Aware of what I'm unaware

As I spend this muggy, sunny Sunday re-reading a selection of high canon sociological theory, from Emile Durkheim to Karl Marx, Max Weber to George Herbert Mead and not-yet-canonical John Hewitt to add modern-day spice, I realize that each time I approach their theories with a specific question in mind, I find a slightly new item to add to my answer. I am attempting to distill the main thoughts of this bunch down into 250 words each to regurgitate on a final exam tomorrow.

Marx for marks. Again.

So in a fine fit of academic procrastination, I started wandering the web and came across this article about Habermas, yet another almost canonical theorist that I have yet to read. It made me want to correct that oversight, though, rather than continuously plumbing the depths of the same 6 theorists yet again.

And so there are days when I'm more painfully aware that there is so much yet in social, philosophical and political theory that I have yet to read. Days when I realize that, seemingly voracious reader that I purport to be, my entire corpus of reading seems to be but a small ripple in the ocean of thought that is out there.

This is one of those days.

Another scholarly blog?

Found an interesting new site today. It isn't yet a blog per se, though it calls itself one. but it is new and may well become noteworthy and worth a daily browsing. It's called BlogScholar. Check it out.

[found via the Society of Applied Sociology mailing list]

Sociologists are dangerous!?!

A bunch of well-respected conservatives (probably in the US) were asked by an online conservative magazine to write down what books are the most dangerous to humanity, and they then voted on the compiled list.

The list of the most dangerous books ever published should make sociologists everywhere feel rather targeted - the top 10 list includes works from Auguste Comte, the acknowledged father of sociology and Karl Marx, the obvious founder of the conflict approach.

Reading through the rest of the list, I know I'm feeling rather racy by their standards, as I've read at least large excerpts from approximately 80% of the list.
[found via the Applied Sociologists mailing list]