This ground-breaking volume is a follow-up to Intellectuals and Their Publics. In contrast to the earlier book, which was mainly concerned with the activity of intellectuals and how it relates to the public, this volume analyses what happens when sociology and sociologists engage with or serve various publics. More specifically, this problem will be studied from the following three angles: How does one become a public sociologist and prominent intellectual in the first place? (Part I) How complex and complicated are the stories of institutions and professional associations when they take on a public role or tackle a major social or political problem? (Part II) How can one investigate the relationship between individual sociologists and intellectuals and their various publics? (Part III) This book will be of interest to academics and students working in the fields of the sociology of knowledge and ideas, the history of social sciences, intellectual history, cultural sociology, and cultural studies.'What's the point of sociology? Sociology has long been the most self-questioning of disciplines. Recently, such self-interrogation has involved discussion about what kinds of audiences sociology reaches and should be reaching. This book constitutes a vast leap forward in the public sociology debates, enriching them with historical depth, philosophical sophistication, and a truly global vision. An exceptionally attention-grabbing contribution.' David Inglis, University of Exeter, UK 'Hess and Fleck continue their important effort to return the debate over public sociology to where it belongs - the sociology of knowledge. This new collection is filled with probing contributions of striking interest.' Jeffrey Alexander, Yale University, USA 'The strength of the Fleck and Hess volume lies ... mainly in its critical intellectual engagement with the scholarly and conflict-ridden richness of sociological history itself ... an impressive contribution to the history of sociology and social science more generally'. International Sociology
