What Kind of Publics?

As a witness of an extremely fruitful annual meeting of ASA in San Francisco and extraordinarily charismatic presidential address by Dr. Burawoy, I would like to say that I am very encouraged by this year's theme "Public Sociologies". I didn't say "inspired" because as an founding faculty of Graduate Institute for Social Transformation Studies, whose goals are to combine activism and research, I have been practicing public sociologies for many years. I am encouraged by this year's theme because finally activism is a legitimate discourse in Sociology! Just an anecdote, a concerned and well-intentioned senior sociologist had a meeting with me when I first became the faculty of the Institute for Social Transformation Studies seven years ago, and told me that "the goals your institution claim to strive for are impossible. Don't be too naive. You'd better hang out with we sociologists. "And now, seven years later, I am here with the presence of Dr. Burawoy doscussing public sociologies!