Abstract
Taking its direction from literature suggested by dissident students & blacks, this paper addresses itself to the theme of the 'absurd' & its value in suggesting newer sociological theoretical directions. The literature of the absurd is discussed as portrayed in the theater of the absurd, the theater of silence, dialectical thought, & existentialism. Drawing upon the framework of the 'absurd' the sociological insights inherent in that framework are discussed. Accordingly, it is suggested that a conscious awareness of the absurdity of man's existence may be a generator of rebellion against that existence. Part of the message of the absurd is that no final resolution is possible &, thus, rebellion, based upon this conscious realization, is ubiquitous. Further, man, it is argued, can be conceptualized as a self-conscious dissonance creator as he pursues meaning within an institutional structure that itself creates absurdity (what is referred to as 'institutional absurdity'). Consequently, the act of rebellion may be a source of meaning to contemporary man, & especially among students & blacks in American society. The framework of the absurd is then applied to sociology as a discipline & it is argued that dissatisfaction among sociology graduate students & many younger sociologists with their discipline stems from their conscious realization of the current absurdity of sociology itself. A final summary & conclusion section advocates an action orientation on the part of American sociologists.