Abstract
Moments of intense excitement often linger vividly in our memories, shaping our sense of when we find something truly special as well as how we respond to that experience. Spark, a social fiction novella by Patricia Leavy, centers this relatively universal truth in telling the story of a young professor who finds her zest for life reinvigorated by a mysterious invitation. In doing so, it explores core sociological concepts through the lens of different characters who receive the same curious request to join a secret project in a far-off place. The story that results demonstrates the sociological imagination (Mills [1959] 2000) in practice through different concrete tasks. Simultaneously, it explores how the sociological imagination itself can be reinvigorated by being challenged.
Leavy spins a straightforward story whose twists and turns come entirely from learning more about each character. Readers meet Peyton Wilde, a professor at a small liberal arts college who feels her enthusiasm for life and work flagging. She then receives a curious invitation from the Goodright Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on simulating creative thought, to join 48 other people in Iceland for a week-long group project. After accepting the invitation, Peyton travels to Crystal Manor, an intentional community that provides housing and meals for project participants. Peyton’s sense of wonder about the landscape and accommodations quickly becomes superseded by her curiosity about the people in her group, which provides the bulk of the intrigue in the story. Additional suspense comes in the form of the prompt for each group’s work: “What is the answer?” Events then follow a simple pattern in the body of the text: Each morning group members wake up, eat breakfast together, and get assigned a new activity that consumes the remainder of their day. As her group’s assigned scribe, Peyton dutifully reflects on each day’s activities and takes notes on her computer. Her ultimate task is to produce a summary report in response to the initial question, which the group considers each day in the context of their assigned tasks. When Peyton finally does compile her report, she finds herself transformed by the experience and thus gaining a very different perspective on that impossibly vast initial question. I felt that transformation happening within myself as well while reading and thus reflecting on how Spark might enhance the ability of social science professionals to nurture this same excitement in the classroom.
In terms of who should read and use this book, the temptation to say “everyone” seems rather too broad. But I do see Spark as having vast pedagogical value across sociologically informed disciplines. Undergraduate and even secondary school social sciences instructors will likely find this book immensely accessible and engaging for students. Likewise, research methods instructors in any discipline that uses qualitative methods will find it valuable as a primer on technique. Writing instructors may value Leavy’s masterful creation of mystery from things that might seem mundane on their own. Social psychology and dramaturgy specialists within the social sciences will find many apt examples of key theoretical concepts in action. Medical sociology instructors will also find ample health and aging content in the novel. For data analysis courses, Leavy offers good practice examples through Peyton’s daily writings. I also recommend this text as a primer for professional service, especially for anyone serving in a secretary or transcriber role. Across disciplinary boundaries, this novel provides excellent examples of how to conduct effective observational inquiry.
Each character in Spark offers a case study in at least one core sociology concept.
Ronnie, one of the most richly characterized people early on, epitomizes social closure through her easy rapport and strengthening friendship with Peyton. She also offers an in-depth introduction to illness as deviance through food allergies related to celiac disease, a form of gluten intolerance that causes intestinal problems. Neuroscientist Liev illustrates illness as deviance in a different light—revealed gradually by degrees as the story unfolds. Earlier portions of his character arc delve into neurosociology concepts such as learned effectiveness and mastery. Dancer Harper also offers an introduction to neurosociology through her immense cognitive flexibility; she routinely helps group members look at problems in new ways. Her commentary on food choices evokes concepts of health lifestyles, the complex array of choices and behaviors people use to cultivate health (Cockerham 2005). Retiree Milton invites readers to reflect on and critique the idea of “successful” aging (Holstein and Minkler 2003). He also demonstrates neuroatypicality and the advantages it can confer for problem solving; his rigid and hyperliteral thinking sometimes proves as useful as Harper’s adaptable mindset. Ariana offers a foil for Peyton herself, which likely explains the initial uneasiness between the two. She illustrates the data value of both the process of participant observation and the standpoint conferred by lived experience, which of course guide Peyton’s own strategy for narrating the group’s activities and findings.
This juxtaposition further illuminates the operationalization of the sociological imagination through Peyton’s narrative voice. At the outset of the story, Peyton herself illustrates the concept of anomie through her sense of alienation from her own zeal for life (Pope 1976). She also demonstrates how small personal characteristics can become master statuses, with her fear of heights constantly coming up in group dialogue as something defining in her nature. Peyton increasingly rebels against this, illustrating the concept of identity transformation through conscious rejection of labels conferred by others. In a more instrumental sense, Peyton uses the sociological imagination to complete project tasks for the Goodright Foundation. In the process, she encourages readers to draw connections between different sociological theories and phenomena. The shifting perspectives in the narrative evoke Peyton’s own efforts to get inside the minds of others as well as dramaturgical notions of front stage and back stage (Goffman 1959). What is private or unseen to Peyton often proves deeply important in the lived experience of other characters. As Peyton begins to see more of the “back stage” of each character’s life, her insights about the group’s work and how to craft the final report come more sharply into focus. Ultimately, the story follows the reinvigoration of Peyton’s own sociological imagination through her use of this “toolkit” of analytical skills (Swidler 1986).
Given this jubilant celebration of the sociological imagination and its uses in everyday life, I felt unsurprised by how readily I connected with the story and characters in Spark. I felt a sense of immediate resonance with the story; the “spark” idea seems enduringly universal for those of us who thrive on creative inquiry about the world around us. And although this book offers a splendid sociology story, it also spoke to me on multiple reads as a very effective mystery. I felt the same “edge of the seat” variety of anticipation I often experience when reading a particularly well-crafted thriller. After spending ample time reflecting on why a book about such ordinary activities as eating meals together and taking a hike in nature would make me feel such a sense of suspense, I realized that Leavy had succeeded in instilling the spark within me about the story itself. In doing so, she successfully illustrates for myself and other readers that although we do not necessarily think of sociological inquiry as being exciting detective work, it truly is. This seems a vital lesson for budding social scientists to learn early and revisit often.
Spark likewise centers the excitement and potential of the here and now. This concept will absolutely resonate with scholars of health and aging as well as people who study structural and individual violence and the associated capriciousness of life. Indeed, these elements of the story spoke to me more deeply than any other. Liev’s comment that others should “be careful of someday” has haunted me since I first read the novel. My own career has been shaped by nothing so much as the concept of somedays I might never have. I once wrote that I was “23 plus 4” at age 27 when I began teaching medical sociology classes—23 years before the night that could easily have been my last and the 4 ensuing ones of scrambling to salvage a future from the irreversible damage done to my body (Nowakowski 2017). Cystic fibrosis, a progressive genetic disease notorious for stealing thousands of somedays, had landed me in intensive care as my organs began to shut down. Yet here I am having recently celebrated my 36th birthday, thriving. So although it haunts me, Liev’s comment also seems immensely positive. Remembering the importance of now motivates us to seize the day and explore the world around us with courage. As sociology instructors, we frequently strive to do the same with our students as we help them master core theoretical concepts and analytical skills.
In this spirit, Spark provides a wonderful supporting resource for teaching content analysis. Peyton’s process for gathering information, filtering it by relevance, and interpreting its essential components reminds me of how I and other qualitative methodologists often approach working with our data. If grounded theory practice texts (e.g., Strauss and Corbin 1997) came to life, Peyton and her groupmates would surely be the result. Leavy puts the treasured methods primers of my own education on full display. We see different types of data collection and analysis skills demonstrated in the contributions of Peyton and the other group members. In the process, Leavy shines a bright light on the strengths and weaknesses of different techniques for content analysis. Through the actions and insights of individual characters, she shows the value of both critical reflection on methodological limitations and the greater potential afforded by triangulation of methods. I found the game in the novel where people think of different fruits and Peyton’s reflections on how, in their efforts to name various fruits from all around the world, no one had mentioned the oranges that graced their own table at breakfast particularly effective in capturing this point. Overall, this book can offer a good living introduction to grounded theory approaches for content analysis in which feedback from multiple team members gets considered iteratively and synergistically (Charmaz 2006).
Spark also demonstrates dramaturgical thinking in action at every turn. No character is completely what they seem in first context. Indeed, Peyton’s evolving responses to the Goodright Foundation and its leadership demonstrate how perspectives change as audience members receive opportunities to peer behind the curtains of a person or organization. This evolution in thinking also illustrates the essential concept of definition of the situation (Goffman 1959). Peyton goes from not understanding the group’s purpose to feeling certain of its universal value.
She also spends a lot of time assessing the various masks people wear and understanding how the faces people show to the world differ across contexts. Her compassion for Ariana and Liev as well as her respect for Milton and Harper illustrate this pattern adeptly. Both Peyton’s analyses and her own personal development illustrate how a master status can change with time and additional information. For instance, Harper becomes much more human and complex instead of a mere bohemian stereotype. This example seems particularly apt because as a dancer, Harper literally spends much of her life onstage.
To incorporate skills content from Spark, professors can craft numerous types of classroom activities. Group activities centering Aldar’s comments about shared responsibility, such as projects that require a unique contribution from each individual team member, would work beautifully. Challenging students to operationalize vague questions may also stimulate learners, especially in a low-stakes writing context where students produce content for class discussion rather than a grade (McKeachie and Svinicki 2013).
Centering Ronnie’s idea that representations cannot replace the underlying phenomena they reflect also offers good opportunities to explore boundary work and reification as well as questions of measurement. When I have taught undergraduates or others new to medical sociology topics, I have always used a simple game designed to illustrate how we often do not measure what we think we are measuring in assessing health or functionality. I have students do simple physical tasks (e.g., crossing their eyes or flaring their nostrils) that do not have social significance in contemporary U.S. culture, then raise their hand for each task they can perform. Anyone who raises their hand for a task gets a point for that item. Students then add up their points to get a physical functioning score for themselves. We plot the scores on a curve and then discuss strengths and limitations of that approach to functional measurement. In particular, I ask students to reflect on scenarios where someone could do all of the tasks but score no points on the assessment. Students’ responses are always diverse and insightful!
Perspective exercises, like where Diego has Peyton look up instead of down to appreciate the stunning visuals inside the tall library building, can also help to incorporate concepts from Spark into the sociology classroom. Having students read narrative vignettes from people with lives very different from their own before discussing issue positions offers one possible strategy. Learners in dramaturgy courses may also benefit from completing character profiling exercises, assessing the public and private personae of each individual and their motivations associated with each. The homework and discussion questions Leavy provides at the end of the novel are very helpful and apt, but professors should absolutely find inspiration to develop their own exercises. A core strength of this book is that everyone will bring a different perspective to incorporating it in the classroom—and we should!
Suggesting opportunities for improvement in a novel always feels difficult. However, I can certainly say that I found parts of the story harder to connect with deeply because many of the characters seemed sheltered. A lot of Leavy’s work centers on questions of privilege, but those concepts do not get explored much in Spark except in abstract ways, like the idea that not everyone gets to have a “someday” or enjoy certain foods without dire consequences. Yet perhaps Leavy intends to make the point here that using the sociological imagination proves easier when someone has privilege because this gives them space and time to think. Crystal Manor symbolizes unlimited time and resources to allow the imagination to bloom and even says so in the welcome letter Peyton reads upon arrival. Leavy may wish to help us all find spaces of imaginative privilege in our own lives, however unlikely those pathways to creativity might seem to others.
I also remain unsure of how much diversity the central cast includes. Admittedly, this may be as much a strength as a weakness. Leavy writes many of the characters somewhat generically, perhaps looking toward a broad audience that may differ dramatically across place and space. The novel includes more cognitive diversity than social and economic diversity; indeed, Leavy does this well. I liked seeing how characters with “divergent” minds often became the heroes of the day, like Milton figuring out why Ronnie got sick repeatedly while staying at Crystal Manor. So, the broad nature of many of the characterizations may contribute to the central point of the book, which cautions against making assumptions and encourages asking questions instead. In that spirit, instructors could create a classroom exercise wherein each student describes a character from the book, then compares their descriptions to see how they converge and diverge. Diversity is also admittedly a social construction, as is the notion of common ground—another point illustrated aptly by Leavy. I appreciated Ronnie’s commentary about Peyton making it to the top of the waterfall and Peyton’s ensuing idea that perhaps common ground can be created where it does not already seem to exist. Dividing ourselves always involves choice; this important underlying message of the narrative seems especially important to remember in the current U.S. political climate. Likewise, Leavy subtly reminds us that we as instructors can always create spaces that welcome people in when we intentionally strive for this.
Overall, Spark hits the mark as both an engaging character-driven story and a useful pedagogical tool. With this novel, Leavy taps into something universally human—the quest for excitement—and also the essence of doing sociology in any setting. The book also adeptly illustrates the intangible concept of thinking “highdeeply” (Saldaña 2014) and the importance of reflecting on cognition itself to figure out the best ways to approach particular tasks. Instructors could thus use this text for anything from a research methods class (qualitative data gathering and content analysis skills) to a clinical social work class (analyzing people and figuring out their motivations) to a writing course (crafting an effective mystery while creating broadly appealing characters). In any application, Spark offers an excellent learning resource because it both demonstrates and celebrates how intellectual activity can be exhilarating and life changing.