What Use is Sociology?: Conversations with Michael Hviid Jacobsen and Keith Tester

What's the use of sociology? The question has been asked often enough and it leaves a lingering doubt in the minds of many.At a time when there is widespread scepticism about the value of sociology and of the social sciences generally, this short book by one of the world's leading thinkers offers a passionate, engaging and important statement of the need for sociology.In a series of conversations with Michael Hviid Jacobsen and Keith Tester, Zygmunt Bauman explains why sociology is necessary if we hope to live fully human lives.But the kind of sociology he advocates is one which sees 'use' as more than economic success and knowledge as more than the generation of facts.Bauman makes a powerful case for the practice of sociology as an ongoing dialogue with human experience, and in so doing he issues a call for us all to start questioning the common sense of our everyday lives.He also offers the clearest statement yet of the principles which inform his own work, reflecting on his life and