Интердисциплинарно знание и професионални граници в израелската социология
Interdisciplinary Knowledge and Professional Boundaries in Israeli Sociology

Summary/Abstract: The paper examines the fluidity of the disciplinary boundaries of sociology as it is taught and practiced in Israel from its early establishment in the country until the present. Rather than discussing the essential content of sociological knowledge, its paradigmatic shifts and diversities, its inherent links with related disciplines, the paper focuses on so-called external, contextual aspects that affect those boundaries (or the absence of such) within a rapidly changing society. After examining briefly the intellectual background that gave rise to sociology as an academic discipline in Israel, the paper focuses on the structural development of higher learning in Israel, the educational requirements, the divisions into academic departments, the number of faculty members having joint appointments, etc. It attempts to show that the occupational constraints of sociologists in the Israeli academia, rather than stressing professional specialization and exclusivity as might have been expected, pushes them into a more inter-disciplinary representation of their expertise. This trend is further reinforced in the many colleges that have recently been founded in the country as part of a rapid expansion of higher education. The colleges are differentiated from the universities in that they usually do not offer graduate degrees and have lower acceptance requirements (hence responding to a grassroots demand to broaden post-secondary education). Sociologists do find new employment opportunities in colleges, but such positions are usually defined more broadly as that of behavioral scientists, social scientists, organization study specialists, etc. all stressing a multi-disciplinary sphere in which sociologists do have a major role. The paper then examines the professional expansion of sociological practice beyond academic institutions, in civil service, NGOs, planning institutions, high-tech companies, the armed forces, etc. It shows that the tendencies apparent within academia continue outside academia as well. Professional expansion beyond academia, rather than stressing professional specificity, paradoxically, contributes to a blurring of the boundaries between sociology and related disciplines. A few specific examples are given to explain and illustrate that trend. Finally, some thoughts are raised on what sociology ‘exports’ to other disciplines (mostly concepts) and what it ‘imports’ from them (mostly data collection methodology and some quantitative analysis techniques). The possible conditions and reasons for such variable exchange between disciplines, and the possible tensions between them, are discussed in different types of sociological practice (academic or non-academic, policy-oriented or public/critical, etc.).

• Details
• Contents