Public Sociology on Twitter: A Space for Public Pedagogy?

• In Event: 063 - Regular Session. Public Sociology

Abstract

Research has examined various elements of Twitter, however, no scholarship has explored how sociologists currently use the platform. This empirically driven paper explores how those that self-identify on Twitter as sociologists use the popular micro-blogging social media site. A total of 152,977 tweets from Twitter profiles of 130 sociologists were collected and examined using qualitative media analysis. The potential use of Twitter allows the sociologist to become both the generator and interlocutor of dialogue with publics. We frame our data analysis and discussion around the core theme of expertise - namely, the role that expertise plays in the use of Twitter by sociologists. Our findings indicate that when sociologists, acting as sociologists on Twitter (i.e., drawing upon their stated research expertise) most often did not engage with publics on Twitter. Thus while sociologists appear to be using Twitter as a space for public sociology, the use of this interactive platform is mostly limited to the generation of content, a finding consistent with Burawoy’s traditional form of public sociology. Suggestions for future research are noted.

Authors

• Christopher J. Schneider, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Deana Simonetto, McMaster University