Department of History and Theory of Sociology

The current state and prospects of metatheorising in sociology

Principal investigator — Reznik Volodymyr Stanislavovich

The study responds to the fact that Ukrainian sociologists' familiarity with the current course and problems of sociological metatheorising does not match the needs and possibilities of scholarly reflection in a transitional Ukrainian society integrating into the European and global social space. Its aim is to examine the current state and prospects of metatheorising in sociology through a comparative analysis of the relevant theoretical constructions — a historical reconstruction of contemporary versions of sociological metatheory, comparing their underlying assumptions about the nature of social reality, the ways of knowing it and the models of explanation, their analytical strategies and their priority problems. The object of study is the theoretical work of leading world sociologists of recent decades; its subject field is the major achievements in building the foundations of sociological metatheory since 2000.

Social order in contemporary Ukrainian society: modernisation, self-organisation and legitimation

Principal investigator — Reznik Volodymyr Stanislavovich

The aim of the study is to conceptualise social order as a societal phenomenon and, on that conceptual basis, to obtain knowledge about the state of social orderliness in contemporary Ukrainian society and the likely possibilities and directions of such ordering. The study responds to the mismatch between the existing social order of public life and the expectations of the great majority of Ukrainian citizens. Existing explanations of social order in stable developed societies reveal their limits and highlight the shortage of knowledge about social orderliness in transitional societies.

Sociological conceptualisations of society in making sense of modernisation processes

Principal investigator — Stepanenko Viktor Petrovich

The aim of the project is a systematic analysis of contemporary sociological conceptions of society, so as to use their theoretical potential in making sense of the pressing problems of Ukraine's societal transformation and modernisation. Its tasks were to examine the transformation of sociological approaches and methodology and the development of the conceptual apparatus around 'society' as a complex systemic object of meta-sociological research; to analyse and systematise contemporary sociological approaches to studying modern society and the various — reproductive, institutional, functional, symbolic-communicative — aspects of its life; and to bring into focus and study the contemporary sociological problems of social change, transformation, modernisation and stagnation.

Ukrainian sociology: recent history since the 1960s and dilemmas of development

Principal investigator — Stepanenko Viktor Petrovich

Findings

The historical stages and social factors of the development of Ukrainian sociology in the 1960s–2000s were analysed in the context of a transforming society and of the development of world sociology. The specifics of the institutionalisation of Ukrainian sociology from Soviet times and of its later formation — connected above all with the proclamation of an independent state and the processes of democratisation — were established. The social and scholarly regularities in the transformation of the conceptual apparatus and subject field of Ukrainian sociology were analysed.

The first expert survey of professional sociologists of Ukraine on the state, problems and prospects of sociology in the country was prepared and carried out. The findings were presented at two international and a number of national conferences; a monograph and more than 15 articles were published, and members of the project took part in drafting the State Concept of the Humanitarian Development of Ukraine to 2020.

Contemporary sociological theory against the background of globalisation challenges

Principal investigator — Stepanenko Viktor Petrovich

Findings

Contemporary sociological conceptions of globalisation were analysed, in theoretical fields including postmodern theory, the conception of the 'risk society', information and communication theories, the sociology of culture and values, the conflict paradigm, and questions of the representation and image of Ukraine in the contemporary global world. The transformation of contemporary sociological theory under globalisation was examined. The specific features of globalisation in Ukraine and its perception in public opinion and political discourse were analysed. A collective monograph and more than 20 articles were published, and the findings were presented at two international and a number of national conferences.

Sociological knowledge and power: a dialogue between theory and political practice

Principal investigator — Stepanenko Viktor Petrovich

Findings

The main conceptions of world sociological theory bearing on the problem were analysed: postmodern conceptions, the 'sociology of sociology', conceptions of civil society and social capital, post-structuralism, the phenomenology of culture and symbolic exchange, and conflict theory. The conditions and factors for optimising the communicative model of relations between power, sociological knowledge and society were analysed. A collective monograph and more than 30 articles were published, and an international conference was held.

Sociological theories of societal transformation

Principal investigator — V. V. Tancher

Findings

The most influential contemporary theoretical models and strategies of societal transformation were analysed — postmodern conceptualisations, the conception of civil society, the function of tradition in social consciousness, conflict theory and others. The conditions and factors for optimising societal transformation were analysed, with an emphasis on the change of sociological paradigms and value systems, the formation of civil society, the new communicative paradigm of power and society, globalisation, and the conditions of nation-state building. One collective and three individual monographs and more than 30 articles were published.