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Digitizing sociology: continuity and change in the Internet era

Digitizing sociology: continuity and change in the Internet era
Digitizing sociology: continuity and change in the Internet era
This article outlines and contextualizes the development of digital sociology as an introduction to this e-special issue, charting the development of the field through the pages of the journal, Sociology. In doing so, the article sketches key contours of this rich and varied terrain, accenting how technological innovation has permeated the domains of politics, culture and society. Of central concern has been the intellectual origins of ‘digital sociology’. While first coined in 2009, the article highlights a longer history, noting the continued resonance of modernity’s currents of categorization, ordering and rationality while recognizing the crucial shifts brought by digitally mediated life. The article then discusses landmark articles contributing to the development of digital sociology, beginning with interventions seeking to theorize digital society. We then turn to articles focusing on methodological questions before addressing the digital turn in selected areas of enduring sociological concern including: work and organizations; inequality; migration; activism; communities; emotions; and everyday life. The article concludes with a series of observations regarding potential futures of digital sociological analyses.
Big Data, Internet of Things, affordances, algorithms, datafication, digital divide, digital modernity, ethics, social media, technological change
0038-0385
659-674
Fussey, Pete
1553072f-da89-4ff8-963c-deb7bfd65c4f
Roth, Silke
cd4e63d8-bd84-45c1-b317-5850d2a362b6
Fussey, Pete
1553072f-da89-4ff8-963c-deb7bfd65c4f
Roth, Silke
cd4e63d8-bd84-45c1-b317-5850d2a362b6

Fussey, Pete and Roth, Silke (2020) Digitizing sociology: continuity and change in the Internet era. Sociology, 54 (4), 659-674. (doi:10.1177/0038038520918562).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This article outlines and contextualizes the development of digital sociology as an introduction to this e-special issue, charting the development of the field through the pages of the journal, Sociology. In doing so, the article sketches key contours of this rich and varied terrain, accenting how technological innovation has permeated the domains of politics, culture and society. Of central concern has been the intellectual origins of ‘digital sociology’. While first coined in 2009, the article highlights a longer history, noting the continued resonance of modernity’s currents of categorization, ordering and rationality while recognizing the crucial shifts brought by digitally mediated life. The article then discusses landmark articles contributing to the development of digital sociology, beginning with interventions seeking to theorize digital society. We then turn to articles focusing on methodological questions before addressing the digital turn in selected areas of enduring sociological concern including: work and organizations; inequality; migration; activism; communities; emotions; and everyday life. The article concludes with a series of observations regarding potential futures of digital sociological analyses.

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Digitizing Sociology UE20 jan 20 - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 19 March 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 June 2020
Published date: 1 August 2020
Keywords: Big Data, Internet of Things, affordances, algorithms, datafication, digital divide, digital modernity, ethics, social media, technological change

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 440560
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/440560
ISSN: 0038-0385
PURE UUID: 08eca16e-db46-4e26-a412-4d84a372c16e
ORCID for Pete Fussey: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1374-7133
ORCID for Silke Roth: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8760-0505

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 May 2020 16:31
Last modified: 22 Oct 2024 02:10

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Contributors

Author: Pete Fussey ORCID iD
Author: Silke Roth ORCID iD

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