Understanding Recognition: Conceptual and Empirical Studies

As the concept of recognition shifts from philosophical theory to other fields of the humanities and social sciences, this volume explores the nature of this border category that exists in the space between sociological and philosophical considerations, related as it is to concepts such as status, prestige, the looking-glass self, respect, and dignity - at times being used interchangeably with these terms.

Bringing together work from across academic disciplines, it presents theoretical conceptualizations of recognition, demonstrates its operationalization in historical and literary research, considers recognition as a fundamental problem of sociological theory and examines the concept as a marker of social distances and redistribution. An examination and demonstration of the full potential of recognition as a category, Understanding Recognition: Conceptual and Empirical Studies explores the contemporary meanings and manifestations of recognition and sheds light on its capacity to complement the notions of status, class or prestige.

As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and social theory, philosophy, history and literary studies.

Piotr Kulas is University Professor at the Faculty of ’Artes Liberales’ at the University of Warsaw, Poland. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles on elites and the Polish intelligentsia. He is the Head of Elitylab UW.

Andrzej Waśkiewicz is Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warsaw, Poland, and the author of Strangers by Choice: An Asocial Philosophy of Life and The Idea of Political Representation and Its Paradoxes.

Stanislaw Krawczyk is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. His recent work is primarily in higher education studies.