The sociology of Howard S. Becker : theory with a wide horizon

Steven Rendall (transl.) Howard S. Becker is a name to conjure with on two continents —in the United States and in France. He has enjoyed renown in France for his work in sociology, which in the United States goes back more than fifty years to pathbreaking studies of deviance, professions, sociology of the arts, and a steady stream of books and articles on method. Becker, who lives part of the year in Paris, is by now part of the French intellectual scene, a street-smart jazz pianist and sociologist who offers an answer to the stifling structuralism of Pierre Bourdieu. French fame has brought French analysis, including The Sociology of Howard S. Becker , written by Alain Pessin and translated into English by Steven Rendall. The book is an exploration of Becker’s major works as expressions of the freedom of possibility within a world of collaborators. Pessin reads Becker’s work as descriptions and ideas that show how society can embody the possibilities of change, of doing things differently, of taking advantage of opportunities for free action. The book is itself a kind of collaboration—Pessin and Becker in dialogue. The Sociology of Howard S. Becker is a meeting of two cultures via two great sociological minds in conversation. Howard S. Becker has enjoyed renown in France for his work in sociology, which in the United States goes back more than fifty years to include pathbreaking studies of deviance, professions, and sociology of the arts, as well as a steady stream of books and articles on method. French fame has brought French analysis, including The Sociology of Howard S. Becker, written by Alain Pessin and translated into English by Steven Rendall. The book is an exploration of Becker's major works as expressions of the freedom of possibility within a world of collaborators. Pessin reads Becker's work as descriptions and ideas that show how society can embody the possibilities of change, of doing things differently of taking advantage of opportunities for free action. The book is itself a kind of collaboration-Pessin and Becker in dialogue. Book jacket People Who Get High And The Others -- Jazzmen And Company -- Culture In Motion -- A Sociological Perspective -- What Is There To See, What Is There To Say? -- A Researcher Set Free -- Introduction To The Appendixes / Howard S. Becker -- Appendix A: A Dialogue On The Ideas Of World And Field / Howard S. Becker And Alain Pessin -- Appendix B: A Tribute To Alain Pessin / Howard S. Becker -- Appendix C: Four Things I Learned From Alain Pessin / Howard S. Becker. Alain Pessin ; Translated By Steven Rendall ; With A Foreword By William Kornblum And Contributions By Howard S. Becker. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 131-133). Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Foreword • William Kornblum 10 Prologue 16 1 People Who Get High and the Others 22 2 Jazzmen and Company 39 3 Culture in Motion 61 4 A Sociological Perspective 74 5 What Is There to See, What Is There to Say? 88 6 A Researcher Set Free 98 Introduction to the Appendixes • Howard S. Becker 108 Appendix A: A Dialogue on the Ideas of “World” and “Field” • Howard S. Becker and Alain Pessin 112 Appendix B: A Tribute to Alain Pessin • Howard S. Becker 126 Appendix C: Four Things I Learned from Alain Pessin • Howard S. Becker 130 Notes 142 Bibliography 152