Theory,+History,+and+Social+Science


 * Sewell, “Theory, History, and Social Science”** **(****summary by deRaismes)**
 * **HISTORY** ||  **SOCIAL SCIENCE**  ||
 * -Ideographic/descriptive research (highlights uniqueness and particularity || -Nomothetic/explanatory (focuses on general laws) ||
 * -Use of archives & primary resources, accurate chronology, & mastery of narrative || -Theory & formal methodology ||
 * -∆ can write well, but can’t do theory || -∆ can argue 5+ theories endlessly, but can’t write successful research project ||

Even though historians are more commonly using social theory to anchor their ideas, they don’t debate it, add to it, or discuss it. Yet, Sewell believes that the two disciplines could learn from each other if they engage in academic dialogue.

__What Historians (H) Know__ · In a broad sense, H’s general topic is the unfolding of human action through time · Sewell thinks that Hs share set of assumptions about how time is implicated in the organization and transformation of social relations and that these assumptions can be abstracted into theory  o H believe time is **fateful** (irreversible à once an action is done or experienced, can’t take it back)  o H believe every act is part of a **sequence** of actions, and its effects are dependent on its place in the sequence  o H believe outcome of any action is **contingent** à its effects will depend on the particular complex temporal sequence of which it is part · In contrast, social scientists (SS) bracket these ‘fateful’ truths out of scientific inquiries · H construct/analyze the contingency and temporal fatefulness of social life through the **event** · SS see social change as smooth, gradual, predictable, and linear **vs.** H sees lumpy, uneven, unpredictable, and discontinuous · Social temporality extremely **complex** (combines social processes w/very different temporalities) · H assume time is **heterogeneous**  o Implies **causal heterogeneity**: “Consequences of a given act are not intrinsic in the act but rather will depend on the nature of the social world w/in which it takes place” (10).  o Implies that understanding social practices requires **historical contextualization**  o Importance of **chronology**

__What Social Scientists Know__ · Diversity in theoretical outlook (i.e., economists, anthropologists, etc) · Best SS to take up conversation w/H are those interested in historical & cultural questions w/qualitative/interpretive methodology · SS bring **structural** thinking · Willingness to confront biggest historical questions · Overvaluation of Newtonian natural science (i.e., **K**nowledge and **T**ruth)

__Discussion Questions__ Sewell himself raises four really interesting questions: 1. How do we handle sequence when we aren’t dealing with a chain of discrete and precisely timeable decisions, but intertwining of long-term w/punctual processes? 2. Which social processes with which temporalities will emerge as dominant in an event that mixes them together? 3. How and when do short-term processes override, deflect, or transform long-term processes? 4. How do long-term trends reassert themselves in situations where they seem to have been elipsed by more pressing political processes?