Some Considerations after Reading Michael Burawoy's Article: `What is to be Done? Theses on the Degradation of Social Existence in a Globalizing World'

Abstract

We are returning to the question: should researchers participate in public life and, if so, how? This question does not refer solely to the utility of the social sciences and their possibly emancipatory role but also raises the issue of how sociological knowledge is produced, tested and demonstrated. We need to consider the status of this knowledge and the conditions under which we may speak of `science'. How researchers in social sciences conceive of their relationship with the public and the actors is linked with the way in which we validate our assertions as science. We cannot separate our conceptions of our relation to the public sphere and the theoretical and methodological conceptions of research that provide the basis of our scientific ability to provide rigorous proofs.