What Can Social Theory Do For ME?
“So, who is your favorite social theorist?” This isn’t really the kind of question that comes up at dinner parties, sporting events, or (let’s be honest) in seminary hallways. Even now, after reading Contemporary Social Theory by Anthony Elliott, I couldn’t begin to answer that question. I can tell you that social theorists dissect social phenomena and structures, analyzing past, present, and future societal movements in order to better understand how human society works. I can also tell you that there is no one particular common definition of “society” used by these experts. Well, that helps doesn’t it? Maybe I could drop the names of three classical social theorists – Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. Sure, because every good party ends up in a discussion about Marxism, right?
Actually, after reading Elliott’s book, I would have to say there are many interesting things to discuss about social theory, just not perhaps by using all of the specific lingo or by casually dropping names like Lacan or Habermas. While these things are important for research and in-depth study, the key to a discussion about social theory is simply knowing the one thing social theorists DO agree on, that “we live in new worlds of social and cultural organization” (8). Social theorists observe these changes and try to make sense of how they impact humans, and vice versa. Some theories (like those of our beloved Freud and his friends) tend toward some pretty weird psychological machinations, while others focus deeply on how industrialization and technology have and will impacted humanity.
Elliott gives five themes or questions that impact social theory and are highlighted in his book (13-16):
- How do individuals relate to society?
- What are the dominant values of a society?
- How does society adapt to as well as drive social change?
- How are issues of gender and sexuality played out (consciously or subconsciously) in society?
- How are social, political, and cultural processes displayed in the identity and emotional lives of individuals?
These questions, more than the explanations and descriptions that followed, helped me understand the importance of social theory in leadership. In Heroic Leadership we learned how the Jesuits “read” a society and took risks in order to impact people for their Kingdom mission. The five questions above can serve as useful tools for leaders of any organization or community. Read them again. What would happen if each of us answered these specific questions about our own community in our own Kingdom mission? For example, if I am trying to talk to my community about the importance of mutual submission rather than hierarchy, wouldn’t it be crucial for me to know the dominant values, the ability to adapt to change, what kind of issues regarding gender and sexuality are obvious or latent, and how social, political, and cultural processes show up in our individuals? Social theory may be traditionally done on a grand scale, but who says we can’t use the principles to understand our own organizations?
I don’t want to minimize or gloss over the depth of work that social theorists do to try to understand the human condition. While it sometimes feels as if they have gone so deep that they have wandered down the rabbit-hole, social theorists create a giant lens through which we can attempt to see ourselves. I was particularly fascinated by the chapter on Feminism and Post-Feminist Theory (186-230). There is no way to quickly summarize this chapter (other than to say that Freud still has too much authority), but the fact that there are people who are struggling through the psychology, sociology, and anthropology of our society to try to make sense of how patriarchy has survived all these years and why women continue to struggle for equality helps me know that the work I do with young women and men has a foundation and structure. I don’t claim to understand all of the things they claim – in fact some of it seems absolutely weird – but I am grateful for the work they have done and continue to do.
About the Author
Kristin Hamilton
13 responses to “What Can Social Theory Do For ME?”
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Kristen, love the post (even if I like to name drop social theorists at dinner parties….what else would I talk about?)
I particularly like pulling out the questions as a way for us to ‘read’ our society/culture and make us more effective in achieving the goals we set out.
I also agree with your concern that sometimes social theory, for all of it’s potential value, can run the risk of missing the forest for the trees or, as you say going down the rabbit hole. I have always preferred sociology to psychology simply because while psychology is incredibly interesting, I think sociology is more valuable and broadly applicable.
For all the depth these theorists dig into, it seems that it should be important for us, at least, as ‘practical’ social theorists rather than academic ones, to always remember why this matters and what we are really trying to learn/understand.
Thanks!
Right, I can see you starting (and thus, ending) a dinner conversation, “so, what’s your appraisal of Marcuse’s theory of utopian social transformation?”
Really though, anthropology leaves both sociology and psychology in the dust.
I dare you to talk about how Freud influenced Kristeva’s thoughts on an infant’s pre-Oedipal interactions with the mother at your next dinner party, Chip! Please send video because that would be priceless. haha
I agree, though, that it is important to be aware of the practical applications of social theory, if for no other reason than to be able to track ways in which our society or culture is replaying old patterns or pulling away from them.
Kristin, I think we are all talking about social issues all the time this fall! I also agree with the theme that says that society adapts to and also changes the social issues. Certainly we women have more opportunities than our grandmothers did, but we have a long way to go. God bless you in your efforts to teach mutuality.
I think about my grandmothers often, Mary. They both worked so hard to make a way for us, each in their own way, and would be so very proud of us for the model we are setting for our own granddaughters and other young women who feel held back or blocked in their calling or vocation. We are changing society inch by inch as we lean in to this program and empower others to find their dreams as well.
I agree with you on the importance of speaking to our constituency/community, and the value of understanding and appreciating the cultural and social drivers that surround us and affect us. It is vital for us to understand the times we live in, and sometimes to be countercultural. We can’t be counter something that we don’t grasp or see for what it is!
So true, Geoff. I think that’s why I chose this program. I want to act counter-culturally to the church that wounds and encourage the church that heals and loves. I also want to act counter-culturally to our culture’s consumerism and individualism and encourage community and creation-care. Even our brief time in London showed me how church and “world” can work together toward these things.
Kristin I enjoyed both the humor and the practical application of your post. I agree no one wants to talk about social theorists at a social party but I do think that without even being aware of it we actually do discuss social theories when we talk with our friends. We may not be able to provide a specific reference from Weber or Marx or Castells but their theories have influenced our culture and how we think about our society. Because of this, it is befitting to ask the questions Elliott poses to our own communities. It would provide us with insight we may not have known prior to our reflection and discussion.
I think you are right, Christal! When Elliott talked about Natalie, he referenced her world views and social theories that she held without really being conscious of the history or legacy of those theories. There was a time when anything that came from Marx was shunned by the Christian community (it still is for many of my parents’ generation) but he told some truths about consumerism and instant gratification that maybe we should have been listening to all along. What’s the saying? “All truth is God’s truth.”
I must say the questions you quoted from Elliott, resonates in this current society. We have been placed in a position by society to accept what they decide to be truth and correct. One being “How are issues of gender and sexuality played out (consciously or subconsciously) in society?” As with the fight for women rights, will we all ever be equal?
Psychology affects our societies’ values. People wanting to be heard and recognized by others. Wanting to be treated as a human being. Then there are those who believe they are superior and entitled to the rights of all power. That is where psychology affects society.
What we Christians hold to be true? The battle is not ours, it’s the Lords. Hallelujah!
“Will we all every be equal?” What a plaintive question to have to be asking in 2016, isn’t it? How have we come so far and yet still remain in a never-ending struggle to be viewed and treated as equal in terms of humanity, be it regarding gender, race, class, or orientation? How has the church remained chained to systemic racism, sexism, and classicism? I honestly feel like we are being called to break those chains.
“What would happen if each of us answered these specific questions about our own community in our own Kingdom mission?…Social theory may be traditionally done on a grand scale, but who says we can’t use the principles to understand our own organizations?”
Excellent insight, Kristin. Self-assessment (your favorite part of Heroic Leadership, if I remember!) can extend to evaluation of our Kingdom mission, and even the organizations (churches, mission organizations, schools, counseling centers, businesses, etc.) within which we operate.
To ask the questions in this way:
How do individuals relate to [this organization]?
What are the dominant values of [this organization]?
How does [this organization] adapt to as well as drive social change?
How are issues of gender and sexuality played out (consciously or subconsciously) in [this organization]?
How are social, political, and cultural processes displayed in the identity and emotional lives of individuals [within this organization]?
I love the way you have re-framed these questions, Katy. I have been thinking about using this as part of the guiding work for the new masters program student senate that we are creating at GFES. Why not start locally?