Does sociology have anything to gain by returning to the concept of social role? Has this concept been irretrievably damaged by its significance in functionalist theory? This article aims to recover the role concept through a consideration of alternative perspectives on normativity, illustrated through research on motherhood. A pragmatist re-conception of role is defended as a way of focusing on those aspects of social structures which exert normative authority over agents, while remaining open to some degree of interpretation. This perspective treats roles not as fixed mechanisms of functional coordination or social reproduction, but instead as variable sites of mutual accountability. The article argues that a pragmatist version of the role concept supports explanation of non-determined agency and complex, uncertain and conflictual forms of normative authority. Treated in these terms, the role concept offers a valuable route to understanding the creative quality of agency and normativity.

回到社会角色概念，社会学有什么收获吗？这个概念是否因其在功能主义理论中的重要性而受到不可挽回的损害？本文旨在通过对母性的研究说明对规范性的替代观点，来恢复角色概念。捍卫实用主义者对角色的重新构想，是一种关注于社会结构方面的方法，这些方面对代理施加规范性权威，同时保持一定程度的解释开放性。这种观点不将角色视为职能协调或社会再生产的固定机制，而应视为相互问责的可变地点。该文章认为，角色概念的实用主义版本支持对不确定的代理机构和复杂事物的解释，不确定和冲突形式的规范权威。用这些术语来对待，角色概念为理解代理的创造性和规范性提供了一条宝贵的途径。