Sociology and happiness: An interview with Zygmunt Bauman
Journal Title: The Journal of Happiness and Well-Being - Year 2014, Vol 2, Issue 1
Abstract
Polish sociologist and social philosopher Zygmunt Bauman is probably one of the best known contemporary social thinkers – within as well as beyond his own native discipline of sociology. Throughout now more than sixty years – more than forty of which has been spent in Leeds in the UK – he has practiced sociology and prolifically written about the tormented path of the human condition as well as critically reflected upon the vagaries of what he characterizes as contemporary ‘liquid modern’ society. In Bauman’s view, sociology is defined as an ongoing conversation with human experience and, according to him, sociology should concern itself with how human beings continuously seek to make sense of the – indeed diversified and differentiated – social and cultural circumstances in which they must live their lives. Throughout his extended engagement with and contribution to sociology, Zygmunt Bauman has touched upon and analyzed a multitude of sociological themes and topics such as, most prominently, the Holocaust, morality, post-modernity, utopia, critical sociology, liquid modernity, globalization, identity, fear, death, immortality, culture, inequality, ethics, community, love, individualization, education, freedom, consumerism, happiness, etc. In this way, Bauman has contributed to theorizing and inspired research within a variety of disciplines and sub-disciplines (see Jacobsen & Poder 2008). Despite being one of the most recognized and renowned of contemporary sociologists, Bauman’s sociology is in many ways rather different from mainstream sociology in that it can be seen more as a critical social commentary with a certain literary edge than hardcore or orthodox sociology found in most textbooks and recently it was even, however positively, suggested that his work should therefore be characterized as ‘liquid sociology’ (Davis 2013). Besides being a prominent social commentator and cultural diagnostician, Bauman is also an unmistakable utopian of sorts – always on the lookout for pinpointing the suppressed potentials, the hidden opportunities, the neglected paths or the chances missed to make human life better (Jacobsen 2004). In several published pieces, Zygmunt Bauman has critically examined and dissected what he regards as the ‘miseries of happiness’ in contemporary individualized and consumerized liquid modern society (see, e.g., Bauman 2001, 2008a, 2008b). In what follows, Bauman engages in a conversation about the sociological significance of investigating happiness, discusses the merits and pitfalls of happiness studies and critically diagnoses our contemporary culture of happiness. The conversation took place during December 2013 and January 2014 first as an informal conversation in Zygmunt Bauman’s home in Leeds followed by an e-mail based interview. I wish to extend my gratitude to Zygmunt Bauman for taking the time to participate in this conversation.
Authors and Affiliations
Michael Hviid Jacobsen| Aalborg University Department of Sociology and Social Work, Denmark. E-mail: mhj@socsci.aau.dk
Keywords
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