Gender and the selective writing of social theory: Notes for the rewriting of the social

Abstract

The social is a foundational element of sociology. The problem is that since the classics this category has been used universally without consideration of the context of its production. This paper reflects on the aspirations, practices and self-understandings that inform the study of the social by sociologists, using as material a series of interviews the author conducted with English academics. In particular, the article discusses the relationship sociologists establish with social theory in the practice of sociological writing. On the basis of such narratives, it discusses the selective writing of the social in forms of social theorizing that omit gender and ethnicity. Based on this discussion, the article challenges the ways in which we can re-read classical social theory.