Participation:

What we do and how that relates to what we do

when we study ourselves and our society

Ó Bruce C Wearne 2000

The scientific study of society is the study of how we humans act in society. So we have discussed the need to define what we mean by "human" and "society"; but we also need to be clear about our use of the term "in". Part of the reason that we can study society is because we are a part of it. We are in society.

The word "in" is deeply nuanced in this form. It speaks not only of the location a person has, for when that can be located by use of a map. It speaks of who we are and that our identity is formed co-operatively with those whose identity is being formed in the processes of living.

Human responsibility is expressed in a wide variety of social relationships - this wide variety is what society is. It follows that humans participate in each other's lives in a variety of ways. Therefore the in refers to a place; it has a location. We sometimes refer to ourselves as in society like we are in the water when swimming, or in a room. To participate in society is to be where social relationships are happening, where they are being developed. This is also why it is important that our concept of place is not too narrowly defined. Social relationships can be developed over large distances, by letter, telephone or even by the internet. We are only bodily present at one end of a relationship when we are in communication and not at the same location. And we sometimes ask each other about `where we are at' in our relationships with others, our parents, friends and enemies. There are historical and psychological dimensions to our concept of social place; we might come from a working class background, we might be confused about our place in society after we leave home. So we say, "How's it going? Where are you at this point in time with such and such a problem?" Such concepts are not purely geographic; they are also socio-graphic and need a deepened appreciation of what it means to locate ourselves in relation to others, to be in society, to be participating within the confines of the human condition.

Participation is many-sided, with various levels of intensity. Participation is that for the researcher as well. Sometimes researchers participate in the life of a group or organisation. They adopt the role of "participant". In a church they join in the worship, the prayer circles and the bible study groups. Their aim is to understand how the persons are involved confessionally "from the inside". In a school they may adopt the role of a teacher or teaching assistant, to sense the pedagogical atmosphere of the school. In a sporting club they will join in the competition. In a hospital they might don a white coat and look like a member of the medical or nursing team; how is care given concrete form? They may visit a tribe where insider-status is dependent upon first being a polite outsider who goes through the right channels to establish a trust upon which, at a later time, special recognition is ascribed. In this case the researcher seeks to better understand tribal and familial tradition.

Such participation can be filled with ambiguity, since social participation is potentially ambiguous where rival interpretations vie for supremacy. The ambiguity which a social researcher may face is similar to other "role conflicts" we experience in "every day" society. We can be present when someone else's family feuds or when a friend's church is rent by schism. We often find ourselves in alien environments where we are unsure of our place, of the rules and codes which govern our social interaction. And sometimes the "alienation" is as much a result of our own uncertainty as it is of someone else's attempt to exclude us.

Social researchers must decide how to focus their attention; how to use their time as researchers. A social researcher who has joined a club to extend and deepen her research activity has begun "dating" a club member. Another discovers that the church, which he is studying, is involved in shady real estate deals. Another church watcher may have decided to go ahead and join that church because he has experienced a "conversion". And when it comes to making a report of the investigation does the researcher publish all the results and reveal names? Or is a strict anonymity to be observed? If so, does the researcher become a party to crime by not reporting it? The social researcher participates in role conflicts requiring responsible decision-making just like everybody else, like any other social actor.

Participation is what we do. It is constrained by who we are in terms of family, ethnicity, gender, nationality, belief. Aspects of our participation, like being a child in a family, a member of a church or a citizen in public life, get enacted without our willing it. We get born; we get initiated; we are called upon to vote; we receive respect from others in forms appropriate to our age, gender and ethnicity. As we get older we might become confused about attachments to our parents; sometimes it takes years to come to terms with such confusion. Some people go through life without ever resolving some of the problems. Some people go through life without a care. Some in the evening of life become seriously cognitively disoriented. Some have only known disorientation for much of their lives. Others have not even known that they are disoriented.

Participation is what we do in society; we take part. We act and we respond. We are one person contributing to a fabric rich in other persons. Human society is the domain of participation. Some participation takes places whether we want it to or not. Think of the problems caused by not keeping in touch with one's family; in such an instance the family member's non-contribution to family life is a cause for deep grief. Psycho-analysis can probe the grief of the person who has absented herself just as much as the members of the circle from she is absent Other participation does not occur without us being actively involved. We can only join a martial arts group as an act of will (our own or our parents). And sometimes we will become members of an un-planned group; we may be among the survivors of a train crash who meet every year in reunion. Such participation happens all the time, in various ways. Friendships are made by commuters who travel on the same train each day, peers who shared the same class-room and soldiers who fought in the same battle. Some friendships last a long time; others much longer; others still a lifetime; yet others are soon forgotten. People can work together, travel together, belong to the same organisation, sometimes for years and decades, and still they do not become "friends". Sometimes people never get to know each other despite years of working together.

Some social participation cannot be taken on by the erstwhile social researcher. However the participation which a social researcher embarks upon may lead to friendship all of the above senses. But then it also may not. Social participation may be conflictual or deviant; it may be immoral or illegal - we might be robbed, mugged or raped. The situation may contravene rules for fairness and politeness as in the case of the road hog, the rowdy party which goes after midnight or the family feud in which all members play set roles and routines. Or we may decide that it is best to stay neutral if that be possible.

Rape, murder, assault, robbery, lying are, sadly, all indicative of social participation. Criminal activity implies participation in conscious and deliberate acts. A gang of thieves plan to execute a daring daylight robbery. Subversives covenant together for urban terrorism. Spies build intricate networks of secretive interaction for the passing on of information.

Social research is also undertaken in a public-legal context. It is possible that social researchers break the law; they will then participate as law-breakers. They could also be a part of a "war machine", as soldiers or as spies. But they can also participate by contravening basic rules of courtesy and politeness. That is why it is important that in our initial reflection on social research we formulate a comprehensive philosophy of social research and deepen our understanding of how it is done, and how the structure of social participation has an impact on the study. What are the constraints under which the project is to be carried out?

Having thought about how social research is embedded within our social participation, we can develop a better idea of how and why we do it. Our understanding of social research is deepened by involvement in field-work, confronting this human task, and its problems, "in the flesh".

According to this analysis a critical appraisal of the contribution of contemporary social-psychology to sociology needs to examine how views of social participation imply concepts that require us to think about objectivity and subjectivity.

Any description of a social setting, from the standpoint of a participant observer - an observing participant and/ or a participating observer - will always enshrine assumptions about our humanness, the basis and order of human society and the way our fellows go about, and build, their participation in and interpretations of, "everyday life". The truly scientific observation of a social setting will also critically analyse the structure of participation and discern the ways in which social memberships and roles are played out.

The reason why scientific research should adopt a critical attitude to our everyday assumptions is not due to the brilliance of scientific knowledge and the dullness of our own understanding in the shadow it casts. Sociology should adopt a critical attitude because in an every-day sense we need to be alerted to subtle social developments and the results of scientific analysis. We know that we can deceive ourselves about ourselves. We can participate in our own self-deception.

Definition : Participation

Participation is what we do in society; we take part. We act and we respond. Human society is the domain of participation, society is the stage upon which we play our role. It is not only persons who participate, but persons-in-positions-of-responsibility (office) and hence structures, organisations and institutions which play a part in social life. Social actors build a rich mosaic of inter-dependent participation in which forms of co-operation, social neutrality and competition can all be found.

April 2004 © This page is part of a project A Christian Calling in Social Theory and Research developed by Bruce C Wearne (PhD), 29 Lawrence Rd., Point Lonsdale Vic 3225 AUSTRALIA, 61-3-5258-3913. This chapter may be photocopied or retransmitted in its entirety only with full acknowledgement of the author and the source. It shall not otherwise be reprinted or transmitted without permission. This is part of a larger book The Social Structure of Responsibility which explains how Christian sociology is to proceed as a scientific vocation giving expression to our love for God and our neighbour. Your comments are welcome. Email can be sent to bcwearne@ozemail.com.au http://members.ozemail.com.au/~bcwearne/index.html