Taking social theory and communities seriously: contributions of Svein Jentoft
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COMMENTARY
Taking social theory and communities seriously: contributions of Svein Jentoft Bonnie J. McCay 1,2 Received: 29 October 2020 / Accepted: 5 November 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In this commentary, I highlight my agreement with Jentoft about the importance of a strong grounding in the social sciences when one is engaged in fisheries social research. Further, I discuss the notion of “community failure” as it directs research toward deeper understanding of the roles of communities in the fates of small-scale fisheries.
Jentoft’s essay is rich with references to now classic ideas in sociology and related social sciences. Some might complain that these references are too old and thus somehow distracting; dismissive of more recent literature; and, worse, irrelevant to the subject, which is small-scale fisheries in a changing world. On the other hand, it is refreshing and important to recognize, as Jentoft does so well, the value of turning to Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Habermas, Etzioni, Wittgenstein, Giddens, and others as one explores the intricacies of the lives and institutions of the fishers we try to understand. Scholarship on small-scale fisheries is enriched by thorough and deep grounding in theory, especially social theory. Jentoft, fully anchored in social theory, offers a vivid lesson on how important such a heritage can be. Beyond the lesson Jentoft offers about the significance of the deep heritage of social theory is his argument, made explicit near the end of the essay, that “fisheries social research would benefit if we are social scientists first and fisheries scientists second, rather than the other way around.” Interdisciplinarity is highly valued in the marine and fisheries science and policy arenas, as it should be. Evidence includes multi-authored articles, grant solicitations, post-doc advertisements, and even academic and research institute position openings.
* Bonnie J. McCay [email protected] 1
Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers the State University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
2
Stockton, USA
Reliance on interdisciplinary training and research is wonderful, but it can also short-change the theoretical underpinnings of inquiry and explanation. Many of the bright people engaged in small-scale fisheries research in recent years come from initial training in the natural sciences, picking up and running with social science as needed once policy issues arise or funding agencies require a social science element. We need to encourage more scholars of sociology, psychology, anthropology, political science, cultural geography, and law to enter the fisheries and marine science domains—no matter how “applied” and thus suspect to some they may seem, no matter how wet and sometimes smelly the field work may be, and no matter that they may have to learn more statistics and modeling than expected. Unfortunately, some of the important interdisciplinary fisheries programs are ensconced within natural science schools and institutes, making this harder
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