This calendar week marks the 7th anniversary of . That's 954 posts, almost a 1000000 words, too well-nigh a hundred posts inward the ...
This calendar week marks the 7th anniversary of . That's 954 posts, almost a 1000000 words, too well-nigh a hundred posts inward the past times twelve months. The weblog continues to serve every bit an enormously of import business office of my ain intellectual life, permitting me to pass a few hours several times a calendar week on topics of continuing involvement to me, without needing to give away the fourth dimension inside my administrative life to effort to displace a to a greater extent than orderly bulk manuscript forward. And truthfully, I don't experience that it is faut de mieux or second-best. I similar the notion that it's a form of "open rootage philosophy" -- ideas inward motion. In my view, this is an solely legitimate main means of contributing to philosophy too sociology.
Highlights of the past times twelvemonth include --
- Extensive intelligence of critical realism, amongst posts on Kaidesoja, Cruickshank, Bhaskar, too invitee contributions past times several of them every bit good every bit Mervyn Hartwig
- Some extended thinking well-nigh causal mechanisms
- A outburst of posts well-nigh agent-based models too other ways of analyzing too simulating social complexity
- Several posts on Margaret Archer's theory of morphogenesis
- Posts on rise global inequalities
- Posts on the recent history of China
- Posts on the continuing effects of racial inequality inward the US
One affair I possess got ever constitute intriguing well-nigh writing the weblog is the amount of information the medium provides inward damage of page views, visits, pop posts, too abode locations of readers. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 blogger has an inherently closer human relationship to his or her audience than a traditional academic. Academics rarely possess got the powerfulness to give away how widespread the readership is for their operate -- books or periodical articles. Citation indexes furnish ane form of metric, but citations are presumably a really modest pct of the readership of a work. I give away it interesting to run into on a daily or monthly dry ground where the menstruum of readers is coming from, too which topics elicit the greatest interest. With to a greater extent than than a 1000000 page views a twelvemonth on the blog, this information is pretty granular. Here are the overstep 5 posts of all fourth dimension since 2007, based on the issue of page views:
- What is a social structure? (65,962)
- Lukes on powerfulness (33,131)
- Sociology every bit a social scientific discipline dependent area (29,446)
- Why a state of war on piteous people? 16,352)
- Social mobility? (15,614)
The "war on piteous people" ship service is interesting -- the keen bulk of those 16,000 views came inside a few weeks of its publication. The reason? The ship service was cited too linked inward a column past times Paul Krugman on the same dependent inward the New York Times website. This shows something of import well-nigh social media -- the circulation of a item digital item tin vary enormously depending on the early on links it acquires. I justice this is the academic equivalent of a viral true cat video on YouTube.
What I would actually similar to run into inward the futurity is a to a greater extent than porous membrane betwixt academic blogging too academic publishing. There is no argue why the arguments too debates that are presented inside an academic weblog should non live on into straight into appointment amongst formal publication -- specialists writing well-nigh mechanisms, explanation, or historiography mightiness good desire to engage inward their published operate amongst the ideas too arguments that are developing inward the online dry ground of academic blogging. For example, I mean value the serial of exchanges amid Kaidesoja, Elder-Vass, Hartwig, Cruickshank, too Ruth Groff inward inward Dec too Jan brand a noun add-on to debates inside the plain of critical realism. It would brand sense for other specialists to possess got these sources into business concern human relationship inward their published work.
I suppose many scholars would await at weblog entries every bit "working notes" too published articles every bit "archival" too final, to a greater extent than authoritative too hence to a greater extent than suitable for citation too farther discussion. But I'm non certain that's the correct means of thinking well-nigh the situation. When I compare the intellectual operate procedure I undertook inward writing Varieties of Social Explanation or Understanding Peasant China: Case Studies inward the Philosophy of Social Science amongst the attention too concentration I plough over a weblog post, I would state that the latter is simply every bit rigorous too oftentimes to a greater extent than creative; less labored, to a greater extent than willing to lay out a novel thought quickly. So speaking every bit a focus grouping of one, I would state I'm to a greater extent than satisfied amongst the character of thinking too presentation I've conveyed inward the weblog than inward the books I've published.
I'm really appreciative of the many smart people who read the weblog on a regular dry ground too offering feedback or disagreement. I possess got learned a tremendous amount inside the philosophy of the social sciences past times thinking well-nigh the topics I've selected, reading novel books, too engaging amongst smart (often young) scholars around the dry ground well-nigh these ideas. There's a fight of an occupational vogue for us all to rest inside the literatures that are most familiar to us. Writing the weblog has taken me into topics, authors, too controversies that were completely novel to me. (A skilful lawsuit is Sygmunt Bauman's concept of liquid modernity" (link).)
(Why did I select the photograph of the Harvard Book Store at the top? Because it is for me ane of the strongest icons of intellectual stimulation I possess got inward my personal history; to a greater extent than too then than Emerson Hall, too peradventure tied amongst the Pamplona Cafe across the street. As a graduate educatee inward philosophy I spent many hours inward the shop exploring the unlike sections too gaining novel ideas well-nigh history, society, politics, Marxism, too economic science is a riotously cross-disciplinary means -- much every bit the Internet at ane time serves to induce too provoke cross-context connections. And the occasional conversation amongst an acquaintance or a stranger over a bulk nosotros both noticed feels a lot similar the form of interaction at ane time possible online.)
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