"Taking it Big" A New Book on C. Wright Mills by Stanley Aronowitz

Excited, indeed salivating at the prospect of getting a hold of and enjoying a new book on C. Wright Mills by Stanley Aronowitz. Among other things, the work on Mills demonstrates the importance of "big picture" sociology where already existing concepts and theories are deployed for making sense of the current social and political predicaments. The title of the book comes from the Mills's constant refrain "Take it Big" to his graduate students. Meanwhile, unsurprisingly, overwrought theoretical discussions of theory ("heavy-duty theoretical bullshit" as Mills labeled it) and methodological discussions of methodology that Mills so incisively analyzed, criticized and lampooned continues. In some ways, the narrow "professionalization" (in the bad sense of the term) of Sociology is inevitable and not all of it is necessarily totally useless nor always driven only by the compulsions of career capital accumulation. However, more often than not, the "professional" game ceases to be worth the candle. Witness the ceaseless proliferation of mostly pointless neologisms or the splitting of theoretical hair merely to claim novelty and distinction.

Many of Mills detractors assume that he was merely an ideological ranter unconcerned with the so-called facts of the issues he investigated and unwilling to honour the norms of professional research.  Of course, anyone who has actually read and engaged with his work would know that this is far from the truth - with the pragmatic small "t" of course! As Mills himself pointed out, "I claim to be objective. I do not claim to be detached" (paraphrasing the exact quote). As his collaborator and friend Hans Gerth as pointed out, the passion that fuelled his sociology was broadly informed by the title of one of Paul Gauguin's paintings - "Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going"?

Aronowitz plies his sociological craft in the spirit of C. Wright Mills and his new book promises to be an engaging read.


Taking it Big by Stanley Aronowitz