| Abstrakt: |
This article considers the position sociologists occupy in the public's imagination, it asks what laymen in a university community and our student-clients know about our endeavors and how the latter evaluate our credentials and pursuits. As such, critics may deem this sociology of sociology exercise yet another example of our reputed proclivity to document the obvious. Though empirical studies are uncommon, interaction of sociologists with the public has produced an occupational folklore, which occasionally appears in print. It appears to be unknown to or misunderstood by the general community. It is argued that both practical and theoretical benefits should accrue from attention to this study's objectives, namely: (i) to consider systematically sociology's attitude towards outsiders' perception of the discipline, (ii) to test the validity of our professional legends about public stereotypes of sociologists and (iii) to explore the relationship between the imagery and prestige of academic occupations. Despite the fact that the American Sociological Society was founded in 1905 and the first Canadian sociology department was established in 1922, sociology remains an invisible occupation, a hidden tax upon the public purse. There are benefits to be gained and benefits to be lost through proselytization of sociology. As all good advertising men know, in the last analysis, it is the product behind the image, which counts. |
