Pascal Ughetto
Les nouvelles sociologies du travail. Introduction à la sociologie de l'activité.
De Boeck Supérieur, 2018, 160 p.
The sociology of work has evolved considerably over the past quarter century. Since the 1990s, new theories and research practices have renewed analysis by focusing on work in progress. There is increasing talk of a sociology of activity or a pragmatic sociology of work. Based on concepts such as situated action, distributed cognition, practices, takes, and supports for action, these approaches enrich the issues and renew the sociological view of work. What are these theories? What are workplace studies? What is the role of the sociology of science in these new contributions? Is there a unity among these currents? The book asks these questions and also considers how this emerging sociology of activity is changing relationships with other disciplines. It also examines the relationship with a more traditional sociology of work. Far from being confined to detailed descriptions of micro-situations, these perspectives can be traced back to professional and organizational issues and consider the division of labor, subordination, and the prescription of work. The heated debate does not detract from the usefulness of these approaches in intervention or action research. Aimed at students and specialists in other branches of sociology who wish to understand the contributions of activity-based analysis, it can also be used by practitioners.