Jamie Swift & Jacqueline Davies, Authors of

Getting Started on Social Analysis in Canada, 4th Edition

In conversation with David Nelson, March 2003

Jamie:

The book is aimed at people who are wondering or puzzled about social realities around the world and in Canada, people who want to unpack and try to discover these realities. The book counters the idea that important issues should be left to experts.

We feel that the ideology of 'expertise' is undemocratic. People should be empowered to understand and act upon social issues.
 

Jackie:

It is definitely not a field best left for experts. We should all have a say in the decisions that shape our lives, and social analysis is the best way to make informed decisions. Experts certainly might have more complicated methods and techniques for social analysis, but their conclusions are no more valid than yours or mine would be. Everyone can conduct social analysis; it's as simple as observing and formulating opinions. Also, when we conduct social analysis together, we benefit from sharing conclusions and ideas. Getting Started promotes this collective approach.


How is Getting Started different from other sociology texts?

Jackie:

One thing that makes Getting Started unique is its Canadian content. It is a thorough examination of social analysis in general, but it is oriented to Canadian social issues. This is important, because social analysis is often dominated by the interests of the United States. Also, this new edition is extremely timely given the current state of the world. It's a book to be read, but it is also meant to pose questions, foster discussions, and provoke debate.

Jamie:

We set out to produce a book that would be a useful tool for people to promote social justice. The intention wasn't to craft an introductory Sociology textbook. However, it turned into a good one because we were able to come up with analysis that was insightful, that was aimed at a readership that had not been exposed to social analysis before. In a way, it's a primer on social issues. It makes no claims to having the value-free analysis that you'd find in a standard introductory sociology text; it's at arms length from that sort of approach. Also, because it originally had ties to the Jesuit center (which at the time was working on co-op housing and other social issues) Getting Started challenges readers to think about injustices more so than sociology textbooks.


How does the fourth edition of Getting Started differ from earlier editions?

Jamie:

It differs to the extent that the data have been brought up to the present. Also, it has been made more timely in terms of content. In the first edition, we did not have a chapter on globalization, we had a chapter on Canada and Central America, because it was a major concern at that time. At that time, no one had heard of globalization. Now, it's a hot topic. Similarly, earlier editions had a chapter on women, but now we have tried to weave in analysis on how women are affected by the food system, the unique plight of aboriginal women, and other issues. Also, analysis of race-related issues has been given greater weight. To appreciate the struggle for social justice in Canada, these issues must not be overlooked.


Your book includes a "social paralysis" quiz, which tests people's disposition to social analysis. Do you think that social complacency or apathy is a problem?

Jamie:

We live in a political culture in which people are encouraged to consume news and current events in the same way they consume, say, Pop Tarts or other commodities. So, people are not encouraged to be politically engaged. Getting Started attempts to help people understand social realities so they can act on those realities. It tries to get away from the idea that news today is a consumable commodity. In fact the theme of commodification runs through the book. Housing and health care, for example, are often not treated as human needs, but as commodities to be bought and sold. Information such as that contained within the book, can and should be acted upon, not merely digested.

How does Getting Started connect students with the complex social issues of today?

Jackie:

The book uncovers social issues in examples from everyday life, so students can relate them, and undertake their own personal social analysis. The supermarket chapter, for example, contains great examples of accessible social issues. I mean, everyone shops. But not everyone is necessarily aware of the social and political implications of the various items, or of the social nature of a market economy. The issues discussed in Getting Started begin from concrete, identifiable examples, but they progress into more abstract ideas and conclusions about the world. Students can apply their own experiences to this progression.

Jamie:

When we were writing the chapter on technology, it was originally centered on telephones as a mode of communication and the companies that controlled the system. Now, the chapter on technology speaks to the growing computer technologies as modes of communication and control. I had to sit back and try to think of myself as someone who is just starting university in 2002 or 2003. In other words I had to connect with people who grew up with computers in their homes and for whom the internet is by no means a novelty. People for whom email and instant messaging are like wallpaper or the air you breathe. The struggle was to remember that my experience was not the same as those who we hope will read and use this book. The chapter on media and ideology used to be all about who controlled the media, who retained ownership of newspapers. When the book was written, it was around time of the Kent Commission. Now, some people still get their news from papers, but there's a deluge of information from 24-hour news networks, radio, and print advertising. We've tried to insert analysis of this deluge of media as a disempowering or overwhelming experience.

What is social justice, and what are some of the ways in which it is distorted in Canada?

Jamie:

In terms of social justice, 'decency', 'equality', and 'fairness' are words that come to mind. The struggle for social justice is the struggle for democracy, the struggle to give people control, or more of a say over the decisions that affect their lives. After all, they should have a strong voice in these decisions. Because of the commodification of news information, people are encouraged to be more passive in the face of world-shaping events. I am, however, somewhat heartened over the last few months about the opposition to war in Iraq. There is always a give and take between those who would downplay social justice and the other end of the rope, on which people are pulling for more control.

In 1982, for the first edition, we were doing all we could to pull on our little bit of the rope and that continues to this day.

How do you define "supermarket democracy"? In what ways have economic trends affected my local supermarket?

Jamie:

The title of that chapter comes from the Clash song "Lost in the Supermarket" but the idea of using the supermarket as a tool of social analysis, comes from a quote from Milton Friedman, famous neo-liberal economic theorist: "When you vote daily in the supermarket, you get precisely what you voted for and so does everyone else." According to Freeman, everyone is equal in the supermarket of life. Obviously, we beg to differ. However, the supermarket is a great metaphor for the global economy, what with goods from all over the world, and social issues behind each one. Also there are the marketing issues raised by supermarkets. Most importantly, the supermarket is common to everyone's experience. Our hope is that the basic familiarity with this part of life will make the underlying analysis easier to understand.

Earlier editions of the book had a greater Jesuitical influence. Why has this changed?

Jamie:

Originally, the book emerged directly from the Jesuit center for Social Faith and Justice. The social analysis of the book was formed accordingly. But even in the first edition, the core of the text had no literal/ecclesiastical references or content. There were some sidebars with ecumenical content, but other denominations were represented. This got toned down in subsequent editions. When the second and third editions were published, the Jesuit center didn't exist in same form as it did before. There was only a sprinkling of sidebars from ecumenical and interfaith perspectives, and now, there is much less of even that.

Do you think that U.S. readers will find the book helpful in understanding Canada?

Jamie:

I think so. Any student in Canadian Studies, for example, could find the book useful. It does not assume a huge amount of knowledge on the part of a reader. It could be interpreted as an introduction to Canada. If you didn't know a lot about Canada, you would pick a lot up from this book, even though that's not the book's primary purpose.

Is it accurate to promote Getting Started in the U.S. as a guidebook to Canadian Society?

Jamie:

Yes, a guidebook, or a roadmap to understanding Canada. Actually, 'manual' or 'user guide' might be a better metaphor. I feel the cover image is very appropriate in this regard. In the image, people are either fixing, unpacking, or putting together a globe. To me, this visually represents a user's guide to understanding Canadian Society.

What do you think is the future of social analysis?

Jamie:

I would hope that people would continue to engage in it. Actually, people do it all the time, whether implicitly, or explicitly, whether they take action or just shrug cynically. That, in a way, is a form of social analysis. Some social analysis simply occurs by default. I hope that Getting Started would help people practice social analysis explicitly, in a way that causes them to act on issues, instead of just shrugging.