dc.description.abstract | This thesis explores public sociology, fiction writing and sociological imagination,
and presents a sociological fiction novel titled Into the Sea. Building from what Mills
(1959) calls the promise and cultural meaning of sociology, I address how and why
we might engage people in sociological imagination through fiction. I approach this
imagination as a lively activity in a creative (Beer, 2014: 12) and arty way (Back,
2012) that builds on contemporary approaches to public sociology (Burawoy, 2005).
Bringing together methods of autoethnography, literature analysis and arts-based
research fiction writing, using an innovative methodological approach that I term the
methods braiding technique, I explore how sociological fiction may contribute to the
task of ‘assist[ing] the influence of the sociological imagination in society’ (Furedi,
2009: 17). This involves a consideration of creative adaptations of the craft of
sociology (Mills, 1959), as well as broader challenges including the ‘deeply
antisociological’ ethos and governance regime of neoliberalism (Burawoy, 2005: 7)
which public sociology struggles against.
Into the Sea is an experiment in sociological imagination. The novel primarily
follows Taylor Brown, a twenty-six year old Australian woman, as she lives through
work, parties, her relationship, a funeral, a wedding, shopping, and family issues. The
fictional story line of Taylor’s everyday life is interweaved with national and
international events and issues from the year 2014. The chapters of the novel are not
thematically structured however key sociological concepts do orient and drive the
narrative. In the novel I explore various social processes and cultural tensions; rather
than present a sociological argument about disciplinary concepts, with the novel I aim
to float ideas about society and bring sociological imagination to life. With Taylor
Brown’s story I consider the promise and cultural meaning of sociology.
Through the novel I explore the everyday processes of relation that link
biographies and histories (Mills, 1959), as well as the neoliberal context within which
these relations are contemporarily lived through. To think through and challenge the
individualistic common sense of the neoliberal imaginary – which is problematic for
public sociology, considering that neoliberalism is ‘hostile to the very idea of
“society”’ (Burawoy, 2005: 7) – I turn to the relational and affect-centred work of
Benedict Spinoza (2005 [1677]). From Spinoza I draw conceptual tools for
considering the fundamental and constitutive meaning of ‘social embeddedness’ (Armstrong, 2009: 60), and for exploring the ‘possibilities for autonomy of an
individual conceived in a profoundly relational way’ (Armstrong, 2009: 45). I see that
these Spinozan concepts may enliven the activity of sociological imagination. To
ground and realise the promise of a Spinozist sociology, I consider the temporal and
spatial ways that moments and narratives are made meaningful; I focus my attention
on forms of Australian cultural meaning, to consider the value of exploring and
utilising such cultural meaning for doing affective public sociology that engages
people in sociological imagination.
This thesis makes two key contributions to sociology. The first is the novel
artefact, which operates as an affective form of public sociology that may engage
publics, and specifically a student-public, in sociological imagination. The second
contribution is the methodological process for doing arts-based public sociology with
which I developed and crafted my sociological fiction novel, which I have termed the
methods braiding technique. From my analysis I argue that the value of sociological
fiction lies in its ability to affectively affirm society. I argue that centring affect in the
project of public sociology is important for progressing conceptual and practical approaches to public engagement. | |