Premium
Toward a Sociology of the Reconciliation of Conflicting Desires
Author(s) -
O'Donnell Susan,
Perley David
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
canadian review of sociology/revue canadienne de sociologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.414
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1755-618X
pISSN - 1755-6171
DOI - 10.1111/cars.12129
Subject(s) - indigenous , economic justice , sociology , environmental ethics , social justice , social science , law , political science , ecology , philosophy , biology
Desire‐based research provides people and communities the opportunity to share their dreams and hopes for a better future. However, conflicting desires are difficult to reconcile. We suggest that sociological research to understand conflicting desires is required to support reconciliation work by Indigenous and non‐Indigenous people in Canada. Our contribution begins by identifying much of current and past sociological research about Indigenous people and communities as damaged‐centered, that is, identifying problems and obstacles in the hope that the knowledge will lead to change. This model of social change is flawed. We believe that most Canadians desire justice for Indigenous peoples while at the same time desiring land and access to resources, desires that deny that justice. How we as a society reconcile these desires will determine the extent to which true justice for Indigenous peoples will be achieved. We propose a sociology of the reconciliation of conflicting desires and suggest some practical ways that this type of research could move forward.