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Respect in a World of Inequality, by Richard Sennett. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003. 288 pp. $24.95 cloth. ISBN: 0-393-05126-9. $14.95 paper. ISBN: 0-393-32537-7.
There has recently been much talk within the discipline about the need for sociology to become more public. Public sociology was even the theme for the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco. Public sociology is sociology that attempts to engage not only the narrow ranks of professional sociologists but also the general public.
How serious are we about public engagement? One measure of sociology's commitment to this ideal will be its reception of Richard Sennett's new book, Respect in a World of Inequality. Sennett simultaneously models public sociology, makes a theoretical contribution to it, and illustrates some of its difficulties.
Like The Hidden Injuries of Class, the collaborative effort with Jonathan Cobb for which Sennett is perhaps best known, Respect in a World of Inequality is about the emotional dynamics of inequality. As this subject matter concerns both stratification and the emotions, Sennett makes a scholarly contribution to both substantive areas and to their greater integration. Specifically, Sennett looks at the difficulties of negotiating respect across unequal social positions. One central issue addressed is the way in which self-respect is both socially grounded...