This article addresses scholars concerned about public sociology’s position within the field and academia. It offers new reflections on public sociology to enrich our understanding of its nature and highlight gaps that need further attention. The article also presents propositions regarding the theoretical and practical issues that currently shape how public sociology is perceived, and it outlines some of the visible challenges in practicing it today. In this article, I review the existing discussion on public sociology and comment on it based on qualitative research conducted with scholars in Kraków, as well as my observations as an early-career researcher. These reflections are intended to hopefully strengthen the position of public sociology within the sociological community and to foster further discussion on public sociology 20 years after Burawoy first introduced it.
Oliwia Mandrela (Thu,) studied this question.