Sabbatical Dick Houtman: Whatever Happened to Classical Cultural Sociology? Salvaging the Lost Treasures of Durkheim and Weber

During the sabbatical period I will work on a book project about the flawed reception of the classical sociology of culture of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, which is mainly found in their sociology of religion (and in Weber's case equally in his scientific theory). This flawed reception has resulted in an intellectual dominance of a cultural sociology that treats culture as little more than an ideology that justifies, perpetuates and transmits structures of inequality to new generations. Central to the Durkheimian and Weberian inheritance, on the other hand, is the analysis of the meaningful meaning of culture, as well as its consequences for social action and the broader (intended or unintended) social consequences thereof. The book thus offers first of all a critical reconstruction of the central cultural-sociological insights of Durkheim and Weber and shows how much these have been used by later generations sociologists have been neglected. Secondly, based on (own) empirical research, it offers some illustrations of the potential of this type of cultural sociology for research into major contemporary issues. During my sabbatical period I will of course also promote my research between the companies through lectures to American and Canadian universities, as well as conference contributions.