Clarification? Yes! Standarization? No. Or

Christian Smith's paper "The Incoherence of 'Culture' in American Sociology" is a valuable provocation that can prompt us to reflect on the role of concepts and on the role of agreement on the definition of concepts in scientific research. In this comment paper, I raise questions about Smith's empirical expectation that sociologists should agree on a concept of culture based on debates in the sociology of science. I also suggest that in terms of the future agenda for the sociology of culture, we should distinguish between dialogue and clarification on the one hand, which I agree is needed, and standardization on the other hand, which seems incompatible with open-minded empirical research. Rather than work on agreement on what culture is, we might work on clarifying relevant distinctions among dimensions of culture

Empirical research · Epistemology · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of culture · Sociology of scientific knowledge · Work (physics · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Philosophy · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Wine Industry and Tourism

• Drawing Out Definitions

  Open Access•Dustin S Stoltz, Mindy L Wood et al.•The American Sociologist•2024

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• What does 'Culture' Mean in French? A Theoretical Mapping and Fractal Analysis of the Sociology of Culture in France

  Open Access•Olivier Alexandre•Cultural Sociology•2018

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• The structure of scientific revolutions

  Dennis Holland, Thomas S Kuhn•La Structure des révolutions…•1976

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• The Conceptual Incoherence of “Culture” in American Sociology

  Open Access•Christian Smith•The American Sociologist•2016

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