Sociology and Normative Power: The Heritage of Torgny T. Segerstedt

Abstract

Torgny T:son Segerstedt (1908-99) was the first duly appointed professor of sociology in Sweden. With a background in philosophy, early in his career Segerstedt was occupied with questions of symbolic communication and normative structures. From Segerstedt's understanding of social life follows the importance of social control and symbolic power whose most condensed expression in his perspective are norms. Segerstedt's focus on symbolic and normative structures gave him an early social constructivist perspective, applied, e.g. in research concerning travellers. Segerstedt advocated an empirical approach of sociology but considered a theoretical framework necessary for guiding research and making 'facts' intelligible. The basic social unit in Segerstedt's conception of sociology is the social group, constituted to a high degree by shared norms and common norm sources. Segerstedt was interested in the consequences of changing group structure and changing functional structure in modern society.