Our Research Interest in Economic Inequality Was Predetermined
Interview with Tatyana Cherkashina
Abstract
A conversation with the head of the Sociology Department of Novosibirsk State University (NSU) Tatyana Cherkashina opens a series of interviews within the framework of the project “Russian Economic-Sociological Perspective” initiated by Anita Poplavskaya (Research Fellow at the Laboratory for Studies in Economic Sociology). The goal of the project is to present the diversity of scientific topics in Russian economic sociology, to “map” and “portrait” them. Where Russian economic sociology is located? Which interests do the economic-sociologists (or scientists whose interests belong to both economy and sociology) pursue? Are researchers oriented at exploring local contexts, presenting unique discourses and approaches for the country, or they are integrated (and how) into the global discussion of their subject area. How did the scientific interests of the interviewed scientists have been developing, what articles and books do they consider as key and most significant in their biographies, which literature inspires them, what data do they use, how do they analyze it and what research results do they consider the most significant? We seek answers to these and other questions in the conversations with colleagues. It is no coincidence that the case of the Novosibirsk School of Economic Sociology (NESS) is the first. It was in Novosibirsk in the 1970-1980s where economic sociology was born in Russia as a research field, and in 1989 one of the first departments of sociology was opened in the Soviet socialist republics. Paradoxically, the Faculty of Sociology was never created here and sociologists continue to work and teach students at the Faculty of Economics. The interview initially consisted of a three-hour conversation with the head of the Department of Sociology Tatyana Cherkashina. The conversation took place in an informal setting over a cup of tea in the NSU department room. This publication is a brief summary of the most important stories: (1) the history of the Novosibirsk School of Economic Sociology, including stories about the continuity of interest in research on welfare and inequality in Russia, about the organization of education at NSU, the advantages and prospects of using open statistical data in research; (2) the ten-year experience of T. Yu. Cherkashina and T. Yu. Bogomolova’s joint research on wealth stratification with regard to property possession in Russia, trilogy of their articles, author’s recommendations of the literature and methodology of measuring wealth inequalities; and (3) the current state of affairs at the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Economics, which, in addition to traditional sociology disciplines, integrates courses taught by business practitioners, graduates of the faculty, emphasizing the importance of reflecting and understanding the work of modern markets and analyzing real business cases. The interview highlights the close connection between economics and sociology, statistical analysis and a more comprehensive understanding of social phenomena, academic disciplines and practical courses. The conversation may be of interest to both young researchers searching for their own path in science, interesants and experts in the field of sociology of inequality and stratification
