provides both novices and those more experienced in the field with a well-crafted account of sociological thinking and practice. Beamish engages the reader at many levels. He not only discusses the relevance of the sociological imagination in many creative ways, he demonstrates its practical application in his analysis of (relatively) contemporary culture and the classical traditions of the discipline. Each chapter represents, develops, and in turn applies the key sociological insight that all knowledge—of self, other, and the world around us—is situated in specific social and cultural (and temporal) contexts. Beamish challenges introductory students to come to an understanding of themselves through a critical examination of the world around them and the historical circumstances that led to their present situations. The text also provides the experienced sociologist with a refreshing (although sometimes methodical) reading of classic texts. The Promise of Sociology is an introduction to the discipline and an exercise in critical thinking and learning—Beamish comes through as a sociologist concerned with not only what students learn but also how they learn it.
Chapter 1 introduces students to themselves (and teachers to their students) through a measured, sociological summary and critique of relevant research on students today and a look at learning (and being) in the age of the Internet. Michael Wesch’s (2007) popular YouTube video, “A Vision of Students Today,” provides Beamish with a vehicle to analyze the complex relationships between what we know, how we learn, and what sort of media we use to convey (and receive) our understandings of ourselves and our world. Beamish contrasts the state of education and learning today with the classical notion of a liberal education—demonstrating to his readers that meaningful understandings must tolerate and encompass subtlety, reflexivity, and contradiction (a practice extended throughout the text).
Beamish next introduces readers to the core concept, the sociological imagination (Mills 1959), by going through a meticulous critical reading of large portions of Mills’s first chapter. Key ideas and concepts are then used to analyze Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, Psycho, demonstrating the distinctiveness of a sociological rather than individualistic/psychological perspective in making sense of the complex world and relationships depicted in the film and the film itself as a product/representation of a specific sociohistorical period. Chapters 3 through 8 focus on classical sociology and are composed of detailed readings and re-readings of excerpts from Marx, Durkheim, and Weber—focusing on both their theoretical and methodological contributions to the field. In chapter eight, Beamish uses Weber’s analysis of capitalism and modernity to bridge the gap between classical nineteenth/early twentieth–century sociology and the contemporary world of postmodern social critique. Chapter 9 provides a look at the cultural debates and the debates on culture, extending from the classical era, through the Frankfurt School, to today’s concerns with electronic and virtual mass culture. The penultimate chapter (10) provides an integrative approach to understanding the “Dialectics of Popular Culture” through an application of the method and insight of the sociological imagination to document and explore the role and significance of the cultural icon Bob Dylan as both a product and a key producer of a specific sociocultural environment.
The Promise of Sociology isn’t without its shortcomings—in fact, in a sense, its faults are perhaps best seen as part of its overarching themes and process—subtlety and nuance contrasted with straightforward documentation, imagination, and creativity opposed to method and classical analysis. The text’s strengths, its recursive re-reading of key sources, its reflexive engagement of the reader, and its painstaking application of the method of classical analysis, could bog the (introductory) reader down in detail and overwhelm the uninitiated student with the rigors of intellectual scholarship. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether Beamish is writing to himself or his students (probably both)—he often seems to get lost in his own analysis. His strong account (Chapter 1) of students today is contrasted with a lengthy and tedious presentation of classical theories of education (an interesting contrast to “eLearning,” to be sure, and an exercise in critical thinking, but introductory students may become easily lost and distracted). The step-by-step exploration of the sociological imagination through a detailed analysis of the film Psycho is well done, but it must be a favorite film of Beamish—I wonder how many of today’s introductory students relate to this classic film. In Chapter 8, he provides a two- to three-page discussion of “Postmodernity as an Art Form” in which he attempts to describe examples of surrealist art and relate them to the emergence of the postmodern world. Unfortunately, his textual descriptions just do not convey the power, depth, and meaning of these images—I was lost in the attempt and lost Beamish’s point as well. And, although one of my favorite chapters is the extended focus on the career and significance of Bob Dylan, I wonder if Dylan is as strongly heard among today’s students—I thought Beamish was writing Chapter 10 for himself (and me), not the students sitting in my classroom. In another sense, these modest shortcomings may well be more measured elements in a deeper reading of the text—I was constantly challenged when reading to try to apply the insights being developed to some more contemporary film or pop culture icon. Or, maybe Beamish is simply trying to provide a broader context for understanding his place and his thoughts about sociology. It is a book that can get the reader thinking on many levels.
There are a few other inconsistencies and concerns. Chapter 3 presents a solid example of intellectual craftsmanship through multiple readings of key passages of Marx’s ([1859] 2005) preface to Towards the Critique of Political Economy. This presentation shows the depth and complexity of Marx’s insights and the necessity for careful reading and re-reading to extract the multiple layers of meaning in a classic text. It is a clear and effective introduction to dialectical thinking. However, it is preceded with a laborious, detailed accounting of Marx’s intellectual heritage and sociocultural milieu—so complicated with lengthy within-text citations, footnotes, and names of sometimes (relatively) obscure historians and philosophers. It is an excellent example of intellectual craftsmanship and scholarly attention to detail and formatting, but again, if the desire is to engage and entice the introductory student, it may miss the mark and simply overwhelm. The discussion in chapter six of Durkheim’s study on suicide ([1897] 1951) is another somewhat troubling account. Although social facts and the necessity of understanding individual behavior within the social context are made clear, Beamish focuses most of his attention on the centrality of the conscience collective in Durkheim’s work. It seems the significance of the concept anomie in Durkheim’s work on suicide, its connection to his study on the division of labor and social solidarity, and its place in his broader analysis of modern society and the process of social change is lost.
With these concerns aside, The Promise of Sociology is a text that can have multiple uses in the classroom. The book is intended to be an introduction to sociology, and it could be used as a stand-alone text in an introductory class. However, I think it is better suited for a small, discussion-oriented class rather than a large lecture section—the book needs to be approached bit by bit and point by point, just as it does its topics. I think it would be a solid core text for an introductory honors course or a freshman majors’ seminar. There is also the possible application of this text in an undergraduate theory course. As I was reading the text for this review, I found it advantageous to bring it into the theory course I was teaching and used key sections to help my students understand particular points and ideas. For example, the discussion of “vocation” and the impact of belief on behavior in Chapter 8’s discussion of Weber’s ([1930] 1958) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism are succinct and focused. Another example is the discussion of postmodernism later on in chapter eight (before the problematic attempt to discuss surrealist art)—it is a good, brief introduction to an eclectic perspective that often confuses students.
Overall, the text is a noteworthy addition to the wide array of introductory sociology books currently available. It conveys the “promise of sociology,” and it does so in a way that actively demonstrates the process of good scholarship and the insight of the “sociological imagination.”