Semiotic Sociology

Semiotic Sociology recalls classics of the field, such as Economy and Society by Neil Smelser and Talcott Parsons or Pierre Bourdieu’s Logic of Practice, in its scope, ambition, and subtle synthesis of remarkably different insights from opposed traditions of thought. Heiskala’s brilliance allows him to show how debates central to social theory for more than 100 years look different when properly grounded in the analysis of signification. Moving well beyond the cultural turn and debates about “social construction,” this is a book for the 21st century, which rewrites several vital concepts, among them power, modernity, and social structure. Heiskala’s vision for sociology makes it a human science worthy of the name.

—Isaac Ariail Reed, Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia, USA 

This is a wonderfully accomplished book in the tradition of grand theory. Risto Heiskala skillfully integrates a plethora of intellectual traditions, from pragmatism to critical theory, to propose an innovative and perspicacious account of contemporary societal issues, notably surrounding gender.

—Patrick Baert, Professor of Social Theory, University of Cambridge, UK

 In Semiotic Sociology, Risto Heiskala tackles a bold and welcome synthesizing challenge: to build bridges between theoretical approaches that have too quickly, yet for decades, been deemed as incompatible in the mainstream sociological selection of analytical tools. He makes this operation sound and seem easy. Yet, it is clear that these syntheses result from career-long scrutiny of theoretical debates but also a constant, careful eye to the needs of contemporary social research, a virtue not always present in theory building efforts.

—Eeva Luhtakallio, Professor of Sociology, University of Helsinki, EU Finland

Semiotic Sociology provides solid ground for cultural analysis in the social sciences by building up a mediation between structuralist semiology (Saussure), pragmatist semiotics (Peirce), and phenomenological sociology (Schutz, Garfinkel, Berger and Luckmann). This is a deviation from the common view that these traditions are seen as mutually exclusive alternatives and thus competitors of each other. The net result of the synthesis is that a new social theory emerges wherein action theories (Weber and rational choice) are based on phenomenological sociology and phenomenological sociology is based on neostructuralist semiotics, which is a synthesis of the Saussurean and the Peircean traditions of understanding habits of interpretation and interaction. The core issues of social research are then addressed on these grounds. The topics covered include the economy/society relationship, power, gender, modernity, institutionalization, the canon of current social theory including micro/macro and agency/structure relations, and the grounds of social criticism. 
Risto Heiskala is Professor of Sociology at Tampere University, EU Finland (Orcid id: 0000-0003-4466-7491). He is the author of Society as Semiosis and coeditor of Policy Design in the European Union and Social Innovations, Institutional Change and Economic Performance. He is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and Vice-Chair of the Society for the Study of Power Relations (SSPR). He has been the Director of the Institute for Advanced Social Research (IASR) at the University of Tampere and a member of the executive committee of the European Sociological Association (ESA) as well as a founding member of its Social Theory Research Network.