Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 09:33:28 -0700 (MST)
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To: spti-list@webcoach.com
From: TR Young <TR.Young@uvm.edu>
Subject: Breaking Boundaries: Outline of My Keynote Address
Cc: socgrad@csf.colorado.edu, KennedyJ@asanet.org
John Kennedy, of the University of Indiana and in-coming
President of the Society for the Practice of Sociology, 
has been good enough to invite me to give the Keynote
Address at the Annual Meetings of SAS.   I am pleased to
so so.

Dr. Kennedy set, at theme of the meetings as well as topic
of the Address, Breaking Boundaries. There are many boundaries
which those who apply sociology to personal problems in
the field might make in order to:

        1. Do a better job
        2. Get more clients
        3. earn a living

I want to begin with tribute to others, before us, who
have shown the way out from purely academic concerns to
more communal concerns.  Then I want to help those in
applied sociology break out of traditional knowledge
patterns and processes that one might feel comfortable in
breaking out of traditional social boundaries in the 
application of sociology in everyday life.  Let us begin
with a reminder of mentors who still have something to
teach us and to guide our work:

I.  Mentors: Marx, Mills and McClung Lee.

        For those of us who venture out of academic sociology
into the real world of hurting, seeking human beings, we have
some most helpful mentors in the effort to transcend the
restrictions of academic sociology.

        Marx, of course, set praxis as the mission of the
knowledge process.  For Marx, praxis was equally a societal
as much as a personal attribute; one could best engage the
human project in a society organized to permit both human dignity
and pro-social labor.

        Mills, in the same tradition, urged us to develop a 
sociological imagination in our work and in our teaching.  But 
Mills did not rest with success in the class-room; rather he
set as our mission in American Sociology, the application of that
imagination to social problems.  In particular, Mills said that
our task was to distinguish between purely personal problems which
first had their source in the biology, physiology, psychology and
the decisions of individuals.  Beyond these personal sources of
problems lay a sociology which shaped and mis-shaped the destiny
of so many hurting human beings; racist and gender dominations,
class and caste degradations; formal bureaucratic and occupational
rules and regulations which reduced both human agency and human 
dignity at a time when the possibilities of both were becoming ever
more clear given the work of generations of incisive sociologists
before us.

        Al McClung Lee and his good wife, Betty Briant Lee worked
all their lives to set up the structural means by which sociology
could be applied directly to the structural sources of social problems.
They created the Society for the Study of Social Problems which served
as a great stimulus for uncovering the social sources of problems and,
then, in their wisdom and good grace, organized the American Humanist
Society in order to give value and direction to the task.

II. Missions of the Knowledge Process in American Sociology.

        With their seminal work, and along with hundreds of other
European, Asian, African and American Sociologists, Marx, Mills and Al Lee
helped change the mission of the knowledge process.  In so doing, they
broke new ground that, in our times, create great stress inside and out
of academia.

        In Pre-modern knowledge processes, the source and entire point
of human knowledge was a seeking and a following of a divine plan for
social peace and human problems.  Four assumptions mark the quest for
knowledge for most of human history:

        a. there are supernatural beings who intervene in earthly affairs;
        b. these beings have established or at the very least, understand
                the proper social relationships which are to shape the
                behavior of each and all;
        c. with the aid of especially holy men and women, these plans can
                be known to human beings and,
        d. failing the adoption of this social philosophy, human beings
                forfeit their chance for peace and prosperity either
                singly or collectively.

Modern science came along and changed all four assumptions:
        
        a. there are natural laws which shape the behavior of all existing
                systems including,
        b. human beings who are subject to the universal imperatives of
                modern, industrialized political economies with a very
                complex division of labor;
        c. Rational human beings seek to know these universal laws of
                modern society through the scientific method and through
                a process of successive approximations, move to absolute
                knowledge.
        d. Social problems arise through:
                1. cultural lag,
                2. faulty socialization,
                3. technological dysjunctions
                4. genetic flaws

This mission of the knowledge process reduces sociologists to the role of the
expert researcher and in some cases, advisor to the State which then implements
social policy oriented to b, above.

Post-modern discontent with both pre-modern eschatology as well as modern
science.
Post-modern critics pointed out:
        a. all knowledge processes were heavily influenced by both culture and
                class interest.
        b. modernist theories of problems and solutions tend to legitimate
                state intervention, law, policing, and social control 
                institutions which gave preference to Euro-centric, patriarchal
                and capitalist values at the expense of African, Asian, feminist
                and socialist ideas about how to do social life.
        c. some postmodernists, after Nietzsche, held the knowledge process 
                hopelessly corrupt; in such a case, each person could set
his/her
                own private goals...modern science had killed off the gods and
                had left only power and personal superiority in their place.
                This became the standard reading of postmodernism in both the
                pre-modern and the modern camps.
        d. Some postmodernists held that knowledge process, although heavily
                shaped and mis-shaped by special human interests, still could be
                the source of progressive social change.

                One new theory, Chaos/Complexity, serves as an epistemological
                underpinning for such views...there are larger structural
features
                of a society which involve non-linear social dynamics but still
                human agency is possible at strategic moments either to
change or
                to stabilize complex social systems...in the very least, we can
                extract some short-term understanding of system dynamics.

                Chaos theory might help in a number of ways; ways still to
be tested
                and disseminated: I can make some preliminary suggestions:

                1. It may well be the case that most of us can handle two or
three
                        sources of stress but when one more stress is added,
life
                        becomes too complex to handle...hence the need for more
                        professional help.

                        Most have financial problems; some have health
problems; all
                        have problems with children and/or other loved ones;
some have
                        trouble with specific disabilities...not excluding
alcohol and
                        drug use.

                        Chaos theory suggest radical intervention in one or
two sources
                        of stress to eliminate them.

                2.  Chaos theory suggests that small interventions at
strategic times
                        help prevent large and escalating troubles.

                3.  Chaos theory suggests that interventions at key moments
can do more
                        than expensive interventions later on.

                4.  For some background reading, check out:
http://www.tryoung.com/chaos

III. Breaking Boundaries:

        The call in this Keynote Address is to break boundaries.  In the
tradition
of Marx, Mills and the McClung Lees and in the best traditions of affirmative
postmodern missions and methods for the knowledge process, I join with John
Kennedy
to urge you to break the boundaries which keep American Sociology confined
to the
class room and limited to a search for eternally valid, universally covering
theory.

A. A Praxis Society: Using both critical theory and conflict methodologies,
it is
        possible to empower those upon whom social problems press most heavily;
        workers, minorities, women as well as whole cohorts of children
discarded
        by the richest, most powerful country in all of human history.

        1. My good colleague, David Crocker, following the work of the
Praxis School
                in Yugoslavia, has identified five moments/features of a Praxis
                Society to which postmodern practioneers might want to set as
                central in their work:

                a. creativity [rather than sameness]
                b. intentionality [rather than obedience]
                c. sociality [rather than privatization]
                d. self-determination [rather than coercion]
                e. rationality [rather than blind faith]

B. Making Linkages:

        1.  With Psychology: there are many practicing psychologists who stand
                as the natural partner to the postmodern practioneer.  They
                often use small group tactics which are helpful to the larger
                goals that a sociological practioneer might adopt.

        2.  With Local Churches: Apart from fundamentally different
assumptions about
                the rational for empowering people, there is much in organized
                religion which is most congenial to the human project; much in
                the way of personal faith, hope, belief and trust of the clients
                of all practioneers which need taken into account and serve
                as emotional lever to human agency.

        3. With Economics: many problems which beset the human enterprize are,
                indeed, economic.  Financial planning, financial advising, 
                financial help are require considerable knowledge of the economy
                on the part of the postmodern practioneer.

        4. With Schools: many schools have programs which serve both at resource
                and as a social base for the postmodern practioneer.

                Program for the handicapped; for the slow learner; for juvenile
                delinquents, for adults and adult education...all these serve as
                resource to which the astute sociological practioneer will link.

        5. With Senior Centers....every day, Senior Centers expand their
programs
                and the reach of those programs.  As the demographics in the USA
                change, increasingly Senior Centers become the natural base for
                the sociological practioneer.

        6. With Labor Unions. Since 1970, Labor Unions have fallen upon hard
times.
                Beset both by an increasingly globalized economy, by internal
                corruption, by an unfriendly government and by public animus, 
                Labor Unions have began to change.  They are natural clients for
                progressive sociological practioneers.

        7. With Voluntary Organizations: Women's Crises Centers, Child Care
Centers,
                Athletic Leagues, fraternal associations and a hunderd more in
                every community serve as reference points and resource for the
                stressed client.  Every practioneer should keep such
resources at
                the finger tip...food, clothing, temporary lodging, small cash
                grants and general good will are available.

        8. With College and University...universities have a wide variety of 
                resources available for the practioneers.  Part-time instructors
                make natural partner to a sociological practice.  Rooms are 
                available for regular meetings with groups of clients...one must
                have some connection in order to get room scheduled but space is
                often a large part of the cost of doing business which can be
                reduced by tapping into univesity resources.

        9. With Funding Agencies: Private and State.  There are thousands of
funding
                agencies which make small grants to special causes.  There
are lists
                one can get and people one can pay to make application for
grant.
                The procedure is simple; identify a community need, develop
a program,
                make application and use the funds in ways compatible with
the grant
                application.  The rewards are uncertain but the resource is
there for
                those willing to make the effort.

        10. With Practioneers Abroad.  The Internet is a natural link to
those in 
               Canada, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden, New
Zealand and
                Australia who deal with the same social problems with very
different
                approaches...there is much one can learn from colleagues
overseas.

        11. With Lawyers, Doctors, and CPA's.  Every professonial does
pro-bono work.
                If a client needs legal advice, contact a lawyer. If the
client needs
                medical attention, contact a doctor.  If a client has money
problems,
                contact a CPA...one makes contacts and one learns in the
process.

C.  Making a Living: Sociological Practice is a new field of endeavor.  It
has a short
       history and shorter resources.  If one wants to make a decent living,
there
        are several solutions one might want to consider:

        1.  The Permanent Sabbatical; After a life-time of teaching, one can
                annuitize the pension plan of one's school and, using it as seed
                money, start up a Sociological Practice.  In this context, a
life-
                time mean about 25 years of teaching...many faculty are
vested in
                a pension plan immediately they sign a contract; some have
to wait
                five years...but one no longer has to wait til one is 65
years old
                to cash in a pension plan...

        2.  The Partnership: one join existing Private Helping Professionals. In
               every phone book there are listing of private counselling
services.      
                Those with some experience might want to talk with other
                practioneers including psychologists and clinical social
workers,
                nurse practioneers and detective agencies.               

        3.  One can turn to private and state agencies: Lutheran Social
Services 
                hire psychologists and sociologists.
                Police agencies have slots for sociology practioneers;
especially
                those who have specialized in sociology of youth and in
criminology.
                
        4.  Writing Grants.  This source of funds has been mentioned above;
again,
                there are thousands such sources...one can live on soft money as
                well as can university researchers or poltiical candidates.

        5. Advertizing.  One must not be bashful about one's practice.  One
can do
                a Home Page on the Internet...one can insert ads in local
papers;
                one can arrange to be on local radio and/or television; one can
                write a column for a local newspaper...there are many throw-away
                papers which are most receptive to fillers from the community.
                One can list in telephone directories...get a logo and a
name for
                your practice and get out into public space.

        6.  Tap into Community Chest funds.  Every community has periodic fund-
                raising campaigns.  One can apply for these funds either as
start-up
                or as sustaining funding.

        7.  Don't rob banks, sell drugs, fence stolen goods or sell your
body but,
                short of these, there are many creative ways to make a
living and
                do what you love to do; use your sociological imagination to
help
                work for a decent society and to help those who are made
victim by
                their own decisions and by the larger social structures in
which these
                private decisions make short-term sense.

        
I'm looking forward to the Meetings in Chicago/Oak Park Saturday and the
chance to 
talk with you about some of these ideas...and to learn from you about other
helpful
ways to break boundaries.

                                                                TR Young
TR Young
The Red Feather Institute
8085 Essex, Weidman, Mi.,
  48893--ph: [517] 644 3089
  Email: tr@tryoung.com
         TR.Young@uvm.edu