Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società

Rethinking Analytical Sociology

Seminario con Daniel Little, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Discutono Davide Barrera e Federico Bianchi

Organizzato da Collegio Carlo Alberto e Laboratorio di Analisi Sociologica "Nicola Negri" - Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società

29 aprile 2026 ore 14.00
Torino, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Aula 2

This seminar draws on Daniel Little’s Rethinking Analytical Sociology book (Edward Elgar, 2025) to examine the promises and limitations of analytical sociology as a research framework in the social sciences. The presentation outlines the core methods and assumptions of the approach, while engaging critically with the theoretical boundaries that constrain its generality — particularly its reliance on narrow conceptions of methodological individualism and actor models.
The discussion highlights empirical domains where analytical sociology has demonstrated notable success, including public health, network analysis, and political science, before turning to cases that challenge its current framework.
These cases are used to argue that a broader theoretical engagement — one that incorporates insights from adjacent areas of contemporary sociology — can substantially enrich analytical approaches without abandoning their explanatory rigor.
This argument is relevant to scholars and students across sociology, political science, public health, and public policy who seek a methodologically sophisticated yet reflexive approach to the study of social phenomena.