For a ‘sociology as a team sport’

What is it about?

The intellectual community of sociologists exists through engagement and debate. I am grateful to seven generous colleagues from a range of backgrounds and standpoints for taking on the challenge of responding to my 2018 British Journal of Sociology Annual Lecture – Andrew Cherlin, Claude Fischer, Margaret Frye, Eva Illouz, Giselinde Kuipers, Mike Savage and Adia Wingfield. Each of their commentaries contributes to laying out a more comprehensive and multidimensional blueprint for the study of, and solutions to, the current challenges American society faces than the one I proposed. In this sense, they all contribute de facto to the kind of ‘sociology as a team sport’ proposed by Giselinde Kuipers in her essay (in reference to ‘sociology as a combat sport’ proposed by Pierre Bourdieu).1 ‘Sociology as a team sport’ is one where our complementary strengths and areas of expertise define a vision for the path ahead – a programme which I wholeheartedly embrace.

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