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The Imperial Entanglements of Sociology and the Problem of Scientific Autonomy in Germany, France, and the United States

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Transnationale Vergesellschaftungen

Abstract

My current research project is a history of sociologists who have analyzed, theorized, advised, and criticized empires. My project has five conceptual and empirical components. The first involves reconstructing the legacy of sociological theories of empire. There is growing interest among sociologists in the study of colonialism and empire and in the related project of ‘decolonizing’ sociology (Steinmetz 2006, 2013; Randeria 1999; Bhambra 2007; Connell 2007; Kemple/Mawani 2009; Gutiérrez Rodríguez et al. 2010; Boatcă/Spohn 2010). At the same time there is a great deal of disciplinary amnesia, even among specialists in colonialism, about valuable earlier sociological contributions to the study of empire formation and to topics like colonial cultural hybridity.

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  1. George Steinmetz
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  1. Universität Konstanz, Konstanz, Deutschland

    Hans-Georg Soeffner

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Steinmetz, G. (2012). The Imperial Entanglements of Sociology and the Problem of Scientific Autonomy in Germany, France, and the United States. In: Soeffner, HG. (eds) Transnationale Vergesellschaftungen. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-18971-0_76

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