Christopher G A Bryant
Biographic Data
| ID | 78963 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Christopher G A Bryant |
| GIVEN NAMES | Christopher G A |
| FAMILY NAME | Bryant |
| SIGNATURE | BRYANT C G A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Salford |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 189 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 41 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1970 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
McCrone's Understanding of Scotland 2017: Textbook and Treatise
National art and Britain made real: The London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony
Danny Boyle's opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics presented an extraordinary spectacle to the watching world. This article is about what it said to people in Britain, how it said it and why. By comparing (1) Boyle's version of a new Jerusalem with William Blake's ‘Jerusalem’, and (2) the content of the ceremony with the realisation of Britain in works of art around Blake's time as analysed in Anthony D. Smith's The Nation Made Real, it …
Giddens' Theory of Structuration: A Critical Appreciation
Anthony Giddens
Devolution, equity and the English question
Following devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, does England need a stronger political voice and/or constitutional changes to safeguard its identity and interests? (the ‘English question’). Polling and other evidence suggests that it does, albeit more to redress inequities associated with voting in parliament (the ‘West Lothian question’) and the distribution of public spending (the ‘Barnett formula’) than to safeguard its identity.…
Speaking for England
Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Science Fails and How It Can Succeed Again
These Englands, or where does devolution leave the English
Devolution to Scotland and Wales has not yet led to popular demand for a new constitutional settlement for England, but it has led to renewed debate about who the English are. One reason why the English find this a difficult question is that there is more than one construction of England with which to engage. This paper distinguishes four constructions, each with its distinctive orientation to time and place: Anglo‐British England, Little England…
New Great Transformation: Change and Continuity in East-Central Europe
The Contemporary Giddens: Social Theory in a Globalizing Age
R.S.Boynton Anthony Giddens, Tony Blair and the Third Way M.Temple PART V: A DIALOGUE WITH ANTHONY GIDDENS The Reflexive Giddens: Christopher Bryant and David Jary in Dialogue with Anthony Giddens PART VI: BIBLIOGRAPHIES Works by Anthony Giddens 1960-2000 Works on Giddens or which Use Giddens Index
George Soros's theory of reflexivity: A comparison with the theories of Giddens and Beck and a consideration of its practical value
George Soros has won recognition as one of the most successful financial speculators of all time and one of the most munificent philanthropists in the world today. He claims that his success is connected with his fallibilist philosophy and his heterodox economics. Economists have dismissed his ideas as variously bizarre or banal but for sociologists they should strike a chord as at their heart is a theory of reflexivity. The one sociologist to ha…
Anthony Giddens and the Liberal Tradition
Christopher G. A. Bryant and David Jary's «Anthony Giddens : Critical Assessments» provides a useful overview of critical scholarship on Giddens. It also stimulates reflections on the significance of Giddens's career and writings. The book illustrates the unifying effect Giddens's work has had within the notoriously multi-paradigmatic arena of the social sciences by providing a common reference point for both disciples and critics. For his part, …
Practical Sociology: Post-Empiricism and the Reconstruction of Theory and Application
Preface. 1. Introduction: Theory, Metatheory and Discourse. 2. Concept Formation: Contest and Reconstruction. 3. The Constitution of Society: Agency and Structure. 4. Values in Social Science: Decisions, Justifications and Communities. 5. Models of Applied Social Science: Engineering, Enlightenment, Interaction and Dialogue. 6. Conclusion: Impossible and Possible Sociology. Notes. References. Index
Citizenship, national identity and the accommodation of difference: Reflections on the German, French, Dutch and British cases
This article is about the constitution of citizenries. It describes, and seeks to explain, differences in the civil societies of four ethnic and civic nation‐states in Western Europe and their principles of inclusion and exclusion. Attention is given to the ethnic nation and exclusion in Germany, the civic nation and assimilation in France, the civic nation and pluralism in the Netherlands, and the civic nation and ‘pragmatism’ in Britain
The New Great Transformation? Change and Continuity in East-Central Europe
A Further Comment on Kumar's 'Civil Society
Cet article rend compte d'une difference de position entre l'A. et K. Kumar dans l'apprehension des variables sociologiques de la societe civile. La notion de la societe civile developpee par l'A. se refere a un espace situe entre le menage et l'Etat, autre que le marche, pouvant fournir des possibilites d'action concertee et d'auto-organisation sociale. Contrairement a ce que pense K. Kumar, cette acception n'est pas assimilable a la notion de «…
Social Self-Organisation, Civility and Sociology: A Comment on Kumar's 'Civil Society
Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, there has been a resurgence of interest in civil society in Eastern and Western Europe. In many writing, the precise lineaments of civil society remain unclear. Kumar objects to attempts to remedy this by formulating some neutral, historically decontextualised concept - though he errs in so far as he implies that this is particularly a sociological pratice. Instead he does social science, and potentially the …
Sociology without Philosophy? The Case of Giddens's Structuration Theory
Specification of an appropriate relationship, or division of labor, between sociology and philosophy, remains a sensitive issue. Anthony Giddens offers a distinctive variant in his concern, in structuration theory, to develop an ontology of the social without participating in epistemological debate and without articulating and justifying a normative theory (whether a philosophical anthropology or a political philosophy). Both omissions impair the…
Europe and the European Community 1992
Completion of the European Community's single internal market by 31 December 1992 is intended to secure the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour within the Community. This article examines the 1992 project with special reference to harmonisation and variation among the twelve members of the EC, `Social Europe' and the Social Charter, `Citizens' Europe', and the wider European context following the collapse of state socialism in Ea…
What Has Sociology Achieved
Tales of Innocence and Experience: Developments in Sociological Theory since 1950
Assessment of achievement in sociological theory since 1950 could fill a series of books. ‘Theory’ after all contains a multitude of possibilities. Merton (1957c) listed six — methodology, general orientations, analysis of concepts, post factum interpretations, empirical generalisations, and the formulation of scientific laws (statements of invariance derived from a theory) — and implied a seventh — the codification of scientific laws. Of these o…
What Has Sociology Achieved
In an age when continued financial and other support for teaching and research in sociology cannot be taken for granted, sociologists have been surprisingly slow to provide a clear statement of the ac
Towards Post-Empiricist Sociological Theorising
Le positivisme instrumental dans la sociologie américaine
Der instrumentale Positivismus in der amerikanischen Soziologie. Ausgehend von einer Definition des instrumentellen Positivismus, der die amerikanische Soziologie seit Ende der 30er Jahre dominiert und der hier von der die Bewegung der charities and corrections begründenden Theorie sowie der Chicagoer Schule unterschieden wird, zeichnet der Autor die seiner Meinung nach zentralen Merkmale dieses Positivismus nach : Bestreben nach Verfeinerung der…
Positivism in Social Theory and Research
Positivism in Social Theory and Research
This series aims to create a forum for debate between different theoretical and philosophical traditions in the social sciences.As well as covering broad schools of thought, the series will also concentrate upon the work of particular thinkers whose ideas have had a major impact on social science (these books appear under the sub-series title of 'Theoretical Traditions in the Social Sciences').The series is not limited to abstract theoretical dis…
These Englands, or where does devolution leave the English
Devolution to Scotland and Wales has not yet led to popular demand for a new constitutional settlement for England, but it has led to renewed debate about who the English are. One reason why the English find this a difficult question is that there is more than one construction of England with which to engage. This paper distinguishes four constructions, each with its distinctive orientation to time and place: Anglo‐British England, Little England…
Social Self-Organisation, Civility and Sociology: A Comment on Kumar's 'Civil Society
Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, there has been a resurgence of interest in civil society in Eastern and Western Europe. In many writing, the precise lineaments of civil society remain unclear. Kumar objects to attempts to remedy this by formulating some neutral, historically decontextualised concept - though he errs in so far as he implies that this is particularly a sociological pratice. Instead he does social science, and potentially the …
Devolution, equity and the English question
Following devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, does England need a stronger political voice and/or constitutional changes to safeguard its identity and interests? (the ‘English question’). Polling and other evidence suggests that it does, albeit more to redress inequities associated with voting in parliament (the ‘West Lothian question’) and the distribution of public spending (the ‘Barnett formula’) than to safeguard its identity.…
Depillarisation in the Netherlands
The pillarised structure of Dutch society assumed its most developed form between the late 191 0s and the mid 19 60s. l During this period most people lived most of their lives within one of the following three (or four) pillars: Roman Catholic, orthodox Calvinist or secular, with the last sometimes further divided into bourgeois liberal/conservative and socialist constituents. It is not possible to specify the numbers in each pillar but the 1960…
Kuhn, Paradigms and Sociology
Positivism in Social Theory and Research
Le positivisme instrumental dans la sociologie américaine
Der instrumentale Positivismus in der amerikanischen Soziologie. Ausgehend von einer Definition des instrumentellen Positivismus, der die amerikanische Soziologie seit Ende der 30er Jahre dominiert und der hier von der die Bewegung der charities and corrections begründenden Theorie sowie der Chicagoer Schule unterschieden wird, zeichnet der Autor die seiner Meinung nach zentralen Merkmale dieses Positivismus nach : Bestreben nach Verfeinerung der…
Practical Sociology: Post-Empiricism and the Reconstruction of Theory and Application
Preface. 1. Introduction: Theory, Metatheory and Discourse. 2. Concept Formation: Contest and Reconstruction. 3. The Constitution of Society: Agency and Structure. 4. Values in Social Science: Decisions, Justifications and Communities. 5. Models of Applied Social Science: Engineering, Enlightenment, Interaction and Dialogue. 6. Conclusion: Impossible and Possible Sociology. Notes. References. Index
What Has Sociology Achieved
In an age when continued financial and other support for teaching and research in sociology cannot be taken for granted, sociologists have been surprisingly slow to provide a clear statement of the ac
Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Science Fails and How It Can Succeed Again
Anthony Giddens and the Liberal Tradition
Christopher G. A. Bryant and David Jary's «Anthony Giddens : Critical Assessments» provides a useful overview of critical scholarship on Giddens. It also stimulates reflections on the significance of Giddens's career and writings. The book illustrates the unifying effect Giddens's work has had within the notoriously multi-paradigmatic arena of the social sciences by providing a common reference point for both disciples and critics. For his part, …
A Further Comment on Kumar's 'Civil Society
Cet article rend compte d'une difference de position entre l'A. et K. Kumar dans l'apprehension des variables sociologiques de la societe civile. La notion de la societe civile developpee par l'A. se refere a un espace situe entre le menage et l'Etat, autre que le marche, pouvant fournir des possibilites d'action concertee et d'auto-organisation sociale. Contrairement a ce que pense K. Kumar, cette acception n'est pas assimilable a la notion de «…
National art and Britain made real: The London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony
Danny Boyle's opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics presented an extraordinary spectacle to the watching world. This article is about what it said to people in Britain, how it said it and why. By comparing (1) Boyle's version of a new Jerusalem with William Blake's ‘Jerusalem’, and (2) the content of the ceremony with the realisation of Britain in works of art around Blake's time as analysed in Anthony D. Smith's The Nation Made Real, it …
George Soros's theory of reflexivity: A comparison with the theories of Giddens and Beck and a consideration of its practical value
George Soros has won recognition as one of the most successful financial speculators of all time and one of the most munificent philanthropists in the world today. He claims that his success is connected with his fallibilist philosophy and his heterodox economics. Economists have dismissed his ideas as variously bizarre or banal but for sociologists they should strike a chord as at their heart is a theory of reflexivity. The one sociologist to ha…
Citizenship, national identity and the accommodation of difference: Reflections on the German, French, Dutch and British cases
This article is about the constitution of citizenries. It describes, and seeks to explain, differences in the civil societies of four ethnic and civic nation‐states in Western Europe and their principles of inclusion and exclusion. Attention is given to the ethnic nation and exclusion in Germany, the civic nation and assimilation in France, the civic nation and pluralism in the Netherlands, and the civic nation and ‘pragmatism’ in Britain
Sociology without Philosophy? The Case of Giddens's Structuration Theory
Specification of an appropriate relationship, or division of labor, between sociology and philosophy, remains a sensitive issue. Anthony Giddens offers a distinctive variant in his concern, in structuration theory, to develop an ontology of the social without participating in epistemological debate and without articulating and justifying a normative theory (whether a philosophical anthropology or a political philosophy). Both omissions impair the…
Europe and the European Community 1992
Completion of the European Community's single internal market by 31 December 1992 is intended to secure the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour within the Community. This article examines the 1992 project with special reference to harmonisation and variation among the twelve members of the EC, `Social Europe' and the Social Charter, `Citizens' Europe', and the wider European context following the collapse of state socialism in Ea…
Development and Direction in Sociology: The American Way and Others
Positivism Reconsidered
In Defence of Sociology: A Reply to Some Contemporary Philosophical Criticisms
What Has Sociology Achieved
In Defence of Sociology: A Reply to Some Contemporary Philosophical Criticisms
Kuhn, Paradigms and Sociology
Positivism Reconsidered
Sociology in Action
Sociology in Action: A Critique of Selected Conceptions of the Social Role of the Sociologist
Worker Advancement and Political Order in a State Socialist Society: A Case Study of Poland
Depillarisation in the Netherlands
The pillarised structure of Dutch society assumed its most developed form between the late 191 0s and the mid 19 60s. l During this period most people lived most of their lives within one of the following three (or four) pillars: Roman Catholic, orthodox Calvinist or secular, with the last sometimes further divided into bourgeois liberal/conservative and socialist constituents. It is not possible to specify the numbers in each pillar but the 1960…
Religious Change in Contemporary Poland: Secularization and Politics. Maciej Pomian-Srzednicki
Development and Direction in Sociology: The American Way and Others
Instrumental Positivism in American Sociology
Positivism in American sociology has taken a number of forms, but only one of them, the instrumental positivism of a certain type of empirical social research, is commonly regarded as both positivist and distinctively American, and it is with this that this chapter is primarily concerned. ‘Instrumental positivism’ - the term is my own - is instrumental insofar as it confines social research to only such questions as the limitation of current rese…
The Disputes in Germany and Austria about Methods and Values in the Social Sciences: Part II The Vienna Circle and the Frankfurt School
It will become apparent below that there are continuities as well as discontinuities between the Methodenstreit and the Werturteilsstreit before the First World War and the Positivismusstreit after the Second World War. The positivism which the critical theorists of the Frankfurt School seek both to absorb and transform is, however, a conflation of a number of different positivisms including the French tradition, the logical positivism of the Vie…
Conclusion: After Positivism?
Though by no means exhaustive, the variations in the characterisations of positivism in this book, viz the French tradition from Saint-Simon to Durkheim, the positivisms invoked in the disputes about methods and values in Germany and Austria, and instrumental positivism in America, are sufficiently diverse to prompt the question whether it would not be better to expel the term from the vocabulary of sociology and other social sciences altogether.…
Introduction: Positivism or Positivisms?
The terms ‘positivism’ and’ sociology’ are both commonly supposed to have originated with Comte, and in particular his Cours de philosophie positive (6 vols, 1830–42). Although true of the second, this is misleading with respect to the first term insofar as Comte wrote not about ‘positivism’ (even if his supporters quickly did) but about ‘the positive philosophy’ and ‘the positive method’, and Saint-Simon before him had also advocated a positive …
The French Tradition of Positivism: From Positive Philosophy to the Positive Polity
There is an obvious case for starting an examination of positivism in social science with the work of Comte, for it was he who ‘effectively introduced’ the word ‘positivist’ into French and it was he who coined the term ‘sociology’ (Williams, 1976, pp. 200–1; Comte, 1830–42). In many respects, however, he was the systematiser extraordinary of ideas which already enjoyed considerable currency. Of all his debts to earlier writers, the greatest, tho…
The Disputes in Germany and Austria about Methods and Values in the Social Sciences: Part I From the Historical Economists to Weber
Discussion of positivism in social science in the German-speaking world requires review of a succession of debates in which positivism is cast as a threat to - or usurper of - those alternative modes of social inquiry which have enjoyed notable periods of prominence, even ascendancy, in the past, and which, in spite of everything, remain strong today.
Positivism in Social Theory and Research
This series aims to create a forum for debate between different theoretical and philosophical traditions in the social sciences.As well as covering broad schools of thought, the series will also concentrate upon the work of particular thinkers whose ideas have had a major impact on social science (these books appear under the sub-series title of 'Theoretical Traditions in the Social Sciences').The series is not limited to abstract theoretical dis…
Positivism in Social Theory and Research
Positivism in Social Theory and Research
Towards Post-Empiricist Sociological Theorising
Le positivisme instrumental dans la sociologie américaine
Der instrumentale Positivismus in der amerikanischen Soziologie. Ausgehend von einer Definition des instrumentellen Positivismus, der die amerikanische Soziologie seit Ende der 30er Jahre dominiert und der hier von der die Bewegung der charities and corrections begründenden Theorie sowie der Chicagoer Schule unterschieden wird, zeichnet der Autor die seiner Meinung nach zentralen Merkmale dieses Positivismus nach : Bestreben nach Verfeinerung der…
Tales of Innocence and Experience: Developments in Sociological Theory since 1950
Assessment of achievement in sociological theory since 1950 could fill a series of books. ‘Theory’ after all contains a multitude of possibilities. Merton (1957c) listed six — methodology, general orientations, analysis of concepts, post factum interpretations, empirical generalisations, and the formulation of scientific laws (statements of invariance derived from a theory) — and implied a seventh — the codification of scientific laws. Of these o…
What Has Sociology Achieved
In an age when continued financial and other support for teaching and research in sociology cannot be taken for granted, sociologists have been surprisingly slow to provide a clear statement of the ac
Europe and the European Community 1992
Completion of the European Community's single internal market by 31 December 1992 is intended to secure the free movement of goods, services, capital and labour within the Community. This article examines the 1992 project with special reference to harmonisation and variation among the twelve members of the EC, `Social Europe' and the Social Charter, `Citizens' Europe', and the wider European context following the collapse of state socialism in Ea…
What Has Sociology Achieved
Sociology without Philosophy? The Case of Giddens's Structuration Theory
Specification of an appropriate relationship, or division of labor, between sociology and philosophy, remains a sensitive issue. Anthony Giddens offers a distinctive variant in his concern, in structuration theory, to develop an ontology of the social without participating in epistemological debate and without articulating and justifying a normative theory (whether a philosophical anthropology or a political philosophy). Both omissions impair the…
Sociology (36 works) · Epistemology (26 works) · Philosophy (26 works) · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice (21 works) · Political science (19 works) · Philosophy (18 works) · Social science (18 works) · Law (14 works) · Positivism (10 works) · Politics (9 works)