20 November 2024, Volume 12 Issue 6

    

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  From Theoretical Self-Consciousness to Representation Self-Consciousness: The Academic Pursuits and Theoretical Enlightenment of Dr. Zheng Hangsheng

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 5-15.

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  Theoretical self-consciousness is the core academic pursuit of Dr. Zheng Hangsheng, which presents his eager expectation for Chinese sociology construction and serves as the purpose of Sociological Review of China. Theoretical self-consciousness requires not only in-depth reflection on Chinese and foreign sociological theories but also effective theoretical support for the empirical study. With the latest trends of rapidly and largely becoming networking and digitization of social lives, network representation has become an essential part of network practice and network experiences. We should theoretically analyze and review the network representation and achieve a precise and broad representation self-consciousness.
  
  
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  The Autonomously Theory Construction of Chinese Modernization and Exploration of the Sociology with Chinese Characteristics: The Academic Contribution of Zheng Hangsheng

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 16-39.

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  The course of theoretical construction of Chinese modernization explored by Chinese sociologists represented by Zheng Hangsheng not only means a gradual process in which Chinese sociology is integrating itself into the global intellectual
  community as well as making dialogues with it but also a process that Chinese sociology constructively reflects and criticizes Western theories, thus continuously strengthening theoretical consciousness and constructing an autonomous intellectual
  system of the sociology with Chinese characteristics. The fundamental approach of Zheng’s intellectual thoughts is based on two aspects: constructing of sociological theories with Chinese characteristics as his key concern and illuminating the modernization of China and the world through the lens of social transformation. Zheng’s intellectual thoughts crystallize the integration of Marxist dialectical materialism and historical materialism with the inclusive way of thinking about Chinese
  civilization. His crucial contributions to modernization theory mainly lie in the following aspects: breaking through the Western centrism myth of modernization theory, criticizing the premise assumptions and dualism thinking embedded within
  the Western modernization theory, replacing the teleological transition path with the transformation theory, and distilling specialized empirical theories into general ones.The diversities of modernization practices and social transformations in new
  emerging countries pose a fundamental challenge to Western modernization theory,which is also the crucial prerequisite for realizing the paradigm shift of modernization theory and promoting the theoretical construction of Chinese modernization.
  
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  Sociological Theoretical Self-Consciousness in the Study of the Chinese National Community

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 40-57.

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  The practice of promoting the construction and the forging a strong sense of the Chinese national community in the new era puts forward requirements for Chinese philosophy and social sciences，and provides opportunities for their development. Zheng Hangsheng is an important promoter of the reconstruction of Chinese sociology and a pioneer of the theories of the School of Social Operation, whose studies and thoughts on ethnic groups and the nation, as well as the thought of theoretical self-consciousness of Chinese sociology that he advocated, have important inspiration and guiding significance for the study of the Chinese national community in the new era. Chinese sociologists should, with a high degree of theoretical self-awareness, utilize the advantages of sociology，expand their research horizons, and conduct in-depth studies on the issues of the Chinese national community with a view to achieving great accomplishments in the construction of sociological theories with Chinese characteristics and an independent knowledge system.
  
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  Theoretical Implications, Realistic Foundations,and Value Concern of the Theory of Practical Structure

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 58-72.

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  Social order and social progress are the ultimate pursuits of sociology, as well as the value concern within the theory of practical structure. In modernization and globalization, how to understand the particularity and complexity of contemporary Chinese social practice has become a significant issue. The theory of practical structure proposed by Zheng Hangsheng and his academic team is precisely based on the process of globalization and localization, and it is a new perspective to understand the operation and development of contemporary society through the dual torsion of the long-wave process of modernity and the special pulsation of China’s social transformation. As a new development of sociology with Chinese characteristcs, the theory of practical structure systematically discusses the trends, characteristics, and dynamic changes of social transformation and social relations resulting from current changes in social structure through theoretical connotation, realistic foundation, and value concern. The analysis provides a potential research paradigm for understanding the driving
  force of the social structural transformation.
  
  
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  The Blade of Knowledge Production: A Reproduction of Zheng Hangsheng’s Academic Journey in Methodology#br#

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 73-91.

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  As a pioneer in the reconstruction of sociology in post-reform China,Zheng Hangsheng’s early studies in philosophy laid a dialectical and rational cognitive foundation for his later academic development. After the reform and opening-up, he closely integrated his academic research interests with the realities of society, transitioning from earlier philosophical research to sociology, which was being revived and rebuilt. From a historical and dialectical perspective, Zheng Hangsheng proposed two forms of sociological knowledge and constructed the representative theories of social operation and social transformation. At the same time, when reflecting on the relationship between the individual and society in the context of Western and Chinese modernities, he successively proposed locally distinctive theories of mutual construction and the theory of practical structure. Most importantly, in his later years, Zheng Hangsheng also devoted himself to planning the development of Chinese sociology as a discipline. He not only called on the academic community to cultivate theoretical self-awareness but also emphasized the importance of Chinese sociology’s academic discourse, aiming to provide a clear development path for Chinese sociology to step onto the world stage. Zheng Hangsheng’s academic journey can be seen as a dynamic process of continual creation, guided by his evolving methodological principles of knowledge production.
  
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  The Transformation of Employment Structure and the Evolution of Social Stratification in Post-Industrial Countries: Implications for the Research on#br# Social Stratification in China

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 92-115.

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  Since the 1970s, Western industrialized societies have been transitioning to post-industrial societies, with economies gradually shifting from manufacturing to being dominated by service industries and the knowledge economy. During this
  transition, the working class has gradually declined, while the number of professional and service industry workers has rapidly increased, resulting in a noticeable polarization in the labor market structure. However, the EGP class schema, constructed based on industrial society, has failed to capture the changes in the employment structure of post-industrial societies. Increasing numbers of women and non-manual routine workers cannot find appropriate class positions within the traditional class framework. To address this issue, Oesch proposed a concept of social stratification based on the work logic, categorizing classes according to whether daily work involves the use of professional skills, the exercise of organizational power, or the service of personal needs. This accurately reflects the diversity and complexity of employment structures in post-industrial societies. For China, which is transitioning to a post-industrial society, Oesch’s concept of social stratification can help us predict the future development trends of social stratification in China and provide strong support for the formulation of more scientific and reasonable social policies.
  
  
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  Elite Networks and Subjective Social Status of Chinese Private Entrepreneur: An Analysis of Agent-Based Modeling

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 116-137.

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  This article aims to examine the influence of elite networks on the formation of subjective social status within the generational models. Drawing on data from the 2018 Chinese Private Enterprises Survey, the statistical results highlight
  the gap between theoretical explanation and empirical evidence. This article employs agent-based modeling（ABM）. The ABM reveals that the disregard for elite connections during interactions significantly reduces the status recognition of private
  business owners and intensifies the polarization of their status identification, leading to a divergence between perceived status and objective economic position. Only when these owners maintain relatively high instrumental rationality does it have some mitigating effect. These findings highlight the interaction effect of social networks, contribute to the social network theory, and have important implications for understanding the subjective social status of private enterprises in contemporary China.
  
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  Ubiquitous Solidarity: An Exploration of Societal Connectivity in the Era of Digital Intelligence

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 138-157.

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  With the advent of the digital-intelligence era, humanity has transitioned into a nascent digital existence paradigm characterized by human-computer interaction, communication, and even socialization. The data-mediated mode of interaction has catalyzed the formation of unprecedented social linkages between individuals and society; the Internet of Everything (IoE) is progressively manifesting an algorithmically driven characteristic known as ubiquitous solidarity. This“ubiquitous solidarity”, fueled by digital interactions and advanced computational capacities, fosters extensive connections within the digital society,manifesting in multifaceted and integrated transformations: from real humans
  evolving into digital-intelligence entities, physical communities transitioning to virtual realms, industrial labor divisions giving way to digital-intelligence-driven labor configurations, and the real economy merging with the burgeoning digital economy. The information-processing actors, functioning as a bridge between the physical and digital environments, provide a pivotal linkage mechanism for integrating the real and virtual societal spheres. Ubiquitous solidarity thus represents a novel form of social cohesion, mirroring the algorithmically governed social structures and orders of our contemporary era.
  
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  “Translating Needs”: How Social Work Is Involved in Handling Long-Standing Petitioning Cases

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 158-182.

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   Based on the method of explanation building and the concept of translation from actor-network theory（ANT）, this study develops a perspective of “translating needs”and uses it to analyze how social workers successfully resolved a petition case spanning 25 years. In response to the systematic and dynamic nature, hierarchical and practical aspects, and the constructive features of action inherent in needs, social workers implement“translating needs”through three steps: clarifying needs, identifying needs, and affirming needs. Through this process, petitioners’ goals gradually shift from seeking economic compensation to rebuilding their lives.Ultimately, the petitioner abandons ineffective petitions through the“reconciliation”
  ceremony of a multi-party joint meeting.“Translating needs”emerges as a key technique in professional intervention for petition cases, requiring social workers to differentiate between appeals and needs and pay particular attention to the fact that the petition process itself may generate new needs for petitioners.“Translating needs”underscores the experimental action intervention, thereby constructing the expected outcomes of successful actions by all parties and reinforcing the translation. In conclusion, this paper expands the concept of“translating needs”as an extension of ANT’s translation, detailing its development in four aspects.
  
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  Inequality, Information Media, and Meritocracy Identification: A Perspective of Social Context

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 183-204.

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  Distinct from traditional explanations based on self-interest and system justification theories, this paper explores the formation logic of meritocracy identification from a social context perspective, focusing on the roles of inequality and
  the information media. By analyzing data from the China Family Panel Survey, we find that the higher the inequality in regions where individuals live, the more they identify with meritocracy. In addition, information media relying on Internet technology can significantly weaken the positive effect of inequality on meritocracy identification. Hence, this paper proposes the proposition“social contextuality of meritocracy identification”. On the one hand, inequality makes it difficult for individuals to perceive socio-economic status gaps with others by creating social contextual segregation, which leads to greater identification with meritocracy. On the other hand, using the Internet to access information can expand the social context
  of individuals, thus updating their perceptions of meritocracy.
  
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  Forging Brotherhood: Situational Strong Ties and the Labor Order of Food Delivery Workers

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 205-229.

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  Taking the agentic activity of the workers into consideration,we contend that despite operating under digital and organizational control, service platform couriers (SPCs) can still rely on their status as independent contractors and the
  station system to spontaneously form team cooperation and strong ties during the labor process.These bonds, facilitated by the high integration of work settings and living environments under the station system, further extend into the economic and
  emotional aspects of the couriers’lives. The“situational strong ties”formed by SPCs are crucial for on-demand food delivery platforms to mobilize riders to meet their needs, and they are essential for maintaining the labor order in the platformbased food-delivery industry. Moreover, the“situational strong ties”forged by the couriers not only helped them to resist the atomization trend of digital workers, but also became a survival strategy for SPCs to protect themselves.
  
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  How Culture Affects Action: Three Research Approaches in American Cultural Sociology 

  社会学评论. 2024, 12(6): 230-252.

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  This paper reviews three theoretical research paths on how culture influences action in American cultural sociology: the value, toolbox, and cognitive paths. The values path attempts to explain how culture as a whole value system influences action through personality. Based on criticizing the values path, the toolbox path regards culture as a tool that can be readily accessed. It emphasizes the importance of action strategies between culture and action. The cognitive path is the criticism and transcendence of the first two paths. By absorbing the theoretical resources of cognitive psychology, this approach focuses on the“schema explanation”that combines both the superindividuality and the stereotypical representation of culture, and divides the process of how culture influences action into cultural acquisition, cultural sharing, and cultural activation. The discussion of the above three approaches is helpful for us to re-understand the concept of“view of
  knowledge and action”in Chinese cultural tradition and promote the construction of cultural sociology with Chinese characteristics.