Public Sociology and Civil Society: Governance, Politics, and Power

During the past ten years the terms public sociology, civil society, and governance have been used with increasing frequency to describe a wide array of practices, from public intellectuality and political action to governing and public service. These concepts are often used interchangeably and with different meanings across varying disciplines. The capacity for these concepts to convey critical ideas is an important foundation for debating what it means to practice knowledge publically and to govern democratically. In Public Sociology and Civil Society: Governance, Politics, and PowerPatricia Nickel weaves together various disciplinary understandings of the practice of knowledge and governance through the lens of recent debates over the ideal of public sociology and its emphasis on civil society. Nickel explains the concepts underlying these debates and provides a critical clarification of the concepts of civil society and governance as they have been used over the past ten years, drawing attention to the need to reframe public intellectuality and public service outside of traditional disciplinary boundaries. With her unique international background in the practice of public service and social policy, as well as critical theory and political sociology, Nickel is able to provide a nuanced explanation of how the two areas are interrelated and the implications for the organization of knowledge and public life. The book is framed in three parts addressing how sociological knowledge governs and the potential implications of governing in what were previously understood to be nongovernment spaces. Part one explores the emergence of public sociology as an ideal, as well as the broader public turn in the social sciences. Part two explores the changing relationship between government and civil society, including nonprofit organizations. Part three draws these two themes together in an exploration of the politics of practice and relations of power.