Review Essay : Structure and Culture: Finnish Sociology,1990-94

Abstract

The main traditions in Finnish sociology, the study of social structures and the study of cultural dynamics from a structural perspective, assume a solid position in today's Finnish sociology. Because of the strength of the tradition, even departures from it are marked by it. In their farewell to the Marxist conceptions, parallel to the master trend, a number of students have addressed themselves to reflections on cohesive forces in late modernity, characterized by the decline of the traditional classes and class actors. 'Cultural studies' make it possible to focus on culture without rejecting the structure; they have provided a bridge from structure to culture. Finally, in social constructionism the structure-culture frame seems irrelevant, but a continuity may still exist at a more fundamental level.