ABSTRACT
A major part of being a sociologist involves constant arguments about modernity and Eurocentrism. The question is often asked as to whether the canon can endure despite its obvious assumptions of Western prowess. Once, in 2004, after defending a North African colleague who was questioning the canon’s tenacity, a French colleague raised his arms in despair and exclaimed what he thought was a telling blow to the discussion: ‘We are all playing the cello!’
