Beyond risk and boredom: reflections on Claudio Ciborra and sociology

摘要

From my perspective as a sociologist there are far too few artists in sociology today, those who combine an innovative vision with an exhilarating voice. With the loss of Claudio Ciborra that number has diminished. Readers of this journal may be somewhat surprised that I appreciate Ciborra largely as a sociological innovator. Even more surprised may be sociologists who, avoiding the literature on information systems (IS), have until now missed out on the sociological pleasures of Ciborra's writings. Yet in my view Ciborra's writings were truly sociological, in the best sense of the term, as exemplified in C Wright Mill's call for sociologists to address connections between personal troubles and public issues. While Ciborra's contributions may not yet be widely appreciated in the discipline, he has set the stage for creatively engaged and challenging 21 century sociology.