New research frontiers in the sociology of work

Abstract

A series of new topics and demands for new interlocutors has obliged the sociology of work to rethink its theoretical and disciplinary tradition. The study of transformations produced by globalization, particularly those geared toward productive organization and the flexibilization of labor relations, casts doubt on the explanatory ability that its conceptual stock holds, while at the same time opening up the doors of dialogue with other analytical perspectives previously considered to be too distant from or not pertinent to this field of knowledge. The present text aims to identify and problematize the new boundaries of sociological interpretation, taking research on labor relations and unions in the automobile industry in Brazilian industrial districts as an example. Keywords: labor relations, union, automobile industry, sociology of work, labor flexibilization.