de la Fuente, Eduardo (2011) Thou shall not commit a social science. The Australian, 25 August 2011. pp. 1-3.

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Abstract

[Extract] ARGUABLY the greatest poet of the 20th century, Wynstan Hugh Auden, is reported to have quipped that, the goal of anyone seriously interested in human affairs, should be to never commit a social science. As I am an academic sociologist, one could be forgiven for thinking, I might take offence at such a blanket dismissal of my stock-in-trade.

However, I think WH was right on the money. And, the media and academic commentary on the riots in London days has only added to my conviction that 'vulgar sociologism' – as the Peruvian sociologist Cesar Graña termed it – is much worse than no sociology at all. If only social scientists knew how to keep their 'traps' shut, from time to time.

Item ID:	40493
Item Type:	Article (Editorial)
ISSN:	1038-8761
Keywords:	social theory; sociology
Date Deposited:	08 Oct 2015 02:17
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1608 Sociology > 160806 Social Theory @ 100%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society @ 100%
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