ABSTRACT

Computer technology has become widely accessible in academia. This chapter explores some of the possible effects such new technologies might have on the discipline of sociology. It focuses on the modifications such interactive sociology might provoke in the status system in the discipline. The chapter examines changes in technology and speculates about the effects the developments might have on sociology in the near future. Interactive sociology, sociology as a process would augment sociology as a set of products in a way that explicitly reflects the social nature of sociological work. The chapter argues that new technology is available that could lead to a variety of profound changes in the discipline of sociology. By pointing out how a new technological context might change the status system and the organization of work in sociology, the chapter focuses attention on the nature of the social context of the discipline.