Sociologia e impegno pubblico: riflessioni a partire da alcune autrici classiche

This article revisits the notion of public sociology through the contributions of two classical female thinkers: Anna Julia Cooper and Jane Addams. By analyzing A Voice from the South (1892) and A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil (1912), we show how these authors, through different social positions and trajectories, articulated an early form of public sociology rooted in experience, activism, and critical knowledge. Their works prefigure many elements later formalized by Burawoy, including epistemological reflexivity, engagement with civil society, and a commitment to social justice. Far from being marginal footnotes, Cooper and Addams offer robust and transformative frameworks for understanding the intersection of gender, race, class, and public action. Their legacy invites contemporary sociology to reframe the relationship between po- sitionality, knowledge production, and political responsibility, while resisting the co-optation or neutralization of marginality. We argue that their sociological practice remains a vital resource for envisioning a politically engaged and ethically situated public sociology today.