Involving four generations of Global South researchers, this book provides a theoretical and empirical critique of Burawoy's model of public sociology. It offers a bridge between debates on public sociology and decolonial frameworks. The idea of public sociology, as introduced by Michael Burawoy, was inspired by the sociological practice in South Africa known as 'critical engagement'. This volume explores the evolution of critical engagement before and after Burawoy's visit to South Africa in the 1990s and offers a Southern critique of his model of public sociology. Involving four generations of researchers from the Global South, the authors provide a multifaceted exploration of the formation of new knowledge through research practices of co-production. Tracing the historical development of 'critical engagement' from a Global South perspective, the book deftly weaves a bridge between the debates on public sociology and decolonial frameworks --

Andries Bezuidenhout is Professor of Development Studies at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa.

Sonwabile Mnwana is Professor of Development Studies in the Department of Sociology at Rhodes University, South Africa.

Karl von Holdt is Professor and former Director of the Society, Work and Politics Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.