The sociological theory of differentiation often connects the thesis of the existence of only one worldwide societal system to a second core hypothesis: The system of World Society results from the differentiation processes of the function systems of the modern world (among these function systems are: the economy, the world polity, religion, science, the system of the arts, law etc.). In all these cases of functional differentiation the emerging autonomy of a specific functional perspective for communications can only be realized as a global communication system. The purity (term proposed by A. Abott) and ruthlessness of a functional specification of communications can’t be checked by local and regional boundaries. World Society then arises naturally from the differentiation of ever new global functional autonomies.
The conference starts from the presupposition of a basic plausibility of these hypotheses. But at the same time we assume that in the different regions of world society numerous variants of the realization of structural differentiation are to be observed. Differentiation is a historical process of which it can be said that everywhere in the world we observe the primacy of other forms of differentiation before the modern onset of functional differentiation. Segmentation (of tribes, chiefdoms and states); stratification (estates, castes, classes); centre/periphery differentiation (in empires and civilizations); even differentiations along age-groups and gender; possibly differentiations which separate regions of societal inclusion from exclusion zones (the last collecting persons who are no longer addressed in relevant societal communications). Functional differentiation as a global structure is a kind of superstructure to these earlier forms of differentiation.
That means that these earlier differentiations do not simply disappear. Instead functional differentiation coexists with an ongoing relevance of these earlier forms of differentiation. The variants which arise via these historical patterns of superposition are the guiding theme of this conference. Three types of research presentations are especially relevant for our conference.
1. Inquiries on the interplay (complementarity and conflict) of different forms of differentiation. How much are functionally differentiated social relations still embedded into structures of stratification, and how does the incessant production of inequalities and cumulative advantages in function systems renew and reformulate the social relevance and occurrence of stratification? How to describe the interaction of segmentation and functional differentiation? Are there specific social patterns which establish and mediate the coexistence of different forms of differentiation (patron/client-links; centre/periphery-distinctions; networks)?
2. Inquiries on varying sociocultural embeddings of global function systems. The Chinese tradition, for example, knows no classificatory order of bodily activities which is somehow near to the Western concept of “sports”. Instead there exist terms which approximately mean “nourishment, enhancement of life” (“yundong”). But these terms can include among others gymnastics and dance as well as the cultivation of plants and trees and even singing and sauna and spa (based on research by Chih-Chieh Tang, Academia Sinica, Taipei). How is such a strange sociocultural complex overlaid by the semantic world of the global function system of sports, entirely dominated by bodily achievements in highly competitive contexts and by an orientation towards ‘records’ (from individual to ‘world records’)? We explicitly encourage papers on sociocultural and semantic changes and transformations of this kind. By this we hope to give to the idea of a penetration of functional differentiation more regional variance and historical depth.
To the inquiries we want to encourage furthermore belong inquiries on varying sociocultural relevancies of function systems in different regions of world society. Did there ever exist countries and regions which are ‘atheist’ in a structural sense (i.e. they do not seem to ‘need’ religion). Could Japan be a candidate for this? Are there other candidates for some functions not being very important in specific regions of world society? These seem to be relevant questions on which not much research has been published. On the other hand we are not at all interested in papers which claim that one function system is much more important than all the other ones.
3. Inquiries on the interrelation of functional differentiation and the levels of system formation in society. It is an important theorem in sociological systems theory that the primacy of functional differentiation is based on the separation of three levels of system formation. Interaction systems (based on physical co-presence), organizations (based on membership) and society (based on communicative attainability have to be clearly distinguished from one another for functional differentiation to arise. Therefore it seems probable that variations in the establishment of functional differentiation may be caused by variations in the articulation and independence of the three levels of system formation.
The conference which is based on a cooperation between the University of Fribourg and the University of Lucerne will be organized on June 10 and 11 in Lucerne (probably at Hotel Astoria near to the main station). We plan for ca. 14-15 presentations. There will be some invited speakers and we intend to add a number of further speakers via this conference call. All participants and all persons interested in participation are asked to send us a short description of the paper they intend to present (approximately one page, until March 1, 2011). The conference language is English.
Around two years after the conference the two organizers intend to publish an English book on the topic of the conference. We will include in this volume the best papers presented at the conference (in revised form) and we will add further papers which have not been presented. There exists no such volume in the published literature until today. Therefore we presume there will exist a broad interest for this publication on “Variants of differentiation in the regions of world society”.
Please address all inquiries and proposals/abstracts to one of the two organizers: