The sexism in the references of the social theories is being changed. The European Sociological Association is launching today the 16th ESA Conference (ESA 2024) in Porto, Portugal. Over 4,000 delegates from around the world will participate in fruitful dialogues over the next four days. In this context, the Visibles exhibition is taking place.
Who has written the most influential sociology books of the 20th century? This question, posed in 1998 at the International Sociological Association congress held in Montreal, revealed a surprising reality: the invisibility of women in this field. Despite their valuable contributions, men dominated the list of most cited authors; none of the top 40 titles on that list had women as authors. Moreover, the top-ranked book was Max Weber’s «Economy and Society». However, most of those who answered that they had read it had not actually done so.
At ESA 2024, we want to change this narrative. The Visibles exhibition and a new survey seek to rescue forgotten women sociologists and recognize their impact on the discipline. On this occasion, we wonder, What is the most influential sociology book of all time? With this new survey, we want to overcome the gender bias that characterized the 1998 survey and build a sociology with greater intellectual rigor and social impact. You can find more information at the Visibles stand, located at LC.0.02.
These reflections invite us to break with the myth that women sociologists do «another sociology,» different from «The Sociology», in order to value what women have contributed to sociology. By recognizing these contributions, we are building a more relevant and transformative discipline, one that is highly aligned with the sociology that citizens and scientists want and use, based on co-creation and social impact.
