When analyzing the process of building a European Research Area, researchers usually focus solely on Europe and the relations between European institutions, actors, nations etc. Contrary to this we argue, following a strictly relational epistemology, that any object under study must be put within the whole set of relations, internal and external. The investigation of the European space of sociology, considered here as the important part of the European Research Area, should go hand in hand with that of its American counterpart, the US sociological field. The latter is commonly seen as the dominant field, the point for reference to the rest of the world, thus directly or indirectly it takes part in the construction of the European space.
This paper outlines the structure of the American field of sociology, including the space of positions with its doxic oppositions as well as the space of position-takings. Using geometric data analysis we reconstruct the field by combining data taken from sociology full professors’ CVs (=250), the American Sociological Association and the National Science Foundation. Our results show that the US field of sociology is divided along three dimensions: The dominant/the dominated, a „spiritual”/”temporal” power, and ASA – outside/inside. On the dominant side, we localize a “European”, “international” pole which is opposed to the “local”, “domestic” pole. There is a homology of positions and position-takings (topics): the “European” pole favors abstract and prestigious topics, while a “local” pole has a taste for conventional, more “down-to-earth” interests. Moreover, subjects localized in the “local” area, contrary to the “cosmopolitans” (European oriented) hold academic and institutional power, and have access to money (public and corporate). Thus, relations between the American “dominant” and the European “dominated” field are complex, and this concerns not only the general global hierarchy but also multidimensional internal structure of the fields.
